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Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service

How to Clean and Disinfect Textiles

Articles th at ha ve been heavily conta minat edwith t oxic chemicals su ch as concentr at edpesticides or embedded fiberglass or a sbestosshould be thr own a way. Many products labeled“dry-clean only” an d severely da ma ged textilesar e alrea dy ruined. Due to sewage, pesticidean d other u nk nown toxic mater ials in floodwater s, man y clothing a nd interior textileproducts should be thr own a way.

Sta rt clean up a s soon as possible after

flooding h as occurr ed. To prevent furt herdamage:

• Separa te wet items to keep clothingcolors from r un ning t ogether. Sort outclothing th at should be dry-cleaned.• Air-dry items before t aking th em to adry clean er.When drying items yoususpect m ay ha ve been in sewage-conta minat ed water wear rubber gloves.• Do not dry any clothes nea r a h eatsource such as a stove. Dry at air orroom t emperat ur e. Increase roomtempera tur e by ru nning a furna ce orstove if safe and possible.

If possible, ta ke all furnitur e an d ru gsoutd oors to dr y.

Dry an d air bedding, cloth ing and r ugsquickly to prevent mildew.

Keep chemicals used for disinfecting, andpoisons used for in sects an d r odent cont rol outof th e rea ch of children .

Wear protective clothing on legs, arms, feetan d h ands while cleaning debris. Wear rubbergloves while scrubbing flood-damaged interiorsand furniture.

If cloth es were soaked dur ing storm flooding,be aware t ha t t he flood water m ay have beenconta minat ed with sewage waste.

Simply drying th e cloth es is not enough.

For sa fety’s sa ke, th ey mus t be disinfectedto kill all ha rm ful bacter ia. Liquid chlorinebleach is th e cheapest a nd easiest disinfecta ntto use in t he h ome. H owever, chlorine bleachcann ot be used on some gar men ts. Sincechlorine bleach both disinfects an d bleaches,when chlorine bleach can’t be u sed, both adisinfectan t a nd a n oxygen bleach will beneed ed. Dry clean ing is a lso effective. However,most textiles tha t r equire dry cleaning have

alrea dy been r uined (i.e. shru nk , lost color) byth e flood wat ers.

Direct ions for CleaningFlood-soi led Fabrics 1

Be sure th at wash wat er is safe to use beforewashing clothing. Be sur e th e washing m achineis clean a nd sa nitized. Scra pe mud a nd/or sh akedirt and residue from fabrics, then rinse orwash a s soon a s possible to help prevent t hegrowth of mildew. Prewash fabrics in cool waterusing powdered laundr y detergent. Do not usehot water, as hot water m ay set stains.

• Some washer s ha ve a prewash cycletha t includes a short soak period; thewasher m ay au tomatically advance tothe r egular wash. Refer t o your washerinstru ction m an ua l to see how to setyour washer for t he a utomat ic prewashcycle or how to ma nu ally set t he cont rolsto agitate an d then spin.• Use small loads with a full water level.• To help rem ove protein sta ins, such a ssewage, add an enzyme presoak productto the prewash.• Measure detergent into the washer,then a dd water an d allow detergent t oth oroughly dissolve before add ingclothes.

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Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service

MF-1132 August 1993It is the policy of Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service that all persons shall have equal opportu-nity and access to its educational programs, services, activities, and materials without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability.Kansas State University is an equal opportunity organization. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, asamended. Kansas State University, County Extension Councils, Extension Districts, and United States Department of Agriculture Cooperating, Marc A.Johnson, Director.

• Allow clothes t o rinse a nd s pin dr y.Do not dr y in t he dr yer.

Pr etrea t hea vily soiled stains with a prewashsoil and sta in remover or a n enzymepresoak pr oduct.

• A prewash soil and st ain r emoverwork s well on oil-based sta ins likean ima l fat s, soils, cookin g oils, cosme ticsan d m otor oils.• An en zyme presoak works well onprotein stains like blood, body fluids,dairy products and gra ss.

Wash clothing using sm all loads a nd a fullwater level.

• Use hottest wat er sa fe for fabric.• Use a powdered laundr y detergent (apowdered deter gent is effective inrem oving clay an d ground-in dirt), usingslightly more detergent thanrecommended on the package.• Since cloth ing may ha ve beencontaminated with sewage, it isimport an t t o use a disinfecta nt 2 in thewash. Use a disinfecta nt t ha t ha slaundr y directions on t he label andfollow th ose directions or u se chlorinebleach (Note: If ther e is a lar ge amountof iron in soil deposits or in th e wat er,

chlorine bleach can cause r ust stains t oappea r on fabr ics. Check labels. Somefabrics cann ot be wash ed using chlorinebleach.)

• If chlorine bleach is not r ecommended,a color-safe (oxygen) bleach will alsohelp rem ove sta ins an d odors, and willnot set ru st sta ins. However, color-safebleaches do n ot disinfect.

If there are rust or rust-colored stains onfabrics, use a comm ercially prepa red r ustrem over t o help remove them. Look for t heseproducts in t he lau ndr y or fabr ic dye section of the superm ar ket. Usually they are intended tobe used on white or colorfast fabrics. They cancause color removal. Follow package directionsand t est first on a small area of the gar mentth at won’t s how.

If fabrics ha ve been wet for any length of time, mildew might a ppear. Wash stained itemsus ing chlorine blea ch, if sa fe for fabr ic. Or, soak in oxygen bleach a nd h ot wa ter, then wa sh.Mildew is difficult to remove, and badlymildewed fabr ics ma y be dama ged beyondrepair.

Continu e to wash a s ma ny times as needed.Do not dry fabrics in a dr yer un til you a resatisfied with t he r esults. Drying in a dryer canset stains, making them impossible to remove.

1 The Soap a nd Deter gent Associat ion, 475 P ar k Avenue South , New York, NY 10016, J uly 93.2 For disinfecting, use only products th at display an E PA Registr at ion Nu mber on th e label.This assures t ha t t he product h as met EPA requirement s for disinfectan ts. When using anydisinfecting pr oduct follow th e label directions for use. Most disinfecta nt s, other th an chlorinebleach, ar e effective only on h ar d su rfaces.

Dean na Mun son, Extension Specialist, TextilesArt yce H edrick, Exten sion Specialist, Clothing