Do you wash under 40°C?
96% of mums claim to regularly wash at 40°C. However, when you wash at temperatures below 60°C, bacteria can survive and transfer between garments in the wash. Experts refer to this as a ‘bacterial soup’ as germs can spread from contaminated items to other items in the wash, recent lab tests show that family laundry washed at 40°C contained only 14% less bacteria than dirty items that had not been washed at all, with as many as 1 million bacteria living in just 2 tablespoons of wash water.
65% of mums say they wash all the family laundry together. Bacteria on baby clothes and beddings can survive and transfer to other items when you wash below 60°C and tests have found traces of faecal matter on baby grows, baby blankets and a bedtime cuddly toy after low-temperature washing in household machines.
Once children start at nursery or school, it can be a big challenge to keep them healthy. Children’s clothes and bedding pick up bacteria during everyday ‘germy’ moments – from exposure to coughs and sniffles in the playground, to toilet mishaps and bed wetting. Recent laboratory tests found that toddlers’ pants, children’s bed sheets, PE shorts and school jumpers all contained traces of faecal matter after low-temperature washing in household washing machines.
The tests also highlighted that school uniform and clothes worn by pre-school toddlers washed at 40°C harboured average levels of bacteria that were similar to unwashed, dirty items.
Whilst underclothes, sheets and items worn close to the skin are most likely to be contaminated with pathogens, outerwear such as jumpers and blazers are most likely to harbour bacteria build-up which cannot be removed by low-temperature washing using a detergent alone.
New Dettol Antibacterial Laundry Cleanser kills 99.9% of bacteria even when you wash at low temperatures, so you can be confident that your laundry is hygienically clean every time.
For more information visit the Dettol website or download our Dettol Laundry Guide.
