Dirty Laundry? How Nasty Germs Survive in Your Washer
Washing Machines Are Teeming With Bacteria That Contaminate Your Clothes, Hands...
Your dirty laundry may actually be even dirtier after you wash it. That's because experts say washing machines are teeming with bacteria that find their way onto your clothes -- and then onto you.
Our smallest items -- our undergarments -- are the biggest culprits because of the presence of fecal matter and the different types of bacteria it can carry.
Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, has done extensive research on the germs that fester in our washing machines.
"If you wash a load of just underwear, there will be about 100 million E. coli in the wash water, and they can be transmitted to the next load of laundry," Gerba said.
"There's about a tenth of a gram of poop in the average pair of underwear," he added.
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