Worried about Coronavirus Living on your Clothes? Here’s How to Wash Them

Health organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and national and local governments have all been diligently sharing prevention recommendations and practices to help protect from the spread of COVID-19.

From washing hands for 20 seconds to covering coughs and sneezes and implementing social distancing people have heard all these measures to death.  But how about washing clothing?

It is common sense to assume the virus can exist on regularly touched surfaces and objects like countertops and cell phones, but what about what you wear all day.

Even though specific research about how the new coronavirus interacts with clothes has not been conducted, trusted sources like the CDC has shared some parameters.

COVID-19 is found to spread by respiratory droplets, when a sick person coughs or sneezes, and has shown evidence that it can survive on surfaces for hours to days – which includes clothing.

The duration of the virus on clothes can depend on the fabric since some are more porous than others. Laundromats can be safe to go to, even with social distancing protocols in place, if certain precautions are taken.  Be sure to wear gloves, wash your hands, avoid touching your face and disinfect the surfaces of the machine you use.

According to Huffpost, other recommendations to help kill the virus on clothing is to use hot water settings and allowing extra time and heat when drying.