Disinfecting clothes: How to prevent COVID-19

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, health organizations around the globe continue to highlight the importance of physical distancing, hand washing, and disinfecting everyday items, such as clothes.

COVID-19 is the disease that the virus SARS-CoV-2 causes. “Co” refers to corona, “vi” to virus, “d” to disease, and 19 to the year 2019.

Although it is still unclear how long SARS-CoV-2 can survive on clothing, experts recommend caution when laundering clothes and other textiles. Taking extra care is especially important for those living with someone who has a suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and those who have it themselves.

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Keep reading to learn more about why disinfection is an important safety measure. We also provide guidance on laundering clothing.

Why is disinfection important?

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Cleaning and disinfecting are different processes.

Cleaning involves removing dirt and germs from surfaces. While cleaning may lower the risk of spreading infectious agents, such as viruses and bacteria, it does not kill them.

Disinfection requires the use of chemicals that kill germs. Disinfecting hard surfaces and textiles after cleaning them can further reduce the risk of spreading infections.

Public health authorities, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have said that SARS-CoV-2 spreads from person to person through indirect and direct contact with respiratory droplets that contain the virus.

Precautions, such as physical distancing, quarantining, and self-isolating, can help reduce the risk of direct transmission. However, respiratory droplets can fall on objects and surfaces. The SARS-CoV-2 can enter a person’s body if they touch these surfaces and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth.

Studies suggest that human coronaviruses, such as those responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), can remain on metal, glass, and plastic surfaces for up to 9 days.

Although current research findings and guidance from public health authorities provide insight on how to reduce viral transmission on surfaces, the same is not true for clothing and other textiles.

The authors of a study featuring in The Lancet Microbe reported that SARS-CoV-2 is more stable on smooth surfaces, such as glass or metal.

The authors reported that the virus remained infectious for 3–7 days on glass, stainless steel, and plastic surfaces, and less than 2 days on wood and cloth. Their findings also suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is highly sensitive to heat. After increasing the temperature to 70°C (158°F), the virus became inactive within 5 minutes.

Disinfecting surfaces with 0.1% sodium hypochlorite (bleach), 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, or 62–71% ethanol effectively inactivates most coronaviruses, rendering them no longer infectious.

Practicing proper hand hygiene and disinfection protocols at home and in public can help lower the risk of indirect transmission.

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How to disinfect clothes

In this section, we cover a few basic guidelines for preventing the spread of COVID-19 while doing laundry.

Doing laundry at home

• Launder items with laundry soap or household detergent. Consider using a detergent that contains bleach. However, be sure to read the product description and guidelines to avoid potentially ruining certain clothing items. Consider soaking clothes in a solution containing quaternary ammonium before washing them.
• Choose the warmest available water setting. The WHO recommend water temperatures between 60–90°C (140–194°F). However, high temperatures can damage or shrink delicate clothing items, so remember to read the care labels.
• Dry clothing completely.
• Disinfect laundry baskets with 0.1% sodium hypochlorite or one of these household disinfectants, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have approved.
• Wear gloves when doing laundry. Wash the hands with warm water and soap immediately after removing the gloves. If gloves are not available, wash the hands immediately after handling dirty clothing and avoid touching the face.

Doing laundry at a laundromat

Not everyone has a washing machine in their home. However, those who use laundry facilities can still follow the guidelines that we have listed above.

In addition, consider the following precautions when doing laundry in a public place:

• Maintain a 6-foot (2-meter) distance from other people.
• Wear disposable gloves and avoid touching the face.
• Disinfect the surfaces of the washer and dryer.
• Fold the laundry at home.
• At home, immediately wash the hands before folding the laundry.
• Disinfect the laundry basket or consider using disposable laundry bags.

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Summary

It is still unclear how long infectious SARS-CoV-2 viruses can stay on different clothing materials.

Current research suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus cannot withstand temperatures at or above 70°C (158°F).

Using household disinfectants, such as bleach, may also help inactivate viruses. However, it is important to exercise caution when adding bleach to a load of laundry, as it can damage colored items. People may wish to look for color-safe bleach products to prevent this from occurring.

Context

Safely managed water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services are an essential part of preventing and protecting human health during infectious disease outbreaks, including the current COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most cost-effective strategies for increasing pandemic preparedness, especially in resource-constrained settings, is investing in core public health infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems. Good WASH and waste management practices, that are consistently applied, serve as barriers to human-to-human transmission of the COVID-19 virus in homes, communities, health care facilities, schools, and other public spaces.

