TABLE 5.
Recommended strategies for home laundering
| Level of laundry hygiene and/or sanitization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Situation | Healthy households with light staining and bodily soiling | Healthy households with heavy staining and bodily soiling | Households with suspected or confirmed respiratory infections including COVID‐19, influenza or the common cold |
Households with confirmed or suspected enteric infections (‘stomach bugs’) Households with persons who have a weakened immune system Households with healthcare workers and first responders; laundering work clothes at home |
| General guidance | Standard laundry process using quality detergents provides adequate hygiene for every‐day laundering | Active households with heavier soiling can benefit from higher quality detergents (characterized by multiple types of surfactants and enzymes) to deeply clean stains and body soil residues from textiles | Special precautions should be taken when handling contaminated clothes and bedding as per the CDC guidelines, but sanitizers are not needed to remove respiratory viruses | Sanitizers and/or the sanitizing cycle on the washing machine should be used during certain illness or special situations, but they should be used in combination with higher quality detergents to first remove deeply embedded soils, and should not be used for everyday cleaning |
| Special handling precautions | Wash hands after handling soiled laundry and transferring wet laundry from washer to dryer; avoid contact between contaminated surfaces and soiled laundry | Wash hands after handling soiled laundry and transferring wet laundry from washer to dryer; avoid contact between contaminated surfaces and soiled laundry | Wear disposable gloves when handling dirty laundry (clothes and bed linens) from a person who is sick; Dirty laundry from a person who is sick can be washed with other people's items. Do not shake dirty laundry; Clean and disinfect clothes hampers and contact surfaces; Remove gloves, and wash hands immediately; Wash hands again after transferring wet laundry from washer to dryer | Work clothes should be removed before entering the domestic environment; Wear disposable gloves when handling dirty laundry (clothes and bed linens) from a person who is sick; Dirty laundry from a person who is sick should not be washed with other people's items; Do not shake dirty laundry; clean and disinfect clothes hampers and contact surfaces; Remove gloves, and wash hands right away; wash hands again after transferring wet laundry from washer to dryer |
| Recommended products | Regular (low surfactant; no enzymes) or high quality (high surfactant; enzymes) laundry detergent | Higher quality detergents (multiple types of surfactants and enzymes) | High or higher quality detergents | High‐quality laundry detergent PLUS Registered Sanitizer or Sanitizing Cycle on the washing machine |
| Washing frequency | Wash as needed | Wash frequently | Wash as soon as possible | Wash as soon as possible |
| Washer settings | Regular detergent: Cold water for most clothes; use warm/hot water for socks, underwear, sheets, and towels, and cleaning cloths; high‐quality detergent: wash at any temperature, including cold water | Wash at any temperature, including cold water | Use the warmest water setting allowed by the care label | Hottest water allowed by the care label; follow registered sanitizer product instructions or washing machine instructions for the sanitizing cycle |
| Dryer setting | Medium heat; allow clothes to dry completely before storing | Low to medium heat; allow clothes to dry completely before storing | Medium to high heat; dry completely before storing | Highest heat setting allowed by the care label; dry completely before storing |
Increased shading is used to differentiate levels of response with darker shading indicating a higher level of hygiene controls needed.