GPs prepare for cold & flu season

New research published this month has raised concerns about washing our clothes at temperatures below 60°C. Mums from across the UK were asked to donate washed and unwashed laundry for swab-testing and microbiologists found:

· 1 in 4 items washed at 40°C harboured traces of bacteria linked to faeces

· A washed bedtime cuddly toy showed the highest % of bacteria linked to faeces

· Washed laundry contained only 14% less bacteria than the dirty, unwashed laundry

“Bacterial Soup”

The laundry lab test results build on a growing bank of scientific research that shows how low-temperature washing is encouraging a ‘bacterial soup’ inside our washing machines with micro-organisms transferring between contaminated and uncontaminated items.

Winter bugs in our washing

Bacteria and viruses such as Influenza and E.coli can survive when you wash below 60°C.

DR. PIXIE MCKENNA’S HEALTHY LAUNDRY ADVICE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afK736kVcmI

From this research a new category of laundry detergents have been created to tackle the problem of bacteria in low temperature washing. Dettol’s Anti-bacterial Laundry Cleanser (£4.59, from all major supermarkets) kills 99.9% of bacteria even at 30°C.