How to Sanitize Clothes, Bed Sheets and Towels

Before sanitizing clothes, read and follow directions on labels of laundry or clothing items and detergent. To sanitize your clothes, use a normal laundry detergent according to washing machine instructions and dry thoroughly using the warmest temperatures recommended on the clothing label.

• Immediately remove and wash clothes or bedding that have blood, stool or body fluids on them.
• Immediately after disinfecting, wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.³
• Wash and dry your clothes at a higher temperature (100–135°F) for at least 30 minutes to ensure sufficient killing of germs.⁴
• It’s safe to wash a sick person’s dirty laundry with other people’s items.
• If handling dirty laundry from a person who is sick, wear gloves and a mask.
• Clean clothes hampers or laundry baskets according to guidance for surfaces.
• Wash hands after handling dirty laundry.

• To wash bleach-safe bed sheets and towels, machine wash in the hottest water recommended using a good detergent and ⅔ cup Clorox^® Disinfecting Bleach in a traditional deep-fill washer, or ⅓ cup Clorox^® Disinfecting Bleach in a high efficiency clothes washer. Make sure the bleach contacts the load for 10 minutes.¹  
• Bedding should be washed at least weekly, and towels semi-weekly. Infected family members should not share any laundry with others in the home. 
• When handling dirty bed sheets and towels, the following is recommended by the CDC: avoid shaking laundry to minimize dispersing virus into the air, wear gloves, and if possible contain dirty laundry in a hamper lined with a washable laundry bag or plastic bag. Wash hands when finished handling dirty laundry.²