Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Sharon from FL
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RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
I had 4 children and always used white vinegar in the washing machine. My kids (honest to God) never had a cold or the flu. That and washing hands is a life saver as far as I am concerned. Bleach is for cleaning toilets, sinks etc, hehe Borax is good for cleaning badly stained clothing etc. But ya need the vinegar, and it is cheap! Gramma C
Post By ladycj (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Don't use Basic G on your laundry or in your washing machine. My Shaklee lady called Shaklee to find out how much to use in a HE machine and they told her not to use Basic G in the washing machine. They said Basic G is designed to leave a residue that kills germs for up to 3 days. That this residue may be difficult to remove from clothing, especially absorbant towels, and has been reported to cause a rash... So only use Basic G on non porus surfaces.
Post By Kirstie (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Note to dreamreader8: Do your research. This is not an old wives tale. Hospitals use grapefruit seed oil. Tea tree oil can kill warts on skin. If you clean your counter with vinegar, it will disinfect. Why would moms from 30 years ago use vinegar in their cloth diaper washings to disinfect if it didn't work? Please don't put up posts trying to scare people. Using chemicals that harm the environment are NOT the only way to disinfect.
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RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Post By Dreamreader8 (Guest Post) (02/24/2006)
I just happened to visit this board and wanted to clear up a longstanding 'old wives tale' about vinegar being a disinfectant. It's not. It seems like it should be, but it's not. Ammonia (not the kind for cleaning glass) is. Borax is not. Lavender oil, tea tree oil, other oils - not.
Take a look at the real results (without a sales pitch underneath) at
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/01/31/disinfectants.enn/
I just don't want misinformation to end up hurting anyone.
Post By G Del Vecchio (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
we are shopping for new washer and dryer. if you are really concerned about sanitizing, the new machines can do that. One washer we looked at, keeps the water hot enough to to kill the germs. I don't wash much in hot water so I wasn't too impressed. salesman also said one line of machines sanitizes EVERY load w/cold water. The washer is stainless steel inside.
Post By karen (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
HERE'S 2 OPTIONS: 1) Sunlight UV light kills most Germs & Viruses... Simply hang clothes on the line like they did in you grandmothers time... You'll not only kill germs, but you'll save electricity too!
* Sunlight works best on Whites & light colors.
(Why do you think we say sunlight *Bleaches* our hair?)
Sunshine & fresh air -- So simple -- So efficient!
No nasty chemicals!
*NOTE- Do not hang clothes outside if you have allergies to pollen, as pollen will land on your clean clothes.
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-------> ANOTHER GREAT 100% NATURAL OPTION IS adding GSE to your wash <-------
* GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) sold under the brand-name of "Nutribiotic"
kills Staph, Strep & MRSA's (resistant staph).
GSE also comes in a stronger solution called "Citricidal"... Citricidal is sold to Hospitals & the like to kill germs naturally... It's made from the seeds they used to throw away when mass-canning frozen Grapefruit Juice.
* You'll only need about 1/2 of a teaspoon or less, GSE is super concentrated!
* It's available at most Health Food Stores & online.
Here's more info about GSE & it's uses:
http://www.pureliquidgold.com/
http://www.pureliquidgold.com/citricidal.htm
Post by Cyinda
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
pine sol works too.
Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Here's a link to some advice. - http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_c/c-503.html -
A relevant portion
"What to Use to Destroy Germs
Quaternary disinfectants ("quats"), are available. CO-OP Sanitizer is available in certain supermarkets; Roccal is available from janitor, dairy, and poulry supply houses.
The following liquid chlorine bleaches are available in grocery stores: Clorox, King (liquid) Bleach, Purex.
The following pine oil disinfectants are available in grocery stores: Fyne Pyne, Fyne Tex, White Cap, King Pine.
The following phenolic disinfectants are available in grocery stores: Al Pine , Pine-Sol.
Check local supermarkets or drugstores for "house brand" products, too."
