Low Temperature Washes Slammed In Reports

The Daily Mail has reported that a report by the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene warns that low temperature washing may not be enough to kill disease causing bacteria from building up in washing machines.

Of course we have been telling people this for years and, if you want the knowledge on how to do the laundry correctly in your washing machines please see these articles for advice.

• Smelly Washing Machines
• Whiter Whites, Brighter Colours – Using Detergents Correctly
• Washing Machine Maintenance Wash

Of course these are just the start of the information on UK Whitegoods but these articles will provide you with key information. You can get more help and support by using our forum from domestic appliance engineers who will offer you the best advice possible.

Professor Sally Bloomfield, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, wants a campaign to educate consumers in laundry hygiene. ‘We need to launder clothing in a way that renders them not just visually clean, but hygienically clean — the two are not the same,’ she says.

Her concerns are backed by a German study on clothes contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, linked to skin and urinary tract infections, as well as pneumonia. Researchers found the only way to eradicate the bacterium was with temperatures of 40c and above combined with a detergent containing bleach.

‘If you work with food and put your uniform in with the rest of the family’s dirty laundry, including dirty underwear, it could become infected with e.coli or salmonella — or whatever else is on those clothes,’ says Dr Lisa Ackerley, a consultant in environmental hygiene. In winter, the norovirus (the vomiting bug) could easily spread through a family via the washing machine if you’re not using a high enough temperature wash.’

Most people are resilient to such infections but but some people such as the elderly and patients recently discharged from hospital, it can cause real problems.

Meanwhile, allergy experts are concerned about the impact of low-temperature washing, as studies show washing at 30˚C or 40˚C kills just 6  per cent of house dust mites, compared with 100 per cent at 60c. This is why we recommend that all bedding, towelling and sheets should be washed at 60˚C or higher to ensure cleanliness.

The report also says that there are also fears that, over time, low-temperature washing could have more serious implications, including the spread of the superbug MRSA.

‘The old-fashioned way of washing clothes was to boil them at 100c.’ says John Oxford, professor of virology at St Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry and chair of the Global Hygiene Council. ‘These days, people are lowering temperatures to 40c or even lower. To be sure of getting rid of faecal bugs, you need to get the temperature back up to 60c.’

Many consumers believe biological detergents are harsher on sensitive skin, but a study published in the British Journal Of Dermatology found little evidence for this. We have yet to see any evidence that either detergents or washing machines cause any skin problems at all other than by way of not laundering correctly.

In terms of temperature, the Hygiene Council recommends, like us, that all clothes, linens and other fabrics should be laundered at a high temperature — i.e., 60c — to be sure bacteria, viruses and dust mites have been destroyed.

It also says if lower temperatures are used (40˚C or less), then a laundry disinfectant should be added — particularly for the laundry of small children or other contaminated items. Dr Ackerley recommends adding Napisan or Dettol disinfectant liquid to a regular detergent. Professor Bloomfield said that if anyone in the household is ill or has poor immunity, it’s important to wash at 60˚C.

Many of us think nothing of throwing our underwear into the machine with the rest of the laundry. In fact, there’s a high risk your undies will harbour bacteria and they should be kept separate from low-risk items, such as skirts and shirts.

Instead, your underwear should have a high-temperature machine wash to itself or be cleaned with towels and sheets, agree experts.

A study by Hygiene Audit Systems found living bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and E.coli, on 83 per cent of laundered underwear samples.

Of the samples tested, 89% had been washed at temperatures of 40˚C or lower. Dr Lisa Ackerley, who carried out the study, says: ‘Washing underwear separately and at a high temperature is even more important if the wearer is ill or suffering from an infection,’ she says. ‘Some organisms secreted by the body when a person is ill are infectious even in low doses.’

‘A washing machine that is only ever run at low temperatures will be heaving with mould and bacteria’ which can lead to bad smells or odours (Smelly Washing Machines) and a build up of mildew or mould on the door seal  is a dead giveaway that you’re doing something wrong.

You cannot wash underwear with household items such as tea towels, as if Staphylococcus aureus and e.coli are present they will be transferred to your cloths and then onto kitchen utensils. Obviously this could lead to a spread of disease.

Bathroom and kitchen-related items should each have their own hot wash cycle, says Dr Ackerley. And wash baby clothing separately from any high-risk items.

‘Babies have a lower immune system and are more susceptible to bacterial or fungal infections, which could easily be transferred during a low-temperature wash.’

The latest green alternative to detergent is ‘laundry balls’, which contain pellets of minerals. But do they clean clothes hygienically?

Simeon Van Der Molen, managing director of Ecozone, which produces Ecoballs, says: ‘They are a natural, alternative product for everyday, lightly-soiled, clothing.

‘Most of their ingredients are similar to what you will find in a laundry detergent, but without the harsher chemical ones. But the results are far below what you’d get with something like Persil because of the enzymes and the technology that has gone into that product. If someone is ill in the house, we would say, regardless of the product, do all washes at 60˚C — this will kill most bacteria.’

In other words, in answer to the queston asked by the Daily Mail, no they don’t work. Which ties up with our research and that of detergent manufacturers and independent labs that all say the same thing about these ecoball products and soapnuts, they don’t work.

To put this in perspective, “lightly soiled” clothing as it is known in the industry is considered to be “worn once, not next to skin”. Quick wash programs and light detergents used for lightly soiled garments are not suitable for a normal wash if you want to get things clean, they are more for refreshing clothes. More information on fast washes, which are not full washes is available here. While many manufacturers race to have the fastest wash cycle available they fail to explain to people the implications of using these incredibly short wash cycles.

Experts also urge people to clean the washing machine, amid concern that low temperatures and detergents without bleach are taking their toll on the machines and you can find out how to do just that from the link above for a washing machine maintenance wash.

Dr Ackerley explains: ‘A washing machine that is only ever run at low temperatures will be heaving with mould and bacteria. Most manufacturers recommend carry out a weekly or monthly very hot wash to clean the machine out. I regularly wash my white towels at 95c to give the machine a good clean and reduce the bacteria load.’

Andy Trigg of Washerhelp adds that ‘dirty machines’ have only become a problem since the launch of liquid detergents in the mid-Nineties.

‘Liquid detergent doesn’t contain bleaching agents,’ he says. ‘And it is these bleaching agents that help keep the washing machine free from bacteria and black mould. A maintenance wash is particularly important if you mostly use low-temperature washes and or liquid, or colour-friendly, detergent. Once a month, put the washing machine on the hottest wash with a bleach-based detergent. Cleaning the detergent drawer and the rubber ring also reduce problems.’ This is a maintenance wash.

The Hygiene Council added that: ‘It is important that all household cloths are cleaned on a regular basis by either disinfecting, boiling or placing them in a hot wash in the washing machine at a minimum temperature of 60c and then ensuring they are dried properly after each use.’