Laundry risk categories
The question people ask about towels and bedding is how often. The scientific body that reviewed domestic laundering answers a different one, and says why: what the item was used for governs more than how many days have passed.
In detail
No authority states an interval for washing towels, tea towels or bed linen. A home-hygiene body's review of 29 studies publishes RISK CATEGORIES instead, because what decides whether a wash needs to be hot is what the item has touched. HIGHER-RISK ITEMS go at 60C OR ABOVE with an oxygen bleach product. The class is defined by exposure, not by fabric: kitchen cloths and towels used during food preparation, anything heavily soiled with body fluids, reusable nappies, high-contact sports clothing, pet fabrics, and the clothing of health, food and care workers. Anything moves into this class while someone at home is infected or vulnerable. LOWER-RISK ITEMS — towels, bed linen, face cloths, underclothing — go at 30-40C, still with an oxygen bleach-based product. Outer clothing and soft furnishings are fine at 30C without one. SEGREGATION IS A SEPARATE INSTRUCTION AND THE ONE MOST OFTEN MISSED. At 30-40C the wash may not stop pathogens transferring BETWEEN items in a load, so tea towels are washed separately. Two cautions travel with it: many machines do not reach the temperature on the dial, and the review had detergent-industry support.
Why
- Laundry is explained by Laundry risk categories
Why one wash is not one standard — what is on the fabric decides the temperature, not the fabric itself.
- Machine washing is explained by Laundry risk categories
Sources for this page
Sources
Effectiveness of laundering processes used in domestic (home) settings
International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene, 2013 · Scientific literature
Relied on for: That it publishes risk categories rather than laundering intervals; that higher-risk items including kitchen cloths go at 60C or above with an oxygen bleach-based product; that towels, bed linen and underclothing sit in the 30-40C class; that 30-40C may not prevent transfer between items in a load, so tea towels are washed separately; and that many machines do not reach their stated temperature. (states this directly)