Laundry sanitisers - worth it? Or just nonsense?

[ZeeR82]

Newbie here - apologies if this has been answered elsewhere.

In the last couple of years, I've noticed a new product on supermarket shelves called Laundry sanitiser which appears to hygienically eradicate germs, viruses and all sorts in your regular wash. I think they've come about since Covid and I wonder whether those big household brands are capitalising on people's fear of the virus, simply to make money.

However, before I knock it, I wanted to know if anyone has had experience of using these types of products and are they actually needed? or would my regular wash at 40C with normal detergent be sufficient? what benefits have you seen?

Our household consists of two adults, no kids, and one pet. None of us work in hospitals (or similar roles) and therefore not exposed to viruses or germs on a daily basis. However, I do pop to the gym 3-4 times a week (or at least I try!). I was thinking it would possibly be beneficial for sportswear, towels and bed linen - maybe?

Penny for your thoughts?

I was very sceptical, but using antibacterial liquid with gym clothes really helps eradicate any lingering smells.

We use it if laundry has been sitting around and has a bit of a smell, or if the children have had an accident etc it but not routinely - my husband does the household laundry, and the clothes are always very clean and well presented.

We wash at 40 for normal wash, 60 for towels and use one of those blue egg things for soap. It’s so much less fuss and mess than soap powder or liquid. I just have to remember to take it out if I’m doing a wool or silk wash.

Doubly unnecessary!

None of us work in hospitals (or similar roles) and therefore not exposed to viruses or germs on a daily basis.

Can I just address this? Of course you are exposed to viruses and bacteria (and fungi) on a regular basis! We all are. The air and water and food is teeming with a huge variety of them. Even if you are house bound! But don't worry, our immune system, particularly our gut, is extremely good at dealing with them all.

I would not use laundry sanitisers, I reckon that's another money-making scheme to capitalise on people's worries after the pandemic.

@ItsVeryHyacinthBucket the new Napisan is an optical brightener/whitener only from what I can gather. They removed any sanitation qualities from the formula a decade ago disappointingly.

I’ve changed the way I do my laundry now. I used to do quick washes at low temps using liquid detergent and laundry sanitiser. My machine often smelled, and if washing wasn’t removed as soon as it was done it too would smell.
Now I only use powder - Aldi own brand. I do most washes on a cotton cycle at 30 degrees - takes about 2 1/2 hours. Once a week I do all the socks and underwear on a 60 degree wash, and once a fortnight all the towels on a 90 degree wash. I never use fabric softener.
My washing machine never smells, neither does laundry left in overnight. My electricity bills haven’t changed despite the longer wash times. Everything comes out really clean.

I use it when I'm washing all my microfiber cloths that I use to wipe down my kitchen each day , leaves a nice smell on them and doesn't ruin them like fabric softener does

I can't imagine putting antibacterial washing powder into our sewage system or water ways could be a good thing. Won't it just speed up microbial resistance?

@CrunchyCarrot I used sanitiser pre pandemic on smelly gym kit so it's nothing to do with covid (for me). I dont use it in a normal wash but use it on gym wear/football kit where i don't want to wash higher than 40⁰C

My sister started washing everything at 30' few years back and all her family was constantly ill. Started washing everything at 50-60 since last autumn, and haven't been ill since.
I use 'kills 99% bacteria' product since start of covid, and haven't caught it so far. I work in hospital, btw.

That's fair enough - we don't have anything like that to put through the wash, and I do use 60 degree washes when I need to.

It still says it kills bacteria and description says it’s a disinfectant though. https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/273643086?preservedReferrer=www.google.com

I use sodium percarbonate from Ebay. It's a mineral bleach which isn't harmful to the environment.

It's exactly what is in Violet's Bleach but bought from Ebay much, much cheaper.

I use it in the washing machine and for soaking.

I wash everything on a l o n g cold wash (2.5 hrs) EXCEPT towels, sheets and whites which go on at 60 degrees. Never had a problem with smell. Never used sanitizer. Unnecessary just like softener.

I use sanitiser when untoward bodily substances have got on clothes/sheets/etc. (Small child in family) I don't think it's necessary in every wash.

I have been using Dettol Laundry Sanitizer since lockdown (yes, that's when I found out about them too, but they've obviously been a thing for ages because why do we have 3 different slots in our washing machine soap filler drawer?)
This weekend I ran out and was looking on Trolley to find where to buy more when I stumbled into a list of the ingredients.

One of them stuck out as looking a bit scary so I looked it up and found it's now banned in the EU. I looked up more, the Tesco and Sainsbury's own-brand ones have other nasty chemicals. The Astonish one has one of the nastiest cocktails.

I read things like "Benzalkonium chloride: Benzalkonium chloride has recently been banned in Europe, with other countries beginning to examine its impact. Horror stories with reported reactions include rashes, blisters and skin irritation, breathing difficulties, eye conditions, swollen lips and gastrointestinal injuries causing inflammatory bowel disease."

"Biocide, preservative and surfactant associated with severe skin, eye, and respiratory irritation and allergies, benzalkonium chloride is a sensitizer especially dangerous for people with asthma or skin conditions such as eczema. Benzalkonium chloride is found in many household disinfectants and cleaning supplies. Regular use of products containing antimicrobials such as benzalkonium chloride could leads to the development of resistant bacteria in homes and food processing facilities."

"recent studies have demonstrated the capacity of environmental microorganisms to develop reduced susceptibility to benzalkonium chloride by employing strategies such as modifying bacterial membranes: increasing pump activity, and reducing the expression of certain porins"

i.e. by us using this stuff all the time, the bacteria exposed to it are evolving into antibacterial resistant super bugs that we don't have anything to protect against them with.

"Didecyldimethylammonium chloride: In mice this disinfectant was found to cause infertility and birth defects when combined with Alkyl (60% C14, 25% C12, 15% C16) dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (ADBAC)."

It's been nice to be able to stop my laundry smelling muddy or musty, but at what cost? do we really want to be risking putting chemicals that cause infertility and birth defects on fabrics that are going to be on our baby's skin just because the UK hasn't gotten around to banning them yet like the EU has?

I am using sanitizers on pieces that can’t be washed at a hotter temp and stuff like cleaning cloths/mop heads (steam mop, robot vacuum etc).

This is why people shouldn't use anti bac soaps/wipes etc. Regular soap goes the job, anti bac things can cause resistance in bacteria. I remember reading this 20 years ago.

I've never felt these were necessary, but have recently discovered the Dettol Pets one, which is significantly better than any of the other specific products for removing cat wee smell.
I don't use it in every wash, only if there is wee or poo on something (v old cat who has occasional accidents).

I don't use anti-bac anything! Anti-bac cleaning spray (cleaner at work uses it) makes me and another guy in the office cough instantly - you just know it must be horribly damaging to everyone's lungs (even if they don't cough).

Not to mention bacterial resistance which is an enormous threat to mankind - at least as big as climate change!

I have a bottle for using on particularly grotty stuff (mainly animal stuff) to avoid having to use high temperatures which can damage the fabrics.

I've recently stopped washing at 30/40 as it's ruining my machine, not sure if it's just a hard water area issue with loads of grey mucky residue build up.

I previously used Dettol sanitiser for school shirts though as they were smelling awful when ironing them. I'm going to go without it next time and see if the higher temp solves the problem instead