WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER: How to Keep COVID-19 Out of Your Laundry

This is from Jackie Reeve, with The Wire Cutter:

She interviewed Dr. Marilyn Roberts, who is a professor of environmental and occupational health, at the University of Washington.

“Whether you do your laundry at home, in a laundromat, or in a shared laundry room in your building, public health experts say there are some general safety guidelines everyone can follow.  And, “It’s safe to go to a laundromat, but you need to be very careful as far as person-to-person interaction.”

If anyone in your household is sick, or if you’re worried someone has been exposed to COVID-19, the CDC says not to shake your dirty laundry—this could spread the virus.

The CDC also recommends wearing disposable gloves while handling laundry, and washing your hands thoroughly, when you take the gloves off (if you don’t have disposable gloves, wash your hands as often as you can).”  Don’t “hug” your laundry close to you, when you carry it.

You can also leave your dirty laundry untouched, and out of the way, for a couple of days before washing, to allow any pathogens to die off the surface.

“Some pathogens have been known to survive a trip through a washing machine with cold or warm water.”   Use hot water, if you can, to try to destroy any traces of virus, which may be left inside the machine or lingering on your laundry.  The CDC also recommends you do laundry with the warmest water possible and make sure your load is completely dry.  A study, published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, reveals that viruses like the new coronavirus thrive in cold and humid environments, so a dryer is the best tool to eliminate them.

Get the full article, with more expert advice on using a laundromat or a laundry service, from The Wire Cutter, HERE.