Washing outdoor clothes depend on where are you going?

The novel coronavirus probably survives on fabrics for some times, however, there is no study or research on it. Generally, the virus tends to last longer on non-porous surfaces (steel, plastic, glass etc) and stays shorter on porous surfaces like clothes. You might be wondering amid all the chaos of coronavirus, should you be washing your clothes every time you come home from outside. Let’s understand the concept here:

Currently, the general population in India is at low risk because widespread community transmission in India hasn’t begun yet. Washing your clothes to not get the infection from it when you come from outside depends upon where you went.

If you go outside return and change clothes but leave your outdoor clothes unwashed, it may be safe to wear the same clothes again when you step outside keeping in mind that you have not kept wiping your unwashed hands against your clothes.

Healthcare professional are at highest risk. It is not advised to repeat the same unwashed clothes if you are a healthcare professional, sanitation worker in a hospital or some other who works at a place, where coronavirus-infected people are kept.

Should you wash your outdoor clothes with other clothes?

If you have stepped outside to buy groceries from your nearest grocery shop , then it is probably safe to wash your outside clothes with other clothes. However, if you travel frequently to high-risk clusters like hospitals or quarantine centres, you should wash your clothes separately.

Government guidelines say that if someone is suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19, his or her clothes must be separately washed wearing gloves to avoid contamination. The staffs of the nodal isolation facility for patients, Kasturba Hospital, Mumbai bathe and wash their clothes in warm water separately from other laundries as a precaution against transmission.

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