Is there a health risk when washing baby clothes with adult clothes? The truth is surprising...

Author: Nine-pointed Star popular science author

Reviewer: Tan Xin, deputy chief physician, Pediatric Medical Center, Changsha First Hospital, deputy chief physician, Pediatric Medical Center, Changsha First Hospital

gossip

Parents are always very concerned about their children's affairs.

Take "simple laundry" for example. Parents used to casually "throw the whole family's clothes into the washing machine together", but after having children, they began to become cautious, worrying that washing baby clothes with adult clothes together would lead to cross-infection and harm the baby's health.

Therefore, many parents would rather spend time and effort, and waste their parents' time, to wash their baby's clothes separately.

Today, let's talk about whether baby and adult clothes can be washed together. At the end of the article, we also give a recommended laundry plan based on the actual laundry situation of Chinese families.

analyze

Parents are worried about the health risks of washing baby clothes with adult clothes. They are generally worried about the following three points:

①The laundry process cannot effectively remove microorganisms;

② Washing together will contaminate baby's clothes with new microorganisms, increasing the risk of infection;

③The baby’s skin barrier function is imperfect, immunity is immature, and it is more susceptible to infection.

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These concerns do have some truth to them, but the truth is different than most people think.

Normal laundry process

It can ensure cleanliness and safety

Whether washing clothes separately or mixed, the purpose of washing clothes is to eliminate most microorganisms and reduce the number of common pathogenic microorganisms to a safe level. In fact, the regular washing process can achieve this effect.

The laundry process consists of two steps: the washing cycle and the drying process.

During the washing process of an ordinary household washing machine, most of the microorganisms on the clothes will be driven into the water due to stirring, beating, soaking, etc. and the action of surfactants in the laundry detergent, and then removed during the rinse and spin cycles.

Most research data show that ordinary household washing machines can remove 99% of microorganisms under normal cleaning conditions (washing in cold water, without adding detergent).

If hot water washing is chosen for the washing process and disinfectants are used for chemical inactivation, the microbial removal effect will be better.

In the drying process after washing, there is no water after full drying, which makes it more difficult for microorganisms to survive. If you choose high temperature drying , you can further eliminate the residual microorganisms on the clothes.

Washing process, Reference [8]

The number of microorganisms in the clothes of healthy people is usually below the safe level, and the number is further reduced after regular washing. When used together with baby clothes, the health risk is not great and no special attention needs to be paid.

Even if someone in the family is sick, routine cleaning combined with higher water temperatures, the use of disinfectants, and drying strategies can also reduce the level of pathogenic microorganisms to a safe level.

Last February, a study published in the Journal of Applien Microbiology quantified whether the number of common pathogenic microorganisms can be reduced to safe levels under different laundry strategies during home laundry.

The researchers evaluated the reduction in the number of rhinovirus, a non-enveloped respiratory virus, rotavirus, a non-enveloped enterovirus, and Salmonella, a bacterium, under different laundry conditions and found that:

For common respiratory viruses , washing machines can reduce their pathogenicity to an extremely low level of one in a million under any setting conditions. If detergents are used, the pathogenicity can be further reduced.

For common enteroviruses , washing machines can reduce the incidence of disease to extremely low levels when using chlorine-containing disinfectants;

For common bacteria , hot water washing or drying can reduce the pathogenicity to an extremely low level. If hot water washing is combined with drying or chlorine-containing disinfectants, the pathogenicity can be further reduced.

Clothes with respiratory viruses, enteroviruses, and bacteria above safe levels, after storage, washing with hot water, washing with hot water, using conventional or advanced detergents, drying, washing with or without chlorine bleach, and whether hand hygiene was observed. Gray indicates that the number of pathogens in the clothes was reduced to a safe level after washing. Image source: Reference [5]

Baby clothes

Acquiring new microorganisms ≠ increasing the risk of infection

Many people worry that there are more types of microorganisms on adult clothes, which will be transferred to baby clothes after mixed washing and cause infection. This is completely unnecessary.

Not to mention that baby clothes are easily stained with urine, milk, feces and other stains, and may be dirtier than adult clothes. More importantly, the prerequisite for babies to be infected through clothes is that there are enough pathogenic microorganisms on the clothes.

For washed clothes, especially those washed with hot water, disinfected with disinfectants or dried, the content of microorganisms is already below the pathogenic level, so there is no need to worry.

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If you are worried that washed clothes may infect your baby with diseases, then wouldn't it be more likely for adults to be infected if they hug and hold their babies during the day while wearing the clothes?

Babies are not as susceptible to infection as you think

As long as the baby's skin is not damaged, and he is not a premature baby or has special circumstances such as immune deficiency, healthy babies have good resistance and there is no need to treat them differently when washing clothes.

Many people think that babies are more susceptible to infection because their immune system is immature. In fact, although a newborn baby has left the mother's body, it has not left the mother's protection.

First, the mother's immune system will share antibodies with the baby through the placenta in advance, which helps the baby fight pathogenic microorganisms; second, breastfeeding can also enhance this immunity to protect the baby.

