How long does the coronavirus COVID-19 live on clothing? How to wash them

Assuming you wear clothing, you may have wondered how long the coronavirus COVID-19 can stay on your various garments. After all, clothing is what usually keeps many of the body parts away from everything else. However, the answer is a bit like Miley Cyrus’ wardrobe: complicated.

When it comes to estimating how long severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may remain on objects, many have reported a research letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research letter reported the results of the study that tested how long it could remain detectable in air and on surfaces. This included staying in aerosols for up to three hours, in copper for up to four hours, in cardboard for up to 24 hours, and in plastic and stainless steel for up to two or three days. You will notice that most clothing materials are not on this list, unless you are wearing copper armor or cardboard box.

So which item is more like your clothes? Well, as an article in New York Times by Tara Parker-Pope, who spoke to an aerosol scientist and pediatric infectious disease specialist, it could be cardboard because they both include fibers that could absorb moisture. Humidity is a lifeline for the virus. Without it, the virus can quickly dry out and become viable. So should you assume the virus can survive on your clothes for up to 24 hours? Maybe. Maybe.

Please note that clothing is not necessarily all fabric. They can have metal or plastic pieces like buttons or clasps. That is certainly the case if your clothes have giant plastic windows. In theory, the virus could survive longer in less absorbent parts of your clothing.

Then there is the question of what can happen if your clothes get wet and get wet. This may be due to rain, sweat, or excessive tears from the fact that you bought clothes with windows. If your clothes don’t dry quickly, could they harbor viruses for longer periods?

There have not been enough studies to determine with certainty how long the virus can remain in different clothing. Therefore, it is probably best to take the proper precautions if you believe that your clothing has been exposed to the virus.

Keep in mind that if you’ve spent the past few days at home with no one but your hole-filled undergarments, chances are your clothes haven’t been exposed to SARS-CoV2. Likewise, if you have maintained a good social distance while you are out and have not contacted anything that may be contaminated, your clothes are probably not contaminated.

Contamination could occur if someone contagious or a contaminated object touches your clothing. A contagious person who coughs, sneezes, or gasps close enough to their clothes could also put them at risk.

If you suspect contamination, remove clothing as soon as possible after exposure. If the exposure happened in a grocery store, don’t do it right away, as this can cause additional problems. Instead, wait until you are able to legally remove your clothes, like when you get home.

Whenever you handle any clothing that may have the virus, be it your clothing or someone else’s, such as someone you know who has COVID-19, follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to handling such clothing at risk. Wear disposable gloves, if available, and throw them away, gloves and not clothing, immediately after use. If you only have non-disposable gloves, keep them dedicated to situations where you are touching or disinfecting things that may have the coronavirus. Do not use them later for anything else like cooking or clapping your face. If you don’t have gloves available, keep your hands away from your gigantic face and wash your hands well immediately after touching clothes.

The CDC also recommends against tossing potentially contaminated clothing, which could spray the virus and other lovely little things in the air. If you feel like shaking something, shake your loot. An exception, do not shake your booty if you are wearing pants that may be contaminated.

Be sure to sanitize or safely discard anything that may have contaminated clothing. If this is your loot, take a shower.

Once the suspicious clothes are in the washing machine, adjust the water temperature to the highest temperature that the clothes can withstand. Use appropriate amounts of laundry detergent. Otherwise, you’re just wetting and spinning your clothes, kind of like putting them on a joyous ride in the rain. Laundry detergent should be able to alter the structure of the virus, so it should be okay to wash other clothes with potentially contaminated ones. Once the washing is done, dry the clothes completely, which can serve as an additional way to interrupt the virus.

All of this can be more challenging if you don’t have your own washer and dryer. If you must go to a laundry, be careful what you and your clothes touch. If possible, disinfect all surfaces and objects that you may come in contact with, such as laundry carts, washer and dryer buttons and handles, and tables used to fold clothes. Be sure to stay at least six feet away from others. This is not the time to choose lines like the one Rachel Shatto offers for Elite Daily: “Hello, good folding technique! But I’d rather see those rumpled clothes on your floor.”

There is a set of clothing that requires a different type of care and precautions. No, not your boa, but your shoes. Your shoes are probably not made entirely of fabric. A shoe made entirely of cotton, for example, tends to be called something else: a sock. Also, who knows what your shoes may be picking up as they crawl across floors and other surfaces. Also, many shoes cannot easily fit into the washing machine.

When you can’t wash your shoes easily and safely, leave them outside your home. DonDo not try any type of cleaning technique that puts you at risk of infection. Theoretically, this could happen while wiping shoes with a wet towel that can end up spraying a few drops in the air.

Again, don’t be paranoid about your clothes. Just hanging out won’t let your clothes catch the airborne virus like a great baseball glove. However, if you think you may have come in contact with the virus, it is a good idea to take appropriate precautions. You don’t want this virus to catch you with your pants down.