Safely managed WASH services are also critical during the recovery phase of a disease outbreak to mitigate secondary impacts on community livelihoods and wellbeing. These secondary impacts—which could include disruptions to supply chains, inability to pay bills, or panic-buying—have negative impacts on the continuity and quality of water and sanitation services, the ability of affected households to access and pay for WASH services and products (for instance, soap, point of use water treatment or menstrual hygiene products) and the ability of schools, workplaces and other public spaces to maintain effective hygiene protocols when they re-open. If not managed, secondary impacts can increase the risk of further spreading water borne diseases, including potential disease outbreaks such as cholera, particularly where the disease is endemic.

According to a WHO/UNICEF technical brief on WASH and waste management for COVID-19:

• Frequent and proper hand hygiene is one of the most important measures that can be used to prevent infection with the COVID-19 virus. WASH services should enable more frequent and regular hand hygiene by improving facilities and using proven behavior change techniques.

• WHO guidance on the safe management of drinking water and sanitation services applies to the COVID-19 outbreak. Measures that go above and beyond these recommendations are not needed.

• Many co-benefits will be realized by safely managing WASH services and applying good hygiene practices. Such efforts will prevent other infectious diseases, which cause millions of deaths each year.

Beyond the human tragedy, devastating economics impacts are anticipated in all countries and for the most vulnerable and marginalized people in society. Human and economic costs are likely to be larger for Fragile, Conflict, and Violence (FCV)-affected countries and lower and middle-income countries, that generally have limited coverage and capacity of water supply and sanitation systems, lower health care capacity, larger informal sectors, shallower financial markets, limited fiscal space, and poorer governance. As such, for all interventions it will be especially important to target FCV-affected countries—home to about two-thirds of the world’s extreme poor. While it is too early and with too many variables to quantify the economic costs of the pandemic, the costs of inaction would be catastrophic.

Priority Areas

Action in the WASH sector is therefore critical for both containing the virus and lowering its immediate impact and aftermath. Three priority areas are identified as part of the emergency response:

1. Safe WASH services in health care facilities (HCFs) to deliver quality health services; protect patients, health workers, and staff; and to prevent further transmission. The WASH in Health Care Facilities Global Baseline Report (JMP, 2019) highlighted that one in four HCFs lacks basic water service (affecting more than 900 million people), one in five HCFs has no sanitation service (affecting about 1.5 billion people), and one in six HCFs has no hygiene service. During an infectious disease outbreak, services should meet minimum quality standards and should be separated for infected vs. non-infected patients. Support should ensure services are not disrupted and products such as soap and alcohol-based hand rubs are available. These services should also be available in temporary HCFs and quarantine sites.

2. Improving handwashing behavior, food hygiene, and safe water practices. Materials for handwashing and hygiene may include provision of fixed and portable handwashing facilities, purchase of soap and alcohol-based hand rubs, provision of water supplies for handwashing, and point of use water treatment. Schools, workplaces, markets, transport stations, and other areas where people gather all require easy access to handwashing facilities and water and soap for handwashing. Proven behavior change techniques can help increase the frequency and improve the practice of critical hygiene behaviors. Resources such as the Global Handwashing Partnership can be tapped to mobilize private, public, and civil society actors to support developing messaging and materials to respond to COVID-19 outbreaks in country.

3. Emergency support to secure and extend water and sanitation service provision, including:

• Rapid and low-cost water service and sanitation provision for communities, health care facilities, and schools is critical to enable handwashing, hygiene, and disinfection. According to UN Habitat, COVID-19 will hit the world’s most vulnerable people the most, many of whom live in informal settlements and rural community settings. Providing quick, just-in-time community water access points/water kiosks (including provision of soap) in unserved urban and rural areas, and for unserved HCFs and schools is critical. This could include: (i) provision and operation of compact water treatment plants; (ii) construction and operation of water points and sanitation facilities to deliver water in strategic urban or rural points; and/or (iii) provision and operation of trucks for water delivery (bottled, sachets) and water tankers, including adequate water storage to service operators.

