Health

Ditch Laundry Detergent & Hot Water for Ozone

Is washing your clothes with laundry detergent really cleaning and disinfecting your clothes? Does hot water in a rinse cycle kill germs and viruses? Short Answer: No.

Here’s the longer answer:

Since the rapid spread of COVID-19, the eradication of harmful germs, bacteria, and viruses is a priority for millions across the country. Washing your clothes with the standard laundry detergent does somewhat clean your clothes, however, it doesn’t disinfect them.

The CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] defines cleaning vs disinfecting:

“Cleaning refers to the removal of germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces. Cleaning does not kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection.
Disinfecting refers to using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs on a surface after cleaning, it can further lower the risk of spreading infection”

You might be thinking, “What if I put more detergent in the wash with my dirty clothes?”

Well, according to Time Magazine, “doubling on detergent isn’t the answer, doing so will only trap bacteria and viruses. Washing machines are designed to only break down so much detergent in a cycle. Laundry detergent does a good job cleaning your clothes and making them smell nice but in hindsight, your clothes could still contain harmful germs, bacteria, and other viruses.

It’s commonly known that hot water can kill germs too. According to Medical News Today, “The WHO [World Health Organization] recommends water temperatures between 60–90°C (140–194°F),” however, washing your clothes with the recommended temperatures to kill viruses could ruin your clothes and washing machine. Furthermore, most residential water heaters can’t continuously produce the same temperature of hot water required to kill the germs over a period of time. On top of that, water loses its’ temperature by 10 degrees from the time it leaves the heater to when it gets to the washer. Here’s an excerpt straight from the article that is interesting and important to keep in mind, especially during this pandemic,

“’If you’re washing that sick person’s underwear with your own, chances are very good that his sickness-causing organisms are going to make their way onto your clothing. We’ve found that one germy item in the washer will spread to 90% of the other items,’ Reynolds says [Kelly Reynolds, is a germ researcher and associate professor of environmental health at the University of Arizona]. And no, it doesn’t matter how hot you set the water temperature on your machine. ‘When it comes to molds that cause skin or respiratory infections, or organisms that cause colds, flu and stomach flu, most of them will survive the wash cycle,’ she says.”

With all this information in mind, Blue Marble Water Solutions offers an eco-friendly residential and commercial laundry system that is specifically designed to produce soft, clean, fresh-scented laundry without bleach, detergents, hot water, or fabric softener. At the same time, it disinfects your clothes and washer on every rinse cycle. Naturally, washing machines are the perfect place for bacteria and funguses to spread. The Oxidize It disinfects and cleans your laundry and the washing machine by converting water into O3 OZONE which is an all-natural powerful non-toxic oxidizing cleansing agent. To learn more about how this system works or how you can get one, feel free to visit our website or contact us directly today! Our goal is to help our customers with the purification of the air and water in their homes and businesses.