Specifically speaking of skin conditions, the skin barrier function of full-term babies is basically normal, and the skin grows faster than that of adults, with stronger barrier repair capabilities.

How to wash clothes in a family with a baby

Easy and safe

At this point, many parents may ask: We rarely use disinfectants at home and we don’t have a dryer, so is it better to wash them separately?

Taking into account the current laundry situation of most Chinese families, we have classified the situations of "no problem if washing together" and "not recommended to wash together" for your reference, which can ensure no health risks while being convenient and safe.

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▶ In these two cases, clean them together, no health risk

① Everyone in the family is healthy

Everyday clothes from healthy families usually do not contain pathogens, or have low levels of pathogens, so they can be washed together with confidence.

② Someone in your family has symptoms of respiratory infection such as runny nose, fever, cough, etc.

Viruses that cause respiratory infections, such as the new coronavirus, influenza A, and influenza B, are all enveloped viruses. They are very sensitive to detergents and can be effectively removed by regular washing. The risk of cross-infection caused by mixing clothes is very small.

▶ It is not recommended to wash these 4 situations together

①The family has a premature baby

In the first few months after birth, premature babies have a weak immune system, relatively insufficient resistance, and their skin may be damaged.

To be on the safe side, it is recommended to wash them separately.

② Someone in your family has symptoms of intestinal infection such as diarrhea or vomiting

Common viruses that cause intestinal infections include rotavirus and norovirus. They are highly contagious and only require a relatively low amount to cause infection. If they are not washed properly, they may cause illness.

The common bacteria that cause intestinal infections are mainly Salmonella. Ordinary cold water washing processes are not very effective in removing them and may cause indirect infection.

To be on the safe side, it is recommended to wash them separately. At the same time, contaminated clothes should be washed as soon as possible and washed or dried at 60 degrees using chlorine-containing disinfectants.

③ Someone in the family has fungal infections such as athlete's foot, onychomycosis, vaginitis, etc.

Studies have shown that a small amount of fungi can infect the skin. The water temperature used in most household washing machines in my country is not high, and the effect of removing fungi is average, which is likely to cause indirect infection.

To be on the safe side, it is recommended to wash contaminated clothes separately, wash them as soon as possible, and try to use disinfectants, high temperature washing or drying.

④ Someone in the family goes to the hospital for treatment or works in the hospital

The hospital environment is relatively special, containing a large number of microorganisms with a high rate of drug resistance, and your clothes may also be contaminated with these microorganisms when you receive a medical consultation.

To be on the safe side, it is recommended to wash contaminated clothes separately as soon as possible, and try to use disinfectants and high temperature washing or drying.

Note: For babies with other special diseases, such as immunodeficiency, allergies, etc., it is recommended to follow the doctor's advice for daily care.

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in conclusion

If both the baby and the adult are healthy, the clothes can be washed together without any worries.

If someone in your family is sick, be careful to adopt certain cleaning strategies and it’s okay to wash them together.

However, if there is a premature baby in the family, someone in the family has symptoms of intestinal infection such as diarrhea and vomiting, someone in the family has fungal infections such as athlete's foot, onychomycosis, vaginitis, etc., someone in the family goes to the hospital for treatment or works in the hospital, etc., it is best to wash the baby's clothes separately.

References:

Cleveland Clinic. Is your newborn baby's immune system strong enough? https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-your-newborn-babys-immune-system-strong-enough/

[2] Ness MJ, Davis DM, Carey WA. Neonatal skin care: a concise review. Int J Dermatol. 2013; 52(1): 14-22.

[3] Oranges T, Dini V, Romanelli M. Skin physiology of the neonate and infant: Clinical implications. Adv Wound Care (New Rochelle). 2015; 4(10): 587-595.

[4] Abney SE, Ijaz MK, McKinney J, et al. Laundry hygiene and odor control: State of the science. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2021; 87(14): e0300220.

[5] Reynolds KA, Verhougstraete MP, Mena KD, et al. Quantifying pathogen infection risks from household laundry practices. J Appl Microbiol. 2022; 132(2): 1435-1448.

[6] Merettig N, Bockmühl DP. Virucidal efficacy of laundering. Pathogens. 2022; 11(9): 993.

[7] Honisch M, Stamminger R, Bockmühl DP. Impact of wash cycle time, temperature and detergent formulation on the hygiene effectiveness of domestic laundering. J Appl Microbiol. 2014; 117(6): 1787-1797.

[8] Khalid Ijaz M, Nims RW, McKinney J, Gerba CP. Virucidal efficacy of laundry sanitizers against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses and influenza viruses. Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 28;12(1):5247. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-08259-0. PMID: 35347149; PMCID: PMC8960219.

[19]Honisch M, et al. (2014). Impact of wash cycle time, temperature and detergent formulation on the hygiene effectiveness of domestic laundering. Journal of applied microbiology, 117(6), 1787-1797.

[26] Tano, EK, & Melhus, Å. (2014). Level of decontamination after washing textiles at 60°C or 70°C followed by tumble drying. Infection ecology & epidemiology.

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