• Support to water supply and sanitation (WSS) service providers to prepare emergency plans and ensure continuity of service delivery through inter alia: provision of water treatment chemicals and spare parts, availability of fuel for pumps and treatment, maintaining staffing levels, providing protective equipment for utility staff and salary supplements to compensate for the additional work-loads.

WASH Interventions for An Effective COVID-19 Pandemic Response

To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Water Global Practice has developed a menu of solutions, including concrete actions to help our client governments in their preparedness and emergency response, and future resilience to similar epidemics.

Preparedness and emergency response: Support affected, at-risk and low-capacity countries to secure Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in health facilities and communities.

1. Safe water supply, sanitation and hygiene services and medical waste management in health care facilities are essential to deliver quality health services, protect patients, health workers and staff, and to prevent further transmission. During an infectious disease outbreak, services should meet minimum quality standards and be separated for infected vs. non-infected patients. Support is required to ensure that services are not disrupted and products such as soap and alcohol-based hand rubs are available. Temporary health care facilities and quarantine sites also need to provide these services.

2. Communication and preparedness related to handwashing behavior change and promotion, food hygiene and safe water practices. Materials for handwashing and hygiene may include the provision of fixed and portable handwashing facilities, purchasing of soap and alcohol-based hand rubs, provision of water supplies for handwashing and point of use water treatment. Schools, workplaces, markets, transport stations and other areas where people gather all require easy access to water and soap for handwashing. Proven behavior change techniques can help increase the frequency and improve the practice of critical hygiene behaviors. Resources such as the Global Handwashing Partnership can be tapped to mobilize private, public and civil society actors to support the development of messaging and materials to respond to COVID-19 outbreaks in various countries.

3. Rapid, low-cost water service provision for communities, health care facilities and schools that currently lack access to a reliable and safe water supply is critical to enable handwashing, hygiene and disinfection. Providing quick, just-in-time community water access points/water kiosks (potentially including provision of soap) in unserved urban and rural areas, and for unserved health care facilities and schools. This would include: (i) provision and operation of compact water treatment plants; (ii) construction and operation of water points to deliver water in strategic urban or rural points; (iii) provision and operation of trucks for water delivery (bottled, sachets) and water tankers, including adequate water storage to service operators.

4. Emergency support to water and sanitation utilities to ensure the continuity of water supplies, enhanced monitoring, staffing levels and spare parts. Additional emergency measures include ensuring that water utility staff have protective equipment, priority for testing, and salary supplements to compensate for the additional workload and risk.

5. Emergency response to Fragility, Conflict, and Violence countries: The main principle of an emergency WASH response is to ensure the consideration of water supply, sanitation and hygiene factors at the site selection and planning stages, while also coordinating the response closely with physical planning, public health and environmental stakeholders.  The response must adhere to the multi-sectoral needs assessment for refugee emergencies (NARE), followed by a more detailed initial WASH rapid assessment of local WASH-related resources in relation to the need/demand.2 This includes an assessment of water resources (quantity and quality) for water sources and distribution options.

Mitigating secondary impacts: WASH services and products are essential for well-functioning health care facilities and to avoid disrupting community livelihoods and wellbeing.

1. Financial support to water and sanitation utilities to monitor and support cash reserves, the availability of water and wastewater treatment chemicals, the availability of electricity fuel for pumping and treating water, staffing levels and routine/capital maintenance.

2. Providing technical assistance to governments to strengthen country systems including: (i) ‘agile’ service delivery mechanisms that may turn to local private sector entities to deliver safe water through ‘turnkey’ solutions under design-build-operate (DBO) contracts; (ii) enhanced water quality assurance/monitoring; (iii) preparation of utility emergency plans (absenteeism may be a serious risk); (iv) safely managing wastewater and fecal sludge; (v) emptying latrines and safely disposing excreta; (vi) monitoring secondary impacts.

3. Financial support to beneficiaries to ensure the continuity of WASH services including financing for fee waivers to mitigate service disruption for households and institutions (schools, health care centers, government agencies, etc.). Ensure funding for WASH services and related products (soap, etc.) are included in Social Protection operations targeting poorer households. In fragile countries that lack social safety nets and wherein fiduciary arrangements do not allow for DPOs, in-kind distributions to vulnerable populations identified as most at risk (e.g. distribution hygiene and cleaning kits, water distribution, etc.).

4. Ensuring the viability of critical supply chains such as for hygiene product availability in markets (e.g. soap, disinfectant, point of use water treatment supplies etc.), as well as import/export restrictions on critical equipment needed by utilities or households.

