To wash bleach-safe bed sheets and towels, machine wash in the hottest water recommended using a good detergent and ⅔ cup Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach in a traditional deep-fill washer, or ⅓ cup Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach in a high efficiency clothes washer. Make sure the bleach contacts the load for 10 minutes.
Use the hottest wash temperature setting for best disinfecting results. Try using one (or all) of these household products for a strong and effective sanitation: Bleach – Add ½ cup once the wash cycle has started. You should use color-safe bleach for any dyed fabrics, and chlorine bleach for white bedding.
Germs can spread not only through human contact, but through contact with soiled sheets and blankets as well. Washing your sheets in hot water and drying on high temperatures may remove some of these germs, but to really eliminate bad odors and built-up bacteria, you're going to want to bring in some reinforcement.
Wash with the hottest water temperature setting listed on the care label. Polyester blends are best washed using warm water, while cotton can toleratehot water. Hotter water kills most germs and also takes care of dust mites that thrive in bedding. Wash at least once every other week.
Borax. Borax can be used in addition to your regular detergent to disinfect laundry. Start by filling the wash bin with your laundry and set the wash cycle to warm water. Then add ½ cup of borax to the washing cycle.
White vinegar is an amazing disinfectant, and laundry is no exception. It contains acetic acid, which kills viruses and bacteria; plus, white vinegar works as a disinfectant and a deodorizer.
Lysol Laundry Sanitizer is specially designed to sanitize your laundry and to kill 99.9% of bacteria*. It can be used on most washable fabrics including: Baby Clothes, Gym Clothes, Undergarments, Towels, Bedding, and Delicates.
When washing your clothing, add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the fabric softener compartment just before the last rinse cycle. If you'd like your clothes to have a mild scent, add four or five drops of essential oil into the fabric softener compartment.
Then the white vinegar in the rinse cycle helps remove the excess detergent from the linen, and acts as a natural fabric softener. Also, try using slightly warmer water instead of just cold. This will help make sure the detergent is dissolving properly and leaving behind less residue.
Every month or so, give your fabric headboard a deeper clean with trusty baking soda. Apply some to a damp cloth and work it into the fabric. Let it sit on the headboard for a few hours before removing any residue with a vacuum cleaner.
Add one cup of distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle when you want to sanitize a load of laundry. The white vinegar kills bacteria, deodorizes your laundry, softens fabrics, and even helps maintain bright colors.
According to a 2000 study by the Good Housekeeping Institute, both baking soda and vinegar work as a disinfectant. Vinegar and baking soda can kill 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold and 80 percent of infectious viruses when used on laundry.
One of the most well-known secrets of the hotel industry in keeping their sheets enviably is peroxide-based detergents. Bleach is also added to the mix. While these chemicals are truly effective in preventing white linens from greying or turning yellow, they do require some level of expertise.
According to the NHS you should wash household linen, towels and underwear at a temperature of 60°C to prevent any germs spreading. There is a misconception that you must wash clothes on the highest setting possible to kill bacteria, but it is proven that 60°C is adequate.
The best disinfectant may not be the wash, but the drying process. Tumble-drying laundry, including pillows, on high heat for at least 30 minutes is sufficient for killing most influenza germs. Don't hesitate to tumble dry for longer, however.
Before going further, we have to warn you: adding vinegar or baking soda to the wash along with your laundry detergent increases the risk of poorer cleaning performance, as detergents are optimized for a specific pH level, which is altered by the presence of these two household additives in the wash.
Although baking soda is often thought of as an odor neutralizer, it can also aid in whitening your sheets. Simply add baking soda to your normal detergent and it will enhance its whitening effects.
Do mix: Laundry detergent and vinegar. By adding one cup of vinegar to your laundry cycle you can gain many extra benefits. Vinegar kills off bacteria, gives your clothes a fresh scent, keeps them lint-free, and brightens them. Here are other creative household uses for vinegar.
If you want to add vinegar to your laundry to help clean and deodorize your clothes, pour 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar into your washing machine instead of the detergent you would normally use. You can also pour 1 cup of vinegar into the last rinse cycle to act as a natural fabric softener.
Add two cups of white cleaning vinegar to detergent dispenser. Run it through a complete cycle. Run another cycle on the highest level and at the hottest water temperature, this time adding one-half cup of baking soda to the drum. When cycle is done, wipe inside drum of washer with a damp microfiber cloth.
To kill the germs in your laundry, wash your clothes on the hot cycle, then put everything in the dryer for 45 minutes. Wash whites with bleach, and use peroxide or color-safe bleach for colors. Do your laundry in water that's at least 140 F to kill any viruses or bacteria.
Bleach can be used inside your washing machine for cleaning it as well as working well as a washing machine disinfectant. The most important thing to remember is that you must run at least one empty cycle after cleaning, to remove all remaining bleach and help prevent bleaching next time you do a load of laundry.