How to sanitize your bed sheets and bath towels

In the wake of Covid-19, each one of us should take more caution in handling not just our bodies and clothes, but also our bed sheets and bath towels.

With the quarantine, all of us have some extra time for like cleaning the house often, reading, catching up on sleep among others. However what we should not forget is this:  sanitizing your linens is as important as sanitizing all surfaces. Consider the fact that you spend 8 hours in bed. Also consider that you use towels to dry your body after coming home from outside. 

Here's what you could do to clean your linens:

1. Vinegar and Baking Soda

Before you put your bed sheets in the washing machine, soak them for 15 minutes in a mixture of water, laundry liquid, vinegar and baking soda. Yes, you heard it right. Vinegar and soda are some great alternatives to bleach and are quite effective in killing bacteria. 

2. Hydrogen Peroxide 

Add a cup of hydrogen peroxide (3% concentration) to the wash. It could bleach some fabrics so a good way is to mix it with water before hand and then pour the liquid into the machine. This ensures there is no spot bleaching.

3. Pine Oil

Pine oil is very effective at disinfecting. However, avoid using it on wool or silk. 

Most importantly dry your bed linen including bed sheets, towels and comforters, duvets and blankets in the SUN. Sunlight is very effective at disinfecting your linens. 

An hour on each side should be good. 

4. For those of you who get their laundry done outside, you can opt for a steaming iron. Yes the steam permeates through the fabric and the heat helps kill the bacteria.