Many people wonder about bed bugs. Lice. Or whatever else other people’s laundry could be infecting their washing machine with. These are all valid points. Nobody wants to share bugs. So how do you ensure you’re keeping your washer clean and ready to use for your own family? First, let’s dig into the problem a little more:
It’s a fact that laundry isn’t even as clean as it used to be! It’s not just us worrying that mom did laundry better, she actually did it cleaner too. In recent years, we have changed our washing habits to use cooler water and cooler drying in order to preserve fabrics. Detergents have been developed to accommodate washing in these cooler conditions. However, germs and bugs still need that hot water and hot air to kill them all the way dead. Another thing mom might have done? Hung the clothes outside in the sun where the UV rays destroyed any viruses or bacteria that were still lingering on the clothes.
Today, many neighborhoods have covenants preventing line drying, or maybe you just don’t have the space. When dealing with purely white linens, bleach will do the trick to make sure everything is completely sanitized. But the care instructions of many white clothes today say not to use bleach to preserve the life of the garment. What is to be done?
Londr recommends that our washers use rubber gloves to handle unwashed laundry items, and at the very least I always wash my hands thoroughly after handling a customer’s unwashed items. Another good idea when handling pre-wash items, is moving them directly from the bag to the wash bin. Then, either throw away the plastic bags, or add the Londr bag to the wash too. So then what about sanitizing the wash, and keeping the washing machine clean?
Once, when my kids came down with a stomach bug, it cycled through all the members of my family despite our best efforts. We dutifully and immediately washed any soiled linens or clothes, and were vigilant to clean and sanitize. Then, after a week of vigilance, it went through the family AGAIN! We were using our fancy washing machine’s “sanitize” cycle, and our washer had its own heating element to get the water super-hot and everything. As it turned out though, even though we were washing with good detergent in hot water, it was the laundry that was spreading and reinfecting us with the bug.
My sister, a mother of six children and a couple of dogs, suggested we use Lysol Laundry Sanitizer. It’s 100% color safe, has a nice scent, and is super-easy to use: You just pour it in the softener compartment, or during the rinse cycle depending on your washing machine. Within a day of washing things using laundry sanitizer, the stomach bug stopped completely, and my family was back to being healthy.
Lysol Laundry Sanitizer is not a sponsor of Londr, but we recommend it because it works. Whenever I do someone else’s laundry, I pour in a cup and don’t worry about my machine, or touching the laundry after it comes out of the wash. My customers love the smell, and I have peace of mind knowing that my wash room is even cleaner than mom had hers.