Building resilience against future diseases: Safely managed WASH services are needed to support affected, at-risk, and low-capacity countries to build resilience against future pandemics, as well as against diseases that afflict the poor in the developing world on a more routine basis, such as diarrhea. In 2016, the WHO estimated that poor WASH practices were responsible for 829,000 deaths from diarrheal disease – equivalent to 1.9% of the global burden of disease. Cholera, an acute diarrheal disease linked to contaminated water that can kill within hours if left untreated, infects up to 4 million people each year, and kills an estimated 21,000-143,000 people. The spread of other diseases, like typhoid and measles, increase precipitously in the developing world when domestic water supply outages occur. In some individuals these diseases are fatal, and in many others their burden leads to reduced labor productivity and wages. Where the burden is high, repeated illnesses for family members can trap households in a vicious poverty cycle.

1. The provision of safely managed WASH services.

2. Basic WASH services and medical waste management in health care facilities are essential for safe and quality care.

3. Basic water supply, sanitation and hygiene services in schools are essential for safe and quality care.

4. Strengthening multi-sector, national institutions and platforms for policy development and the coordination of prevention and preparedness, including for anti-microbial resistance.

Country Examples

The World Bank moves quickly to help countries respond to COVID-19. Below are some examples in the WASH sector:

• In the Democratic Republic of Congo, we’re supporting a communications campaign to ensure that people across the DRC know about the importance of handwashing and physical distancing.
• Resources in Ethiopia have  been quickly mobilized to respond to the COVID-19 emergency.  Working with the Ministry of Health and the Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority,  we’re working to ensure all healthcare facilities have around-the-clock access to water. In addition, water pumps and boreholes in Addis are being replaced and rehabilitated to provide services to those living in this dense urban area.
• A project in Sri Lanka will raise public awareness about handwashing and promote the importance of hygiene. The information will be accessible to all affected stakeholders, using different languages, addressing cultural sensitivities, and reaching those with illiteracy or disabilities.
• In Haiti, we’re focusing on immediate response measures including: purchasing chlorine to ensure that water is clean,  installing handwashing stations, soap and water supply in critical areas such as markets, health centers, orphanages, and prisons.  Our support in Haiti also includes the construction and rehabilitation of WASH infrastructure in COVID19 triage and treatment zones in hospitals and health centers. This is in addition to ensuring safe water and basic sanitation, including waste management disposal in healthcare facilities and quarantine shelters. Medium-term measures including ensuring that water utilities have the required financial and safe operational conditions to continue delivering services.

Resources

Safe water supply, sanitation and hygiene services and medical waste management in health care facilities

• Steps Healthcare Facilities Can Take Now to Prepare for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), CDC

• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) technical guidance: Infection prevention and control / WASH, WHO

• Interim Guidance on Scaling-up COVID-19 Outbreak in Readiness and Response Operations in Camps and Camp-like Settings, jointly developed by IFRC, IOM, UNHCR and WHO

• WASH in Health Care Facilities: Global Baseline Report 2019, WHO and UNICEF

• Water and sanitation for health facility improvement tool (WASH FIT), WHO and UNICEF

Emergency support to water and sanitation utilities

• Business Continuity Planning for Water Utilities: Guidance Document (AWWA, USEPA, and WRF)

• Water System Preparedness and Best Practices for Pandemic Influenza

• AWWA Emergency Preparedness Practices

• Emergency Planning for Water and Wastewater Utilities

• Stantec Whitepaper: Introduction to Coronavirus and Considerations for Water and Wastewater Treatment

• WEF Water Professional’s Guide to COVID-19

• CDC: Guidance for Reducing Health Risks to Workers Handling Human Waste or Sewerage

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration: COVID-19 Control and Prevention

• AWWA Guidance on Shutoffs and Return to Service: Given the importance of hygiene and sanitation in mitigating the spread of COVID-19, AWWA recommends utilities postpone water shutoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• AWWA COVID-19 Resources

• Water World Article on Immediate Actions to Improve Resilience

Providing technical assistance to governments to strengthen country systems

• Make Way for the Future of Sanitation: A Review of New Enterprise Models Shaping the Development of a Transformational Sanitation Economy, The Toilet Board Coalition (TBC) and EY.

