Whether there are lightly soiled loads or heavily soiled loads, cleanliness of washing machines (empty machine) should be properly maintained. Anyhow, cleanliness doesn’t mean to be simply wiping up or washing the inner or outer parts of the washers, rather it aims at sanitizing (disinfecting) washing parts of the machine which comes in contact with load or water used to clean the load. This is important in order to ensure hygienic level of washing machine upto the optimum during its use.
Considering the laundering process, it is crucial to be able to control the transmission of infections also in domestic environments. Inactivating or removing microorganisms from laundry load achieved by means of temperature, detergents or mechanical action. Whenever a sufficient level of hygiene must be guaranteed, laundering at higher temperatures (e.g. 60°C) and the use of sanitising agent is recommended. This is especially important in critical cases such as acute infections or if special risk groups are concerned (i.e. items used by pets or from livestock industry etc.). Therefore, the trend towards lower washing temperatures in the attempt of saving energy costs can weaken the microbial reduction during laundering and thus must be observed carefully. Lower temperatures might at least partly be compensated by the wise use of antimicrobial agents. Still, if a particularly high antimicrobial efficacy is required, especially concerning immunocompromised persons, low temperatures and short durations of the washing cycle might not deliver a sufficient antimicrobial effect on the laundry load, even when sanitising agent is used.
When washing highly soiled items, it is safe to wash such loads separately while following the given precautions for soiled items:
- Firstly, remove the visible dirt.
- Secondly, soak to sanitize.
- Thirdly, hand wash before putting it in the machine.
- For regular washing of highly soiled loads, a separate washing machine is suggested.
Then, use the hottest water wash cycle, add half a cup of bleach i.e. colour safe bleach for dyed fabrics and chlorine bleach for white beddings in order to sanitise during wash too. Hottest drying cycle can also help in reducing numbers.
Lightly soiled can be washed according to their normal requirement of wash plus adding half a cup of bleach i.e. colour safe bleach for dyed fabrics and chlorine bleach for white beddings in order to sanitise during wash.