To not want to wash a filthy cat bed in our washing machine?

[PurpleCurtain]

We have a cat - or should I say, my husband has a cat as I'm not an animal person and therefore the agreement is that my husband looks after her and feeds her etc. She sleeps in our utility room, bed on top of our tumble dryer.

We also have a baby on the way imminently. I'm trying to ensure the house is suitably clean for baby's arrival - and asked DH when he last cleaned the cat bed. To be told, probably 9 months ago. I peered in to the cat's bed and it looks FILTHY.

It definitely needs washing but my instinct is I'm really reluctant to do it in our washing machine and follow it up with washing baby clothes etc - is this what others do?! Won't everything be forever covered in cat hair and potentially worse / our washing machine break?

Am I unreasonable to ask DH to take the cat bed down to the nearest launderette?!

Hoover it first, then lint roll then in the washing machine.

Run a clean cycle after if you are that bothered. But to be honest, washing machines are to wash dirty things and make them clean. If they spread the dirt on to the next stuff it'd be a shit machine!

Presumably the OP is worried about toxoplasmosis?
OP, it’s not possible to catch it from a cat bed that’s been washed. You need more of the infectious agent to get ill from it. It’s not like a ‘contamination’ scenario.
Same with you or your child stroking the cat.

“Toxoplasmosis cannot be caught by stroking a cat or having a cat as a pet.”

www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/pregnancy-complications/infections/toxoplasmosis-pregnancy

I am an animal lover. I had 2 cats and 2 dogs when I has my DC. Pregnancy hormones do strange things though. I went to some extremes changing the cat litter trays due to toxocara risks for example. I got over it quickly though. Much like I got over the principle that all baby clothes needed ironing and they had to be changed the second a spec of milk/vomit got on their clothes!
It's normal to be anxious PurpleCurtain. It's nature's way of ensuring you keep your baby safe. Just remember to temper it with facts and proportionate steps. The evidence suggests that children brought up in households with pets tend to have healthier immune systems due to the increased exposure to dirt and allergens. There's also some evidence to suggest being too clean can raise the risk of allergies! As long as you worm/de-flea and clean reasonably, you'll all be fine.
Congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck with the new arrival.

I've just looked at the Vamoosh recommended by a pp. Manufacturer states it is only effective at temperatures of 75° and above, so no good for my cats stuff. In which case I will continue to wash her things as I usually do - washing powder, dettol anti-bac laundry disinfectant and then follow it up with my monthly washing machine clean using dettol washing machine cleaner. I also chuck in a couple of scoops of soda crystals to most washes as this helps to keep the pipes clear of hair etc.

PFB?

Bonkers!

Wow, so many unnecessarily mean comments to OP.

I would suggest getting your DH to use a wire bristles brush on the bed (outdoors) to get off almost all of the fur & fluff and then pop in the machine. Your machine will handle it just fine and the bed will be clean. There won’t be fur/fluff left in any seals either because it’ll have been mostly brushed off before it went in the machine.

I'd chuck this one if it's that dirty and start again. I love my cats but find the beds don't ever come that clean in the wash and the hairs stay stuck.

Get DH to wash the new bed more frequently.

It wouldn't bother me, but I can see why if it's been left that it may seem more of a job.

Others have given great advice on products and techniques. Another option with them is finding one of those outdoor laundry mats. We have one at one the local gas stations, specifically advertised as handling big and filty jobs with a row of the large industrial machines.

Wash it in the machine. Put it on a rinse wash after so no detergent residue. Wipe inside of drum with kitchen roll. Run another rinse.
It will all be clean for human items afterwards.

I use a rubber brush to get hair off, then it goes in the machine. Keep an eye on the filter if it's a very moulty sort of cat ( worth doing regularly anyway, cat bed or not, as part of machine maintenance)
Wash the bed weekly or monthly, say, so it doesn't get as grubby again.
I never wash animal beds with our stuff but only because of the potential of it getting hair on the washing. Similarly it is worth running a very quick rinse wash after washing bed bedding (in my case, horse rugs which can be truly foul) just to get rid of any surplus grot.
Congratulations on your pregnancy and as long as your baby doesn't eat or play with actual cat poo all will be well

YABVU & quickly frankly more than a bit bonkers. It's a washing machine. It's what they are made for

My DHs work clothes are way worse than any cat bed & it hasn't killed the washing machine or any of us yet

Just follow it with the hottest cycle on your machine - empty of course - maybe with some of the antibacterial Dettol laundry stuff.
It'll be fine!

I feel your pain and have the same predicament as we have a dog with a dirty dog bed that needs washing every month at a minimum, and we have a three month old baby! I like you feel it’s unhygienic to wash dog bed in same washing machine as baby clothes so what I do after I wash the dog bed I put a small cup of bleach in the empty washing machine and put a cycle on high temperature. This way the next time I use the washing machine it’s 💯 clean and free of nasty doggy things !!! Hope this helps

Wiping with a damp cloth or sponge first, will collect much of the hair before it goes in the machine.

Aside from that, I was always under the impression that washing away dirt and muck is what a washing machine is for.

I hope you’re prepared for the poonamis that are so often a feature of small babies!

You'll be putting shitty baby clothes in their soon. How about you get a pet wash bag so the fur doesn't go in the machine

I wash my husbands work stuff in ours. He's a dairy farmer... a lot more than fur goes through ours. Then DS's washable wipes. Machine is fine and we've not noticeably gone out in poo & straw covered clothes.x

@PurpleCurtain

Would you wash at 60? Higher? Lower? Haven't inspected too closely but looks like there is dirt in the bed - so over 9 months it doesn't seem impossible that that doesn't contain our or another cat's excrement (though may just be believing my mother!), but yes my own main concern is the volume of hairs.

For the record, I am nice to the cat - though consider her a pet not equivalent to a child, and sorry if that upsets anyone!

Cats will not sleep somewhere that is covered in shit.

Our dog bed goes through the machine every two weeks. Just put the machine on a hot was afterwards and clean the pipe out so it doesn't block up (although our dog's a long haired Alsatian so probably not that important with a cat)
If I were you I'd just get a new cat bed and tell my partner to take car of his bloody cat properly. How would he like sleeping in bedding that hadn't been washed for almost a year?

Personally if it’s not been washed for nine months (so actually probably a year as people underestimate time) I would dump that bed and buy a new one.
Then tell your husband he needs to ensure it’s washed in a monthly basis.

You’ll be putting much worse than a cat bed in your washing machine when the baby arrives.

I use a bag that’s designed for horse stuff to put dog bedding in. After washing dog bedding I set the machine on a 90 degree wash. Then it’s not all hairy when I wash our clothes.

That is pretty minging not washing a cat bed for 9 months! Mine sleeps on various throws around the house which get washed weekly. I use a lint brush to remove the hair first so the machine doesn't get clogged up.
If you're concerned about toxoplasma or bugs in general then I hope your DH is regularly treating his cat for internal and external parasites.

Oh lord, you need to get over that. It’s a washing machine, therefore you wash dirty items in there. Your baby will poo on clothes and you will wash them in there….

I did cloth nappies and washed them for over 2years in my washing machine which works wonderfully still and guess what, it’s clean in there

Laundrette - they have big machines & it’ll dry faster in their dryers.
Or buy anew cat bed.