• COVID-19 response: Water Utility Preparation Guidelines, American Water Works Association (AWWA)

• Emergency Planning for Water and Wastewater Utilities, AWWA

• Drinking Water Utility Emergency Response Plan Template and Instructions, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Letter to utility chief executives on COVID-19 response, Ofwat (UK regulator)

• Resilience in the round: Building resilience for the future, Ofwat

• Water Professional’s Guide to COVID-19, Water Environment Federation (WEF)

Certain businesses within defined niches rely on presentation to make an impact on their clients. Whether you run a restaurant, a hotel or a business that requires staff to wear uniforms, it is in your best interests to become affiliated with a reputable laundry service in order to maintain your premium presentation.

Busy restaurants that deal in countless dirty tablecloths and serviettes need to be able to clean these materials quickly, effectively and perfectly, before they are required to be used again. Hotels have an even bigger job laid out before them in the form of bedsheets that need to be replaced with each guest or even more frequently. Added to that, there are towels from the bathrooms as well as table cloths and serviettes from hotel dining areas, and poolside towels too.

Businesses of this nature cannot afford to be stuck with dirty laundry and no clean surplus linen to fill in the gaps. Here are three reasons why you need a laundry service for your business.

1. Time Saver

Businesses such as hotels and restaurants are always on the go, with flexible boundaries to their definitive working hours. The guest or patron is at the forefront of everything they do, so their comfort is of absolute importance. Removing the time involved to wash, tumble dry or dry clean and press materials that are essential to the successful running of the business can save the business loads in valuable work hours.

2. Saving Time Also Saves Money

By saving time, you are also saving money by freeing up available resources. There is no need for a dedicated person to manage the cleaning of these essential items. Those people can be assigned more important tasks that help build the business. There will also be no costs incurred for the use of electricity and water for washing, drying and ironing. With all of this managed off-site, the business simply needs to concentrate on more pressing matters. Excuse the pun.

3. Convenience And Reliability

Having an external laundry group available to handle this responsibility removes an immense amount of pressure from the in-house team, giving them the opportunity to focus on other key areas of running the business. The convenience of having it managed externally is priceless. The in-house team simply needs to be available to receive the clean linen and pack it away, as well as to collect the dirty linen and send it off for cleaning. Your outsourced laundry team will also be on hand in emergency situations, where ad-hoc situations need to be taken care of with immediate attention.

Is your business in need of an outsourced laundry service? We will offer you cost-effective rates for exemplary service.

Contact us today for a quotation.

Advantages Of Having A Company Do Your Laundry For You

There are a number of hospitality businesses that rely on clean laundry to offer an exemplary service to their clients. Ensuring that this part of their work is taken care of in an impeccable manner is non-negotiable. Think, for example, of a hotelier that has to aspire to the highest standards to attract and retain guests. Having guests sleep in beds made up of linen that doesn’t smell fresh or isn’t perfectly pressed will completely kill the business.

Businesses of this nature need to ensure that they have the right resources, machinery and detergents available in order to attend to this aspect of the laundry needs. If there is ever any doubt that this cannot be managed effectively, then perhaps outsourcing the laundry services will better suit the business.

Here are some of the advantages of having a company for your laundry for you.

Time Management

Save the time that would be spent doing laundry for other more pressing business requirements. With an effective process in place with your laundry service provider, you will know when to expect the next batch of clean laundry and when to send the dirty laundry off to be cleaned. Having these times pre-arranged and set in your weekly diary will allow for adequate planning and time management.

No Training Required

When you outsource the laundry requirements for your business, you won’t need to spend any time training employees to manage that aspect of your business. It will all be taken care of for you. The only staff members that will be required to assist in this area will be those required on duty to receive the clean laundry and those required to send the dirty laundry to be cleaned.

Free Up Resources

Free up all the employees that would have had to manage the laundry process and filter them into other more pressing aspects of the business. You won’t need employees to manage the cleaning, drying, pressing or folding of laundry. All of this will be managed for you.

Reduce Costs

Finally, one might think that outsourcing laundry services is costly, but consider where your business will be saving money:

• No need to train staff
• No need to employ staff for the cleaning roles
• No need to purchase the required detergents, fabric softeners etc
• No need to purchase the machinery required to clean, dry or press the laundry

Need any further convincing that outsourcing your laundry services will benefit your business? Chat to us today and we can compile a no-obligation quotation to help you make up your mind.