“In recent years, more and more people prefer used clothing, known as “second-hand”, to save money or reduce the negative impact on the environment. However, this type of clothing can pose a hidden danger to the environment. health”.
Oku.AzBritish microbiologist Primrose Freestone warned about this, according to the portal “The Conversation.”
According to him, second-hand clothing can be a real “repository” for various pathogenic microorganisms.
“Clothes carry pathogenic pathogens. If they are not cleaned well before hanging in the store for sale, microorganisms may remain from the skin of the previous owner, including pathogens,” warns the biologist.
The expert said that each person’s skin adapts only to the disease-causing microbes that already live on it, therefore, a microbe that is safe and does not cause any reaction in some can cause serious illness in another person.
He listed staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, Escherichia coli, norovirus, rotavirus and even fungi that cause mycosis or ringworm, among the possible “inhabitants” of second-hand clothing.
“Some of them can live on clothing for months feeding on amino acids, skin oil and cellular proteins from human sweat. And on fabrics made of polyester materials, they can stay up to 200 days, especially in high humidity conditions,” he added. . .
Please wash it as soon as you receive it.
To reduce the risks associated with microbes, the biologist recommends washing used clothing with a detergent at a temperature of about 60°C. This will help remove contamination and also pathogenic microbes, if present.
She also recommends washing old clothes separately from new clothes to avoid cross-contamination. Keeping products in a solution with antibacterial powder for several hours also ensures the destruction of all microbes.
