Is there a way to disinfect laundry without using chlorine bleach, which is too hard on some white fabrics and cannot be used on colors?
Sharon from FL
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. (01/15/2005)
By Christine
I use about a half cup of witch hazel, with 3 drops of lavender and 3 drops geranium essential oils. Works for me. Good luck to you and yours. (01/15/2005)
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.
(01/15/2005)
By Jo Bodey
I use borax. You can find it in the laundry department of your grocer. (01/15/2005)
By johnsonya
Plain old white vinegar is a good disinfectant for many things, and works wonders in the laundry. You can also use borax or Borateam, 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. (01/16/2005)
By Kay
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. (01/16/2005)
By it's.only.me
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 overflowed. To keep the water at a bare minimum and keep the plumbers from tracking water everywhere I put down towels.
Pine-sol is safe for laundry (says on bottle) and I have used it to deodorize 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? (03/30/2006)
By Kelly
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 laundromat. 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. (05/02/2006)
By Missy
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! (08/22/2006)
By Kelly
Pine-sol bottle does not say if you can use it for laundry. (09/02/2006)
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. (12/22/2006)
By Luke
Here's a link to some advice: cahe.nmsu.edu
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 poultry supply houses. The following liquid chlorine bleaches are available in grocery stores: Clorox, King (liquid) Bleach, and Purex.
Check local supermarkets or drugstores for "house brand" products, too." (01/13/2007)
By Scott
Here's 2 options: 1) Sunlight UV light kills most germs and viruses. Simply hang clothes on the line like they did in you grandmother's time. You'll not only kill germs, but you'll save electricity too!
* Sunlight works best on whites and light colors.
(Why do you think we say sunlight *bleaches* our hair?)
Sunshine and fresh air, so simple and 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.
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, and MRSAs (resistant staph).
GSE also comes in a stronger solution called "Citricidal". Citricidal is sold to hospitals and 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 and online.
Here's more info about GSE and it's uses:
pureliquidgold.com
AND
pureliquidgold.com (05/06/2007)
By Cyinda
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. The salesman also said one line of machines sanitizes every load with cold water. The washer is stainless steel inside. (08/17/2007)
By Karen
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 absorbent towels, and has been reported to cause a rash. So only use Basic G on nonporous surfaces. (04/17/2008)
By Kirstie
Products such as chlorine bleach, Lysol, and PineSol are very toxic. They should really never be used. These products contain chemical toxins and are very toxic to people especially little ones. What we wash our clothes and linens in we are breathing in all day long. These are just some of the toxic products we are able to avoid. Think about infants lying on these sheets on their stomachs breathing in the fumes from these products, including dryer sheets many hours a day. Horrible. The only thing I have found is peroxide which can be used on a variety of materials.
Use natural "safe" products, not what the big companies claim to be natural and safe. Very few germs need to be erased with bleach and the other poisons. (05/04/2010)
By Summer
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