Are some things too dirty to put in the washing machine?

[Vox Humana]

"Cacique" <cacique83@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:d417ek$6ao$1@inews.gazeta.pl...

> OK, you and Nan have put my mind at ease about this, and it's something
i've
> wondered about for a long time, but never asked about it. I just have
one
> more question and then I'm going to bed, but what's wrong with washing
> clothes that have some gas on them? Of course, i understand that gas is
> flammable, but wouldn't the water in the machine dillute the gas, and what
> is the risk of combustion; is it that the washing machine is an electrical
> device and could short out causing an explosion? Maybe it's a naive
> question but I had never considered this before.

Gasoline will vaporize and there is a chance of explosion. In addition,
since all the gasoline may not be removed, there is a chance that fire and
explosion could occur if the contaminated clothes are put in a dryer. I
would also be afraid that traces of gasoline would remain in plumbing traps.
Every washer and dryer that I have ever owned included safety instructions
warning against laundering gasoline soaked fabrics.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Mon 18 Apr 2005 02:05:07p, Cacique wrote in alt.home.cleaning:

>> > Are some things just too dirty to wash? I'm talking basically about
>> > rags that I use for scrubbing the sink drain, toilet bowl, and other
>> > rather dirty areas. Can these be washed and re-used, or are they
>> > rendered too dirty by use to even consider placing them into the
>> > washing machine for re-use? I know rags are cheap and I don't mind
>> > buying new ones, but I consider myself environmentally consicious,
>> > and if I can re-use them rather than toss them away, I'd prefer to do
>> > that. I'm just worried that the next time I use my washing machine
>> > for my clothes, that it would have baceteria or something inside of
>> > it from washing the dirty things in it.
>>
>> The only things you probably shouldn't wash in your washer are items
>> that are caked with grease - the kind of grease that you might find on
>> heavy machinery. That sort of grease probably would simply coat the
>> machine and ruin subsequent loads. In other words, if something is
>> covered with soil that isn't easily water soluble with some added
>> detergent, then you shouldn't wash it. Another class of soiled items
>> that probably shouldn't be washed would be items that are saturated
>> with highly flammable liquids like gasoline. That is just a common
>> sense, safety precaution.
>>
>> People seem to have the idea that bacteria are very hard to kill. In
>> fact, most bacteria are easily killed with hot water and soap. Adding
>> a little bleach also helps. Hot water and detergent will kill most
>> pathogens like tuberculosis, HIV, staph, strep, herpes,and most viruses
>> that cause colds and other communicable diseases Normal washing and
>> drying will also kill fungus. The only class of pathogens that aren't
>> likely to be killed in a washer are spore-forming pathogens like
>> hepatitis B.
>>
>> Feel free to wash rags and diapers in your washer. If washing machines
>> were a vector for disease, then there would be mass epidemics. How
>> careful do you think people are at coin laundries?
>>
>>
>
> OK, you and Nan have put my mind at ease about this, and it's something
> i've wondered about for a long time, but never asked about it. I just
> have one more question and then I'm going to bed, but what's wrong with
> washing clothes that have some gas on them? Of course, i understand
> that gas is flammable, but wouldn't the water in the machine dillute the
> gas, and what is the risk of combustion; is it that the washing machine
> is an electrical device and could short out causing an explosion? Maybe
> it's a naive question but I had never considered this before.
>
>
>

I think the distinction is between a "gasl soaked" rag and a rag or
clothing that has a few spots of gas on them.

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

[Nan]

On 18 Apr 2005 23:19:41 +0200, Wayne Boatwright
<waynesgang@waynes.gang> wrote:

>I think the distinction is between a "gas soaked" rag and a rag or
>clothing that has a few spots of gas on them.

Right. Fwiw, my washer says not to launder anything 'dampened' by
gas. I take that to mean more than just a few splatters.
I wouldn't have a problem washing clothing that had gotten a few
splatters, after I'd used detergent and rinsed the area well by hand,
first.

Nan

[Michael A. Ball]

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 02:15:27 +0900, "Cacique" <cacique83@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>Are some things just too dirty to wash?...

No. Just visit the laundry facility at any skilled nursing home, and all
of your fears (about dirty laundry) will vanish.

One jihad Mom to another Jihad Mom: "<sigh>"Kids"..." They blow up so quickly!"

