From kilts to stockings to your grandmother’s favorite table linens, fabric is involved in every part of our lives. But because we literally walk around with the clothes on our backs, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to know that bacteria and viruses can come in close contact with our skin by traveling on the same fabric we rely on for so many things.

But when you need to clean your clothing, you need to make sure you kill all the nasty microorganisms that decided to call your favorite shirt, pants, or scarf home. With that, you may be wondering, does dry cleaning disinfect your clothes?

What Germs Can Live in Dirty Laundry?

Even though there are literally billions of microorganisms that live on this earth, that does not mean we want the infectious ones moving into the fibers of our favorite clothes and linens. When that happens, we can get sick, and no one wants that! When it comes to our dirty laundry, there are some common germs that dry cleaning can take care of.

Influenza Virus

Whether you get your flu shot each year or not, there is always a chance that you will come down with the flu. Even if you do take all the precautions, you can end up catching this nasty virus. For that reason, when flu season comes around, you should turn to dry cleaning to kill off this bacteria. Similar to E. coli, the flu virus can be eradicated with the highest of temperatures that you can only achieve with dry cleaning.

Staphylococcus

Although it has a long and technical name, staphylococcus is one of the most common bacteria around. Generally referred to as staph, you will recognize infections from this bacteria due to their red bumps, sores, or blisters on the skin. So to avoid a staph infection, it is best to keep your garments clean!

Can Clothes Spread Germs?

You can contract bacteria from the air, a doorknob, or shaking someone’s hand, so it should not come as a surprise to know that our clothes can also spread germs. In fact, there are generally four main ways in which bacteria can be transferred to your clothing:

  • If your clothing is worn by more than one person.
  • If someone else in your household handles your laundry.
  • When clothes are not properly washed with high heat and proper detergent.
  • When you are out in the world.

Because clothes need to be washed with such high heat to kill off bacteria, your home appliances may not always be up to the task. Even if you are incredibly careful and handle all your laundry yourself, you will still get bacteria on your clothes from being out in the world. If you want to be certain that your clothes are free from germs, you should consider dry cleaning services, and let the professionals at ZIPS do your machine-washable laundry with their 24hr Wash N Fold service.

How Does Dry Cleaning Kill Germs?

Whether it’s dirt, dust, or infectious disease, you want to make sure you disinfect your clothes and rid them of any nasty germs. Although it is possible that your home washer and dryer can disinfect your clothes, your home appliances are no match for the high-temperature heat of professional dry cleaning.

Dry cleaning is one of the most effective ways to kill bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that find their way onto your clothing. In fact, the high heat of dry cleaning can wipe your garments clean and remove bacteria in about 30 minutes. When steaming, dry cleaning can reach temperatures of 200 to 220 degrees Fahrenheit, which is more than enough heat to attack and kill germs. For good measure and to ensure that no more bacteria are left on your items, the pressing process can reach temperatures of 300 to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. You can absolutely say bye-bye to germs if you use a dry cleaning service for disinfecting.

Does Dry Cleaning Disinfect Clothes?

Dry cleaning is one of the best ways to disinfect your clothes. The dry cleaning process takes commercial detergents and sanitizers to the next level by killing germs with high heat. This repeated high heat is not only effective in killing germs, but the process ensures that your clothes and linens are safe throughout the entire process.

The hot steam used for dry cleaning penetrates every fiber of your clothing to kill bacteria, germs, viruses, and other pesky microorganisms. Dry cleaning uses specialized chemicals to help remove dirt and avoid residue. When you use dry cleaning services, you can be confident that your clothes are germ-free.

Make the ZIPS Switch

For all of your dry cleaning needs, ZIPS Cleaners offers affordable dry cleaning that can fit within every budget. With the guarantee to dry clean any garment for a low cost and fast service, how could you go anywhere else! ZIPS commitment to clean ensures that your items will be thoroughly clean every time. Make the ZIPS switch today by finding a location near you.