The new coronavirus continues to spread, and people continue to ask questions and try to be careful, to clean and disinfect houses and things in them.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that COVID-19 is more often and faster transmitted by airborne droplets (from sneezing or coughing an infected person) rather than through objects and materials that the patient has touched.
At the same time, experts from the same center also note that the virus can remain viable for several hours or even days on surfaces made of various materials, including clothing.
Although scientists have studied how long a new coronavirus can survive on cardboard, plastic and steel, the question of the virus on the tissue still remains open.
The material has a reference function! Before using any tools or services, you must consult a specialist!
Can a virus stay on clothes?
Infectious Diseases Specialist Amesh A. Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Health Safety Center in Maryland believes the virus can remain viable for several hours, or even days, in clothing.
At the same time, he does not believe that clothes can play the role of the "main means of distribution" of the new coronavirus.
But it is better to be careful. What can you do to reduce the risk of coronavirus exposure to clothing?
How often should you wash your clothes?
If no one in your family tests positive for the new coronavirus and no one has any symptoms, you can clean and wash your clothes as usual.
But if you were in a store or other public places, especially if the people around you did not adhere to strict rules (keep a distance, for example), it is best to wash clothes in the machine after returning home.
Studies by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases show that some viruses can remain active for two or three days on plastic and stainless steel, as well as 24 hours.
Zippers on clothes, buttons, and other details on clothes can be made from these materials and, therefore, can bring a virus to your home.
And if a sick person wore clothes?
If any of your family members has become infected with COVID-19 or if you suspect infection, you should take extra precautions when washing his clothes, as well as the towels and bedding they came in contact with.
Specialists from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommend:
1. Wear disposable gloves when working with dirty linen from a sick person. Gloves should be discarded immediately after use.
2. Wash hands as soon as gloves are removed.
3. Do not shake dirty laundry, otherwise you can scatter the virus through the air.
How to wash clothes
- Things must be washed, following the instructions on the labels, and always warm water.
- You can wash clothes of other family members, as washing powders kill the virus.
· Laundry baskets should be cleaned and disinfected after contact with the patient's things.
· Additionally, you can wipe metal and plastic parts on clothing with an alcohol solution or hydrogen peroxide. It will also be very useful for you to learn about
· If this or that thing is categorically impossible to heat-treat, and even more so to wash, then they can be folded into a plastic bag, which then should be properly closed and left for two to three weeks - enough time for the virus to die.
For example, you can handle shoes this way.
Can I wash it by hand?
There are no specific recommendations that would prohibit washing your clothes by hand. However, when using a washing machine, the temperature should be much higher than usual - this is one of the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention regarding washing in the washing machine.
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