Can viruses be transmitted through clothing? Here is a disinfection tip sheet
Release Time:
2020-05-25 17:09
Source:
On May 10, the Jilin Provincial Health Commission reported that from 0:00 to 24:00 on May 9, 11 new local confirmed cases were added in the province. All 11 cases came from Shulan City, a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jilin City. The first diagnosed patient was a 45-year-old woman confirmed on May 7, who worked as a laundry worker at the Shulan City Public Security Bureau. The source of infection for the newly added local confirmed cases in Jilin Province has not yet been identified. Experts also stated that the first reported case may not be the source, but many people have doubts: Can the novel coronavirus be transmitted through clothing?
Q: Is it possible that the confirmed laundry worker in Shulan, Jilin, was infected through clothes?
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese CDC: A few days ago, there was a research report about the virus content in the air. Researchers sampled the air in hospital patient rooms, the semi-contaminated area where doctors change isolation gowns, and the clean area. They found that the virus content in the air was actually higher in the space where medical staff changed isolation gowns. This means that if medical staff are inside the ward, their clothes may be contaminated with the virus during the process of taking off the gowns, the virus content in the air is higher.
Clothing is low risk; frequent washing might be a good idea.
Dr. Vincent Hsu, who works at AdventHealth hospital in Orlando, USA, said, "There is still much we don't know about this virus, and we learn more every day. But this is what we currently understand. If you are running in your neighborhood or going to the grocery store, the chance of getting COVID-19 through clothes or shoes is very small. We do not believe shoes or clothes are significant sources of transmission."
However, we do know that the novel coronavirus can survive on different surfaces outside the human body, and contact with such surfaces can lead to transmission.
Depending on the type of surface, experts estimate that the virus can survive from several hours to several days. Although metal and plastic can provide a survival environment for the virus for up to 2 to 3 days, clothing is considered a material unfavorable for virus survival. Infectious disease expert and CommonSpirit Health vice president Dr. Kathleen Jordan said, "Our best research in this area is based on influenza and other previously known viruses, but generally, clothing is not considered the best incubator for viruses." Temperature and humidity play important roles in whether viruses can thrive. Most fabric materials have properties that are unfavorable for this.
"Clothes are usually mesh-like rather than hard surfaces, which may allow better air circulation," Dr. Jordan said. The possibility of virus transmission through clothing is low, but experts unanimously agree that in certain situations, immediately washing clothes is a good idea.
Still worried? What to do?
After all, this is a special period. If you have been to crowded places, it is indeed necessary to be cautious. If you are still worried, here are some popular online methods for your reference, but some of them are not recommended.
01 Hot water washing
(Recommended, easy to operate)
Because the virus is heat-sensitive, it can be inactivated at 56°C for 30 minutes. Many washing machines now have a heated washing function. Setting the washing mode according to the temperature and time needed to kill the virus can prevent the virus from remaining on clothes. If the washing machine does not have a heated washing function, you can soak clothes in hot water for at least 30 minutes before washing. If you have a dryer at home, you can also use its heating function to dry-heat disinfect clothes. Of course, it should be specially noted that wool, silk, and dark-colored cotton or nylon fabrics may shrink or fade at high temperatures, so be careful when washing.
02 Ultraviolet lamp irradiation
(Generally not recommended, improper operation can harm the human body)
Besides heat, the novel coronavirus is also sensitive to ultraviolet light. Friends who have ultraviolet disinfection lamps at home can use them to disinfect clothes. However, ultraviolet light can harm the skin and eyes, and the ozone it produces can irritate the respiratory tract. Therefore, everyone must leave the disinfection room during ultraviolet irradiation to avoid injury, and the room should be ventilated for a while after disinfection.
03 Alcohol spraying
(Not recommended, may cause fire)
Alcohol at 75% concentration can effectively inactivate the novel coronavirus. From the perspective of killing the virus, spraying 75% alcohol on the surface of clothes is a good method. However, according to relevant national standards, alcohol with a concentration above 38% is classified as a Class A flammable and explosive hazardous material. When using 75% alcohol for disinfection, large-scale spraying indoors is prohibited to prevent the air concentration from exceeding 3% and causing fire. If the sprayed concentration reaches 3%, static electricity on clothes may cause ignition or explosion. Therefore, special attention must be paid to the amount used and whether there are flammable materials nearby when using alcohol for disinfection.
04 84 disinfectant spraying or soaking clothes
(Not recommended, damages clothes, inconvenient to operate
84 disinfectant is a chlorine-containing disinfectant with sodium hypochlorite as the main ingredient, which can inactivate the novel coronavirus. However, 84 disinfectant has strong bleaching, irritating, and corrosive effects that can damage clothes. Additionally, 84 disinfectant must be diluted before use and strictly mixed according to the instructions; gloves must be worn during use due to skin irritation; and it must not be mixed with other detergents or disinfectants.
05 Take to a regular professional laundry for cleaning
(Recommended, suitable for lazy people)
The fully enclosed dry cleaning machines in laundries distill the solvent after each wash to ensure that pure solvent is used every time. Tetrachloroethylene, the most common dry cleaning solvent, has the ability to kill moths and their eggs and also inhibits bacterial growth to some extent. Some bacteria on clothes that are invisible to the naked eye (such as pathogens, larvae, spores, and parasites) are difficult to remove without professional cleaning methods, but dry cleaning can solve this problem. In the standard cleaning process at a reputable laundry, each garment undergoes strict washing, drying, and ironing, and under such high-temperature treatment, viruses find it hard to survive.
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