Thread Number: 77788
/ Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
Is it really necessary to sanitize towels every wash? |
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Post# 1018242 , Reply# 1   12/17/2018 at 01:22 (1,928 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Post# 1018244 , Reply# 2   12/17/2018 at 01:48 (1,928 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)   |   | |
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Post# 1018262 , Reply# 3   12/17/2018 at 10:05 (1,928 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 1018269 , Reply# 4   12/17/2018 at 11:41 (1,928 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )   |   | |
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And high heat in the dryer and they should be fine. |
Post# 1018272 , Reply# 5   12/17/2018 at 12:00 (1,928 days old) by Iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas)   |   | |
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Post# 1018308 , Reply# 7   12/17/2018 at 15:28 (1,928 days old) by Iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas)   |   | |
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However, I will remain with the majority decision; than unless there is some known contagion; a sanitize wash is usually not warranted for every load.
As for STDs, other than crabs, most are not transmitted by toilet seats, towels, or underwear. That's why they are known as sexually transmitted diseases. But, hey, I'm OCD enough that I wash all my dishes on Sanitize, because I like having the feeling that I killed the little boogers. Just not sure my towels always deserve a boil wash, but I do also love LCB. Chlorine is your friend is what I always say. |
Post# 1018311 , Reply# 8   12/17/2018 at 15:47 (1,928 days old) by IowaBear (Cedar Rapids, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 1018314 , Reply# 9   12/17/2018 at 16:17 (1,928 days old) by jerrod6 (Southeastern Pennsylvania)   |   | |
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If you are using the normal cycle are you sure you have hot water in the tub? The normal cycle is used to measure energy efficiency, but sometimes it gets to be efficient because cool water is being used or spins between the rinses, or only one rinse is being used. |
Post# 1018318 , Reply# 10   12/17/2018 at 16:58 (1,928 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Jerrod is reinforcing what I'm about to say. I suggested Whites cycle because it has a hotter hot temperature than Normal. Normal is the energy star rated cycle. Select whites with the heaviest soil level to allow more time for water heating. also, use your Allergene cycle, that may be hotter than Whites. It is on my machine. But I also use Santize temperatures when dealing with cleaning rags, kitchen towels, kitchen dish cloths, and terry cloth napkins that have food residue on them.
I even wash my dark towels in hot water. when I use my normal cycle, I always select hot because it uses so little water it doesn't maintain the hot temp for very long. |
Post# 1018331 , Reply# 12   12/17/2018 at 18:48 (1,928 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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The temperature drops because the heater isn't being engaged to maintain water temperature. That's common with "normal" cycles. If you want water temperature to be maintained, you'll have to use the steam option to energize the heater. On my Normal/Casual, with steam, the hottest it gets is about 120. Without steam, Whites gets to 125-127. Allergene 131-133. Sanitize 153-155. All on heaviest soil level. Does your model have a Heavy Duty cycle? If so, see if hot water temperature is maintained.
This post was last edited 12/17/2018 at 19:10 |
Post# 1018354 , Reply# 14   12/17/2018 at 20:28 (1,928 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)   |   | |
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Jeff, great job putting things in perspective with your words of wisdom. Unless there is an infectious disease outbreak in the home, washing in normal hot water as it comes from the tap with a good detergent should be adequete to clean towels.
I have to agree with you, there is an obsession with the iradication of germs in our country. And at the same time many people are careless with their general housekeeping, If you keep the dirt you can see in check, by regular house cleaning and doing your laundry, chances are you are good to go, and have little to worry about illness due to bacterial infection. And just as you wisely pointed out, you will also develop immunities to normally present germs and bacteria. Eddie |
Post# 1018371 , Reply# 16   12/17/2018 at 22:10 (1,928 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )   |   | |
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Until I was 7 or 8, My Grandmother boiled all the wash cloths, hand towels and dish cloths before she washed them in hot water and bleach,,,She was OBSESSED with cleanliness She scrubbed the finish off our sink and tub with Ajax cleanser! |
Post# 1018372 , Reply# 17   12/17/2018 at 22:12 (1,928 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )   |   | |
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Was a little girl, in the 30s and 40s, Grandmother boiled the clothes in a iron pot in the yard, and until 38 when they got electricity, washed on a board! |
Post# 1018395 , Reply# 22   12/18/2018 at 03:53 (1,927 days old) by mrboilwash (Munich,Germany)   |   | |
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I think from a medical point of view only few serious diseases could be transmitted by insufficiently washed clothes. Still I would be wary if someone in the family suffered of athlet`s foot, yeast infections or had an infected open wound that touched the towels.