Post By Scott (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Although somebody has already said that tea tree oil will not disinfect things in the wash this is quite incorrect. A high quality tea tree oil will disinfect anything and everything, but test it on a inconspicuous area before you use as it may discolour somethings.
Post By Luke (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
i would like to disinfect clothes the first time home from thrift and second hand stores and tag sales. i think thats what she means by disinfect.
Post By debbi522 (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
i think grapefruit seed exstract is great they use it in hospitals.
Post By laj (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Sharon, as I mentioned in my other post I had already/have been doing a lot of searching lately and one of my questions was the same as yours and I am finding several credible sources, say Borax disinfects.... although i am still not done looking, here a couple of very credible links
http://www.mcg.edu/Services/EHS/Index.html.
http://www.nexuspub.com/articles/2002/july2002/steinman_interview.htm
(in this one, if you scroll down some, on the right hand side, there is a red bar, with recipes from The Safe Shopper's Bible by David Steinman and Samuel S. Epstein, MD (Macmillan, 1995):) But the whole article is interesting.
Post By Elaine (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Dreamreader8, If you read that article it says that vinegar alone killed 90 percent or less germs. I read in another spot somewhere on the net... sorry I can't remember where right now... that vinegar would kill 99% of bacteria and up to 88% of viruses. For a totally natural, non harmful in any way, substance,that's stilla pretty high ratio. While it may not elimanate some of the serious virus bacteria... it would still be good for your average home sanitizing. I have been doing a fair amount of looking on this subject and have found more than one study that shows vinegar is usefull in a limited capacity. Trying to sterilize surgical instruments with it however would not be complete enough.
http://www.bluebutterfly.org/5_Easy_Steps_2.php
http://www.unl.edu/scarlet/v9n18/v9n18features.html
(for this one you need to scroll about half way down)
http://www.jifsan.umd.edu/PDFs/GAPS ... E.coli%200157%3AH7%20in%20lettuce%22
(for this one have to scroll way down to the bottom of page iii-10 and the top of iii-11. where it mentions Organic Acids... down a little further from there it talks about Peracetic acid
http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/resgrad/documents/travelprotocols.shtml
(need to scroll down just a few paragraphs for this one)
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst;jsess ... HhQGp95XnnHVCbphVJ5rFYTqJxG21KWHybhh!161906379?a=o&d=5002226008
from this one...Quote:Two recent studies conducted to determine the antimicrobial activity of alternative products have shown that they may not be as effective as proclaimed by their advocates. A study at the University of Minnesota indicated the lack of antimicrobial efficacy of various alternative products on a plastic laminate surface in the presence of bathroom and kitchen soils (12). The "alternatives" used in these tests included those most commonly recommended for cleaning and for disinfection: ammonia, baking soda, borax, lemon juice, and vinegar. A commercial disinfectant containing bleach also was tested. The undiluted disinfectant and vinegar were most effective in reducing the number of organisms on the surfaces. The remaining alternative products showed little efficacy. No attempts were made to determine the number of viable organisms remaining on the sponges used to clean the surfaces.
Post By Elaine (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Pine-sol bottle does not say if you can use it for laundry.
Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Why not use washing soda? I use it with borax, and it gets out blood, urine, poop without residue or smell....Hot water will also help in the disinfectant process!
Post by camo_angels
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Has anyone ever tried Shaklee Basic G(germicide)? It kills several streptacaucus viruses and even the aids virus on clothing,sheets,etc. I put it in a load of towels. you use one ounce per 2 gallons of h20.It also removes stains.I have several animals and if there is an accident on anything,I just wash with the Basic G and I know it is clean. It also makes your clothes smell wonderful. J.C.
Post By Joanne C (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
To dreamreader8, I did read the article and thanks, however, the artilce only focused on vinegar and baking soda,there are other natural home remedies that can disinfect our homes. There is perixode, ammonia, borax, alcohol, and when used properly they are very effective. I have come to realize that, if perixode can disinfect and heal my cuts it should be able to do the trick in the bathroom or in my kitchen. I also use a mixture of one cup white vinegar, one cup of alcohol 70-90%, one cup of ammonia and the rest water, in a spray bottle, I spray it on the surface let it rest and that is it. Clean and disinfected. It also leave a pleasant smell instead of a strong chemical smell that is not good for our lungs or the environment. Thank you just the same.
