How Dry Cleaning Keeps Away Germs and Viruses
Germs and viruses are everywhere! It’s more important than ever to keep your clothing and laundry items safe and sanitized from everyday use. But how can you be sure you’re getting rid of germs with your daily cleaning and laundry habits? We’ve gathered some important information from reliable sources to help keep you and your family as germ-free as possible. And when you choose Dixie Cleaners for dry cleaning in Kannapolis, you can rely on us to take the appropriate steps to ensuring your clothes come back clean and free of most pathogens.
Dry cleaning and laundry assists in killing pathogens in your clothing and household items in four different ways:
Hot water: According to the WHO (World Health Organization) temperatures of 140 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit kill most viruses. Here at Dixie Cleaners, our dry cleaning loads get up to temperatures of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Pathogens don’t like the heat!
Soap and mechanical action: In much the same way that you kill the virus by washing your hands with soap for 20 seconds, dry cleaning machines wash your clothes with soap and mechanical action that breaks down viruses. In addition, the surfactants in the soap remove viruses and bacteria, which then rinse down the drain. Washing your hands and washing your clothes achieve the same goal; to remove germs and pathogens!
Disinfectants: For cold water washes, to make up for lack of hot water temperatures, we use supplementary organic disinfectants like hydrogen peroxide which kills viruses and bacteria. A cold wash still means viruses and bacteria are destroyed during the process as long as the right detergents are used.
Drying with high temperatures: Dry cleaning is heat dried and/or heat pressed at temperatures up to 220 degrees, hot enough to kill any known virus. If the hot water, soap, and disinfectants didn’t get rid of the germs, the final drying process surely will.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/cleaning-disinfection.html
https://www.dlionline.org/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1030