I absolutely agree that frequent disinfection in a household environment usually isn`t necessary and can do more harm than good because we need to keep our immune systems busy to stay healthy. But who says my healthy daily intake of germs had to come from sour smelling clothes and towels ? There are countless of other ways of exposure that are more fun ;-) Besides everyone is still entitled to live their very own level of clean to feel good. I feel especially good when I enjoy the luxury of a fresh boil washed towel. |
Post# 1018411 , Reply# 24   12/18/2018 at 08:42 (1,927 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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I use bath towels several times, washcloths not as many repeats. Both are hung to dry over the shower door between uses. My bathroom has a ceiling fan so there's plenty of ventilation. I wipe off (and wring) with a washcloth before finishing with a towel. A family friend brought that trick to attention years ago for getting more mileage out of a bath towel. It helps a lot when there's (male) body hair involved. Anyway ... I wash bath linens, kitchen linens, and (white ankle) socks together. Always in tap-hot water (I don't [yet] have a washer with onboard heating), and with chlorine bleach more often than not. Never have run into an odor. |
Post# 1018433 , Reply# 25   12/18/2018 at 14:17 (1,927 days old) by kb0nes (Burnsville, MN)   |   | |
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Odd, I'm 54 and I have NEVER sanitized a towel ever... I wash and dry them as usual using warm/hot water, decent detergent and allow a 160 deg F dryer to do the rest. I too will even tempt fate and use a towel for several days, I just can't see needlessly wasting the resources. Never had odors or illness that I'd attribute to unsanitary towels.
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Post# 1018438 , Reply# 26   12/18/2018 at 15:14 (1,927 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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Post# 1018441 , Reply# 27   12/18/2018 at 15:58 (1,927 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)   |   | |
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I change our towels once a week, and we hang them to dry between uses. Since I’m retired I usually only shower every other day, and do a sponge bath at the bathroom sink, with a basin full of the hottest water on the off days, and I use a hand towel to dry off with, that is only used for that one time, then washed. We do however only use a wash cloth once, and then wash them with the weekly laundry.
I wash the towels, and just about everything else in tap hot water, with an adequate amount of a good detergent. And of course everything goes into the dryer, and I use high heat for everything. The towels never smell, and neither do I. And in 67+ years I’ve never gotten ill, as far as I’m aware from this routine. And I’ve never, ever let the laundry go more than one week at a time before washing it. If you leave already soiled linens and clothing much beyond that time its going to start growing things that will be a problem, like mildew, mold and the like. I agree with Phil, I can’t see the necessity to waste resources needlessly by only using a towel once. After all, they are being used on an already clean body. Plus, if towels are washed after each use they are going to wear out and fade a lot faster. Eddie |
Post# 1018448 , Reply# 28   12/18/2018 at 17:50 (1,927 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 1018468 , Reply# 29   12/19/2018 at 00:13 (1,927 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN)   |   | |
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Well, ever since I moved out on my own and entered the medical field, I have bought white towels and wash cloths for the express purpose of using Clorox on them. Every time. All white towels, dish towels, wash cloths, socks, underwear, handkerchiefs, etc get bleached in 150F water. Occasionally I will skip the Clorox, use Tide with bleach powder and crank it up to 190F wash. Just my 2 cents worth. Overkill? Probably. But I don't have to worry. My hospital scrubs get washed in 140F. If I've had an isolation patient, I'll pour a little Lysol in the wash. Been doing things this way for over 20 years and have had the same towels for at least 18 years. I just gave a few to my mother and mother-in-law because I'm replacing them with larger bath sheets instead. They were still in great shape. |
Post# 1018587 , Reply# 32   12/20/2018 at 06:02 (1,925 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY)   |   | |
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when I wash colors and some underwear is color (not white), I use ammonia and detergent and the hottest water possible... But with whites, I don't have to use sanitize because I only buy WHITE towels/ wash clothes/hand towels and I bleach them...Some people refuse to use chlorine bleach but I could not live without it. Such a little bit goes a LONG way.....Never a sour smell or anything.
I know that smell you're talking about - drying your hands on a towel and it has mildewed. Growing up at my grandma's- she had no AC, and in the summer her hand towels would get that way..They weren't like that out of the wash....but it took no time for them to get that smell in the summer months and it was gross. It wasn't her laundry habits - they were good. It was just the ultra high summer humidity combined with NO AC. Thinking back on it, I'm not sure how the hell I grew up without AC... Without it now, I'd die! |