Post by 1bigmama
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
We have always added a bit of ammonia to our laundry. We've been doing that since the old days when we used to go to the laundry mat. But even now that we have our own washing machine, we still add ammonia because it's a great disinfectant. Plus it doesn't leave behind any weird smells, and I've never known it to have adverse effects on fabric.
Post By Missy (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Pine-sol is safe for laundry (says on bottle) and I have used it to deoderize what the borax couldn't. It is safe on colors. I was reading on one of the posts for homemade laundry detergent: washing soda (not baking) has disinfectant qualities as well, though it doesn't say. Are you looking at bacterial or germicidal?
Post by camo_angels
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
I just happened to visit this board and wanted to clear up a longstanding 'old wives tale' about vinegar being a disinfectant. It's not. It seems like it should be, but it's not. Ammonia (not the kind for cleaning glass) is. Borax is not. Lavender oil, tea tree oil, other oils - not.
Take a look at the real results (without a sales pitch underneath) at
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/01/31/disinfectants.enn/
I just don't want misinformation to end up hurting anyone.
Post By Dreamreader8 (Guest Post)
disinfectant
i just spoke to someone at the Lysol Co.,
i use several lysol products to disinfect various things around the house, this past week-end my septic system backed up and my toilets oveflowed, to keep water at a bare minimum and keep the plumbers from tracking water everywhere i put down towels, i noticed the lysol concentrate i bought did'nt say anything about disinfecting laundry.
i inquired about this to Lysol, they said they DO NOT make a product that disinfects laundry.
so white vinegar and borax will have to suffice!
just thought i would let you know this bit of info.
Post by SouthernSpitfire
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Is the heat of a clothes dryer hot enough to act as a disinfectant to kill most common household germs?
My Mom used to say that it isn't healthy to be too clean -- your body should be able to handle most germs as long as your health is good. She also made sure that we would wash our hands thoroughly and practice basic hygiene.
Post by mkymlp
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Hi! Plain old white vinegar is a good disinfectant for many things, and works wonders in the laundry. You can also use borax or Borateem, too, as these are meant to be used in the laundry. All of these are much better for your clothes, and vinegar actually helps soften them.
Post By Kay (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Is your hot water set hot enough to kill bacteria in the hot water tank (120 F, I think)? If it is, then just washing in hot water will do it.
Post By Kathy K. (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
I use borax..you can find it in the laundry department of your grocer
Post By johnsonya (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
What do you mean 'disinfect'? What is your linen infected with? The only way to sterilise linen is to wrap it and put it through an autoclave or irradiate it! But why would you want to. A good soak, a hot wash and sunlight should be quite enough to cleanse laundry - even with body fluid type accidents on it. Wash as soon as soiled before it dries to avoid staining.
Regards
Jo
Post by Jo Bodey
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
I use about a half cup of witch hazel, with 3 drops of lavendar and 3 drops geranium essential oils. Works for me. Good luck to you and yours.
Post by Suzanne S.
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
I use Lysol disenfectant all the time for 'accidents' that my toddler has. It's suppose to kill 99+% of germs. I run a small load with probably a cup of the lysol and then run the clothes through a normal load to get rid of any lingering smell.
Post By Ann4 (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
Add Lysol to the wash and rinse a couple of times to remove the smell.
A nurse told me to do this to bed linens and towels after the family had a particularly nasty stomach virus. My mom also used Lysol on baby diapers and wash cloths way back before disposables were invented.
Post By Christine (Guest Post)
RE: Disinfectant For Laundry Other Than Bleach
i worked at a day care .we used liquid lysol . we used it when ever one of the little ones had any type of an illness. worked fine
Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)
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