Who among us does not like the smell of clean, dry clothes and the smell of cleanliness emanating from it? But even this odor can also be deceptive. Researchers have found that even clean laundry can be contaminated with germs that pose a real threat to human health.
It is not just homes, but even hospitals where health standards must be above all else. A team of German researchers at the pediatric teaching hospital of the University of Bonn found that a washing machine could cause the transfer of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Spiegel reports that staff at the hospital in North Rhine-Westphalia faced a mystery. During a routine check, they discovered the appearance of an antibiotic-resistant bacteria called Klebsiella oxytoca on the skin of premature infants in the care unit. Super, until they finally managed to solve the dilemma and come to the source of bacteria, which is what shocked everyone.
These bacteria cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections and a type of blood poisoning.
Contamination tests on incubators and health care workers who touched the children were all negative, not the source of the dangerous bacteria.
Citing a published report on the study, the German website explains that suspicions are beginning to arise about the hospital's children's clothing provided to infants free of charge, and that they are the source of bacteria, so they tested socks and hats to discover that they are already the source.
When they tested the pollution in the laundry room of the teaching hospital, the specialists found that an ordinary energy-saving washing machine was used, such as in the home, and was not the industrial type that washes clothes at high temperatures with disinfectants, which is the kind used by hospitals usually.
The detergent is packed with anti-inflammatory bacteria and on the rubber ring that controls the insertion hole. Although the spread of Klebsiella oxituca has been stopped by the removal of the washing machine, it has exposed the danger that a home washing machine can pose.
Doctors contend that washing the bacteria with this bacteria poses a potential risk to so-called "vulnerable groups" - those with weakened immunity, serious illness, chronic wounds or chronic catheterization, as well as those with infections or infections, and newborns. .
"What happened in the pediatric hospital in Bonn, Germany, is a milestone," said Christian Brandt, a health specialist. "It has long been suspected that the multiple resistant pathogens found in clean laundry will be transferred from the washing machine to humans." Vivantes clinics in Berlin: "Now it is already proven."
What is the solution?
According to the German expert, these bacteria and many other types die quickly in drought, as they do not thrive and spread only in wet places. High temperatures for washing, drying and irons are killer agents.
“Unfortunately, many clothes today are no longer washable at 60 degrees Celsius, which is worrisome,” Brandt adds. “Even if you wash clothes at 60 degrees Celsius, this temperature is often not reached in conventional appliances in places like Place a detergent, pump, or door and its tight rubber frame, and these pathogenic bacteria may be able to survive there.
According to the site "Welt" German experts also recommend drying clothes at high temperature, and if it is not possible, it is necessary to expose them to direct sunlight, which has antibacterial and antibacterial properties.
They also recommend the need to clean the washing machine after washing clothes of all kinds, germs remain stuck in the wash basin and drawer to put detergent and the door of the washing machine and its rubber frame.