I know that bleach can disinfect whites, but how can I disinfect my colors? I looked at Clorox 2 but it says it doesn't disinfect just brightens. What do you think about Borax? Will that disinfect colors?
2007-09-27 13:09:58 · 6 answers · asked by delia 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Cleaning & Laundry
On a microbial level, hot water doesn't kill germs. BOILING WATER KILLS GERMS. Unfortunately, your washing machine does not boil water. The germs scoff at your "Hot water" setting. Bleach will disinfect your laundry, but it can eat your clothes if you use too much of it (even if it is color-safe).
To clean clothes effectively, all you need is water and soap. I don't even use hot water. It's a waste of gas. If you put in a bit of color-safe bleach, you are going to disinfect the laundry. That's all you need.
I use Borax on whites because it really does brighten them up. It's safe on colors, but it doesn't really serve any purpose. When whites fade, they're still white. Borax cleans, so it removes the dirt that makes the whites turn gray. When colors fade, they just get lighter. Borax can't prevent that. In time, they all fade.
You could just use Borax to clean your clothes. I think it's a little bit expensive to do that.
2007-09-27 20:41:10 · answer #1 · answered by DA 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The question is, why do you want to do that? If you dealing with someone who is immunodepressant, then you might have a valid reason, otherwise, there isn't really a good reason too. When you use antibacterial products, you get rid of all the bacteria, and that is not good. You want the good bacteria, and you want it to be displacing the bad bacteria. Also, bad bacteria are a very small percentage of germs, very very very small.
The other bad news is that it is impossible to get rid of all the germs, unless you decide to autoclave (pressure cook) your clothes in an aseptic (no germ) room, not touch them ever, and then you'd have to be germ free. There is no way to make them germ free, and I can guarantee that borax won't do it.
Anywho, if you really want a good disinfectant, hang your clothes in the sun. The UV rays kill the bacteria and you'll be the only contaminant with the germs on your skin (yes, you have lots of good and a few bad germs on your skin, the good ones keep you healthy).
2007-09-27 13:27:33 · answer #2 · answered by Miss Vida 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Does Borax Kill Germs
2017-01-16 14:19:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree with Kingsley, hot water will kill the germs and so will a hot dryer. My new front loading washer actually has a sanitize setting and it uses super hot water in the wash cycle. If you're really worried about germs maybe you should look into the new washers and dryers out on the market now.
Good Luck!
2007-09-27 17:55:02 · answer #4 · answered by bluidangel76 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The washing and drying process will kill any germs...
2007-09-28 01:12:02 · answer #5 · answered by Backwoods Barbie 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
plain old hot water kills germs.
2007-09-27 14:47:32 · answer #6 · answered by kingsley 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