Washing Clothes That Might Be Contaminated With Coronavirus: A Guide

Your clothes are unlikely to carry the novel coronavirus unless you have been in a space that was contaminated or around a person who was carrying it.

Places that are crowded are likely to be hotbeds for the virus—this includes grocery stores, hospitals, etc.

 

And if you’re a medical professional who stays in the hospital all day and is surrounded by infected people, you need to disinfect your clothes before you sit down with your family after work. This also holds true for essential workers like police officers, grocery store staff, paramedics, nurses, and anyone who spends their day interacting with people.

The following are some tips that will prevent the virus from entering your home through your clothes:

Keep Your Work Clothes At Work

The scrubs you wear during your shift shouldn’t be brought home under any circumstances. It would be best if you left them at the hospital to be disinfected by the hospital staff.

As soon as you’re done with your shift, change into a fresh pair of clothes or scrubs and then leave the hospital.

Once you reach home, put your shoes away—removed from everybody else’s. The scrubs, or any other second layer of clothing that you wore while leaving the hospital, should be taken off outside the house and carried in a plastic bag directly into your laundry room.

Use A Household Detergent

Everything you carry with you to and from work might be contaminated. This means your ID card, phone, and stethoscope should either be left at the hospital or disinfected as soon as you reach home.

When you start to wash your clothes, remember to use a mild detergent with bleach, if your clothes allow it.

Choose The Warmest Setting Possible

Viruses can’t survive on your clothes at high temperatures. Hence, when you’re tumbling them in your washing machine, you should turn the setting up to 140 to 194° Fahrenheit.

Wear Gloves

You should wear gloves while washing your scrubs and work clothes. It would be best if you then wash your hands with warm water and soap once you’re done washing your clothes and have removed the gloves. You should not touch your face throughout the process.

 

If you need a dry cleaning service in New York, you can get in touch with our experts at NY Organic Dry Cleaners. We provide a range of laundering services, including dry cleaning, wash and fold, alterations, shirt laundry, and pick up and drop services in New York. You can visit our website to learn more about us!