Boil a t-shirt to kill viruses?

cj2011

If I soak a towel or a cotton T-shirt in freshly boiled water, will bacteria and viruses die? I'd need to pour it straight from the kettle into a washing up bowl as I don't have any pots that are large enough. The downside of a plastic washing up bowl is that it loses heat much faster than if I were to leave it boiling on the hob. Any ways around this?

Manxman_in_exile

Can't you do what they call a "boil wash" (probably 90 degrees C) in a washing machine?  I would have thought that would be hot enough.

Is it really necessary?

Martin_the_Unjust

If you fill your sink full of hot water from the tap then put your washing up bowl in the water before pouring your boiling water into it then it will stay hotter longer.

Manxmans suggestion is the better option though.

cj2011

Manxman_in_exile said:

Can't you do what they call a "boil wash" (probably 90 degrees C) in a washing machine?  I would have thought that would be hot enough.

Is it really necessary?

I use a laundrette and if they had a boil wash programme, I would have used that for towels and sheets occasionally (not each time I washed them, but probably after a cold). But anything over 60 degrees seems rare nowadays.

cj2011

Martin_the_Unjust said:

If you fill your sink full of hot water from the tap then put your washing up bowl in the water before pouring your boiling water into it then it will stay hotter longer.

Manxmans suggestion is the better option though.

Isn't it rare to find a washing machine that does boil wash? I haven't come across one in the last 10 years for sure. I use a laundrette and the machines are less than 5 years old and definitely don't have that programme.

Spoonie_Turtle

Just wash it in soapy water - washing up liquid will do it. Hot water will kill any bacteria, but for this virus in particular soap is best because it dismantles the virus and 'kills' it. The constituent parts can do nothing, but rinsing will wash them away anyway.

"Because the soap molecules are so similar to the ones making up the outer layer of the virus, the molecules in the lipid bilayer are as strongly attracted to soap molecules as they are to each other.

This disrupts the neatly-ordered shell around the virus, dissolving it in the running water and killing the virus."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sciencefocus.com/news/coronavirus-can-hand-washing-really-stop-the-spread-of-covid-19

cj2011

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Just wash it in soapy water - washing up liquid will do it. Hot water will kill any bacteria, but for this virus in particular soap is best because it dismantles the virus and 'kills' it. The constituent parts can do nothing, but rinsing will wash them away anyway.

"Because the soap molecules are so similar to the ones making up the outer layer of the virus, the molecules in the lipid bilayer are as strongly attracted to soap molecules as they are to each other.

This disrupts the neatly-ordered shell around the virus, dissolving it in the running water and killing the virus."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sciencefocus.com/news/coronavirus-can-hand-washing-really-stop-the-spread-of-covid-19

Doesn't laundry liquid contain soap? The towels in question have already been washed with laundry liquid but I've read quite a few articles saying that washing at 60 doesn't get rid of all bacteria and viruses even if they look clean to the naked eye (some of my towels also start to smell slightly as soon as I start using them). Are you saying hand soap or washing up liquid should work better than laundry liquid?
"Hot water will kill any bacteria". Depends on how hot! Tap water never gets hot enough.

Spoonie_Turtle

cj2011 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Just wash it in soapy water - washing up liquid will do it. Hot water will kill any bacteria, but for this virus in particular soap is best because it dismantles the virus and 'kills' it. The constituent parts can do nothing, but rinsing will wash them away anyway.

"Because the soap molecules are so similar to the ones making up the outer layer of the virus, the molecules in the lipid bilayer are as strongly attracted to soap molecules as they are to each other.

This disrupts the neatly-ordered shell around the virus, dissolving it in the running water and killing the virus."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sciencefocus.com/news/coronavirus-can-hand-washing-really-stop-the-spread-of-covid-19

Doesn't laundry liquid contain soap? The towels in question have already been washed with laundry liquid but I've read quite a few articles saying that washing at 60 doesn't get rid of all bacteria and viruses even if they look clean to the naked eye (some of my towels also start to smell slightly as soon as I start using them). Are you saying hand soap or washing up liquid should work better than laundry liquid?
"Hot water will kill any bacteria". Depends on how hot! Tap water never gets hot enough.

Yes, laundry detergent will do it. I think I must have missed the part where you were able to wash it - oh, on re-reading I see you use a laundrette.
When I said hot water I was thinking of out of the kettle (though not still boiling) but let me see ... Well, a cursory search gives conflicting results. Overall, the idea is that the detergent removes bacteria along with anything else on the clothes so it's flushed away with the used water in the washing machine. I did find one source for healthcare laundry that said 71℃ for 24 minutes - bearing in mind they're talking about frontline clothes exposed to all kinds of pathogens; I think your towels (or T-shirt?) have not been exposed to anything as potentially awful as medical linen has!

I don't know why towels and flannels do that thing where they smell musty as soon as they get wet. Having just had a look at the ingredients of a typical laundry detergent though, I would not be surprised if some of the ingredients are leaving residue behind which could have something to do with it? I don't know, this isn't really my area. It's frustrating though, and we have the same problem sometimes. If you're really worried you could look into what you might be able to add to the wash that is an antibacterial agent, but unless you've had problems with feeling under the weather after using clean laundry, or are immunocompromised, it's probably not worth it.

cj2011

Spoonie_Turtle said:

I think your towels (or T-shirt?) have not been exposed to anything as potentially awful as medical linen has!

Probably not but some of my clothes are second hand and I do have asthma.

Spoonie_Turtle

cj2011 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

I think your towels (or T-shirt?) have not been exposed to anything as potentially awful as medical linen has!

Probably not but some of my clothes are second hand and I do have asthma.

Most of my clothes are second-hand a normal wash should be fine, it's only really if you have any specific concerns (I dunno, worn around a farm?) or have come into contact with anything particularly grubby. Saying that, I think a 60℃ wash has always done us fine, even with blood, chicken poop, poisonous plant debris, etc.!

cj2011

Spoonie_Turtle said:

cj2011 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

I think your towels (or T-shirt?) have not been exposed to anything as potentially awful as medical linen has!

Probably not but some of my clothes are second hand and I do have asthma.

Most of my clothes are second-hand a normal wash should be fine, it's only really if you have any specific concerns (I dunno, worn around a farm?) or have come into contact with anything particularly grubby. Saying that, I think a 60℃ wash has always done us fine, even with blood, chicken poop, poisonous plant debris, etc.!

It was for specific concerns. I've been fine at 40 or 60 too so far, but seeing what's been happening in Italy, makes you wonder whether you may have had contaminated droplets from other people that have landed on some of your clothes (not that they would have landed directly on my towels but there's definitely other stuff on those). I guess I should wash my outdoor jacket more frequently but I think the waterproof coating can't really take much more than 40.