[Phisherman]

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 02:15:27 +0900, "Cacique" <cacique83@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>Are some things just too dirty to wash? I'm talking basically about rags
>that I use for scrubbing the sink drain, toilet bowl, and other rather dirty
>areas. Can these be washed and re-used, or are they rendered too dirty by
>use to even consider placing them into the washing machine for re-use? I
>know rags are cheap and I don't mind buying new ones, but I consider myself
>environmentally consicious, and if I can re-use them rather than toss them
>away, I'd prefer to do that. I'm just worried that the next time I use my
>washing machine for my clothes, that it would have baceteria or something
>inside of it from washing the dirty things in it.
>

I usually do a "dirty" wash every 6 weeks or so. This load might
consist of shower curtain liner, car towels, shop rags, garden/work
gloves, dusting cloths, etc. I'll add a little more soap, perhaps
some TSP, plus a booster and use hot water. If the water is black
with dirt, I'll run it though a second time. If anything is caked
with mud or has sand in it, I'll take these items in the backyard and
brush and/or beat them first or they may be vacuumed prior to being
laundered. Like some items dusting cloths and shop rags seem to get
better with age. A rag that contains flammable solvents or finishes
will be discarded. Look for harmful bacteria on pot holders, oven
mitts, kitchen sink & towels, and moist sponges.

[Dale Benjamin]

I soak any really dirty cloths in a concentrated solution of laundry detergent
and ammonia for a half hour before washing. They don't come out spotless, but
are clean enough for wiping the walls, car, hands, etc. again.

I think ammonia doesn't burn the cloth as much as bleach.

Of course any real heavy accumulation of grease on a cloth takes lots of
detergent, ammonia, and time to remove, those I trash.

"Cacique" <cacique83@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:d40pvv$n6i$1@inews.gazeta.pl...
> Are some things just too dirty to wash? I'm talking basically about rags
> that I use for scrubbing the sink drain, toilet bowl, and other rather dirty
> areas. Can these be washed and re-used, or are they rendered too dirty by
> use to even consider placing them into the washing machine for re-use? I
> know rags are cheap and I don't mind buying new ones, but I consider myself
> environmentally consicious, and if I can re-use them rather than toss them
> away, I'd prefer to do that. I'm just worried that the next time I use my
> washing machine for my clothes, that it would have baceteria or something
> inside of it from washing the dirty things in it.
>
>

[Barbecue Bob]

In article <u4g861lm51fcbb8qnkn4pom4p8vfm2vvod@4ax.com>,
Phisherman <nobody@noone.com> wrote:

>
> If the water is black
> with dirt, I'll run it though a second time.

Black water should be discarded. If you're going to re-use laundry
water, it should be rinse water.

> Look for harmful bacteria on pot holders, oven
> mitts, kitchen sink & towels, and moist sponges.

If you wash your pot holders in a machine, police dogs will alert on any
clothing washed in that machine afterward. There was a long thread
about it in rec.drugs.pot.
--
Barbecue Bob Serving family-style roast bunny
at fine restaurants
from Idaho to New Mexico.

[meirman]

In alt.home.cleaning on Tue, 19 Apr 2005 05:08:06 +0900 "Cacique"
<cacique83@hotmail.com> posted:

>
>Pardon me, Nan. That's just my lack of knowledge about cloth diapers
>showing through. I was under the impression that cloth diapers were usually
>provided as a service by a diaper cleaning company that would pick up and
>drop them off. I guess I just assumed that it was because people couldn't
>wash them at home.

No, they don't want to, because it's too much effort. They'd rather
spend money to have someone else do it.

> Why the heck don't more people use cloth diapers then?
>Wouldn't it be much cheaper than buying disposables, and way better for the
>environment than dumping tons of disposables into the trash every day?

Even if the costs are close, and I'm sure Nan is right, most people
wouldn't care if it was as you say instead. They spend loads of extra
money on lots of things, then complain about the high cost of living.
They'll not pay their Visa bill sooner than disconnect their TV Cable.

My mother washed my diapers in the machine. In fact that may have
been the driving force for buying a washing machine, which were not so
common then.

After I stopped using them, she used my diapers as dish towels, for
drying the dishes. I had enough that she didn't wear out the last one
until I was about 45 years old.

>>
>> Not anything I can think of, other than anything that's gotten
>> gasoline on it. That can be combustible.

For the same reason it is so combustible, gasoline evaporates very
fast. Even if soaking wet, I think stretched out, clothes would be
dry in a half-hour. Maybe you know something more, though.

>> Nan
>>
>


Meirman
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