Coming Clean About Eight Laundry Myths, Part I
Out, out, damned spot! And take these laundry myths with you!
Laundry myths offer a good example of how even everyday tasks can accrue a web of misconceptions and false facts that get in the way of actually getting the job done. With the exception of a few Beverly Hills types and lazy husbands, almost everyone does laundry -- and a lot of what we know about it is wrong.
In this two-parter, we'll take a look at eight laundry myths that all of us would be better off without believing.
Myth 1: Washing my laundry in hot water will kill, or at least wash away, all the germs on my laundry.
Nope, not even close -- though this is one laundry myth we'd all like to believe. Even really hot water usually isn't enough to kill every microscopic bug on your Underoos, though it'll get most of them. And you certainly shouldn't avoid using hot water just to save a few bucks (we'll go into more detail on that later).
Unless you use a healthy dose of bleach, all a washing machine does is redistribute the existing bacteria across your entire load. Some bugs will drain away with the rinse water, but by no means all. To truly sterilize your clothing, you need to use chlorine bleach; color-safe bleaches won't cut it.
Myth 2: It's best to use cool water to wash your clothing.
This laundry myth is true enough from an ecological and economic standpoint; obviously, you save energy and resources if you use only cold water to wash your clothes. However, there's a point where cleanliness and concern for the environment need to part ways, and this is it.
From a health perspective, hot water works best to get clothing clean, especially when combined with the proper amounts of detergent and bleach (see Myth 1). Admittedly, however, it's possible to wash lightly-soiled laundry in warm or cool water, presuming you use the right amount of detergent.
Myth 3: The more detergent, the better!
This laundry myth seems reasonable, but the truth is that too much of a good thing is a definite possibility when it comes to soap. Even if you don't end up with a roomful of suds, you may find yourself with clothes so saturated with detergent that it's impossible for the rinse cycle to get rid of all of it.
The result may be itchy clothing and, in some cases, skin allergies. Even if that doesn't occur, excess detergent can degrade the fabric of your clothing. Check your dryer's lint trap; if you get an unusual amount of lint with each load, you're probably using more detergent than you need to.
Myth 4: Liquid bleach will break down your fabrics.
According to Clorox Labs (and, yeah, we admit that they might be biased), this isn't so. It's mostly wearing clothes that causes fabrics to deteriorate, though washing and drying do contribute. Then again, it's all a matter of using bleach as directed; use too much, and this one of our laundry myths might very well come true for you.
