Kolkata: You keep a weekend dedicated to get all your laundry done, and the sense of accomplishment when you see a neatly stacked pile of fresh smelling, clean clothes is relaxing.
But does a wash with detergent ensure that your clothes are completely clean? A successful, ‘complete’ wash is where dirt, odour and disease-causing germs are also removed. Your laundry doesn’t just accumulate dirt, it harbors more germs than you could think of. As per a study, one item of heavily contaminated clothing can serve to contaminate an entire laundry load.
Unfortunately, washing laundry with detergent alone is not found to be effective for the removal or inactivation of all the germs. Germs including some enteric viruses like rotavirus and adenovirussurvive and are readily transferred from contaminated clothes to uncontaminated clothes.
Sixty degree Celsius is the ideal temperature to ensure germ kill in laundry-washing clothes is already a tough job, getting such a high temperature of water for washing will make the task too cumbersome and tough to execute.
Washing clothes only with hot water isn’t always possible plus not all fabrics can be washed in hot water. Hot water for synthetic clothes is a big no-no. Furthermore, bright, and darker colors tend to bleed in hot water. Also, for delicate fabrics such as laces, woollen and silks – cold water washes are generally advised.
So, what can you do instead? Disinfection completes the washing of clothes and can be the final step for every wash cycle. A good way to disinfect your clothes is by using a disinfectant liquid along with your regular detergent.
Using an effective disinfectant such as the Savlon Laundry Disinfectant and Refreshing liquid while washing clothes kills 99.9% germs such as virus, fungi, and bacteria, including odour causing bacteria* (*Basis Lab Study on sample microbes).
It leaves clothes with fresh and blossom like fragrance that lasts for upto 72 hrs#. It does not contain bleach, it is gentle and safe on clothes#. It does not alter the fabric aesthetic or dimensions (in color, shine, stain, size, piling)# (#Basis Lab Study on select fabrics).
It can be used on a varied range of fabrics such as cotton, woollen, rayon, nylon, polyester-cotton blend olefin, chiffon, satin, baby cloth hosiery material, and denim.
It needs to be added in the additives compartment in the washing machine when the detergent is being added (Do not mix with Detergents. Always use after regular detergent wash), the machine uses it the last rinse cycle on its own. For semi-automatic machines, it should be added in the last rinse cycle – directly added in the wash compartment.
During handwashing of clothes, when washing with detergent is complete – it should be added in a bucket of water and clothes should be allowed to soak in it for 10 minutes. It doesn’t affect the working of the washing detergent – liquid or powder. Please refer usage instructions as mentioned on pack.
Having germ-free clothes also means better hygiene for you and your family – it can be a part of your best effort to stay protected, after all, hygiene sahi to health sahi.
The Author of the Article is Dr. SC Ajmani, General Physician.