Antimicrobial Efficacy of Laundry Detergents with Regard to Time and Temperature in Domestic Washing Machines

Abstract

In times of low-temperature washing, laundry hygiene gains importance, as microbial contaminations on textiles can cause infection transmission and malodour formation. This study systematically investigated the antimicrobial effect of laundry detergents (solid and liquid market detergents) with regard to time and temperature in domestic washing machines. To evaluate the microbial reduction, cotton swatches contaminated with Staph. aureus, Ent. hirae, Ps. aeruginosa, C. albicans and T. mentagrophytes were washed at 20 to 60 °C, varying the washing time, with and without detergent. All tested washing factors affected the antimicrobial effect of to a varying extend, depending on the germ. The used solid market detergent containing activated oxygen bleach provided a way to achieve high microbial reductions in low temperature washing.

Laundry hygiene-how to get more than clean

“…; Honisch et al . , ). Interestingly, although the TAED‐mediated activation of percarbonate or perborate is temperature‐dependent and should work best at temperatures of above 40°C, an additional antimicrobial effect can already be observed at lower temperatures (Honisch et al .…”

“…There are only few investigations that allow observation of this detergency effect of surfactants on micro-organisms. Honisch et al (2016) recently investigated laundry processes with and without detergents and found little or no effects when comparing the remaining microbial load on artificially contaminated swatches after laundering in a domestic washing machine. Only S. aureus (and to a lesser extent Enterococcus hirae) exhibited a considerably higher LR when washed with detergent compared to water alone, probably due to a better removal of bacterial cells from the fabric, since suspension tests virtually show no antimicrobial effects when detergents are added (Brands et al 2016).…”

“…temperature, time, etc.) and the tested organisms (Arild et al 2003;Lichtenberg et al 2006;Linke et al 2011;Honisch et al 2014Honisch et al , 2016. Interestingly, although the TAED-mediated activation of percarbonate or perborate is temperaturedependent and should work best at temperatures of above 40°C, an additional antimicrobial effect can already be observed at lower temperatures (Honisch et al 2014).…”

A New Method to Evaluate the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Domestic Laundry Detergents

“…There are several suitable processes to investigate the antimicrobial efficacy of domestic laundering processes. The determination of the logarithmic reduction (LR) using artificially contaminated cotton swatches (biomonitors) is very common (Block et al, ; Honisch et al, , ). These biomonitors are laundered in a washing machine considering parameters such as the duration of the main wash cycle, the nominal main wash temperature, and the type of detergent.…”

Antibacterial Activities of Surfactants in the Laundry Detergents and Isolation of the Surfactant Resistant Aquatic Bacteria

“…The surfactants in laundry detergents are known to function as antimicrobial agents against various microbes Munk et al, 2001;Honisch et al, 2016 , but the microorganisms resistant to the killing action of the surfactants have been isolated Maeda et al, 1996;Munk et al, 2001 . Therefore, attachment of the surfactant-resistant bacteria, especially human pathogenic ones, to clothes or beddings may increase the risk of infectious diseases.…”