Elsevier reports that dirty laundry smells bad because of certain chemicals called volatile organic compounds, which can’t always be washed out on an eco-friendly 20˚C cycle. Researchers identified six volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on dirty t-shirts and socks.. “The need to conserve the environment by reducing the wash temperature and the use of biodegradable washing products have grown in importance in the new millennium, making this type of research more high profile,” says Professor John Dean.
The researchers gave 6 men and two women a new pair of socks. They asked the volunteers to wash their feet with tap water and dry them before wearing the socks for at least 10 hours, in a specified type of shoe. They then put each sock into a separate sample bag and stored them in the dark overnight. The researchers graded each sock and t-shirt on a scale of 0 (no malodor) to 10 (malodorous) by smelling them.
The team then identified six main VOCs contributing to the smell: butyric acid (strong, rancid butter-like odor), dimethyl disulfide (unpleasant, onion-like odor, like rotting flesh), dimethyl trisulfide (powerful odor), 2-heptanone (banana-like fruity odor), 2-nonanone (fruity, floral, fatty, herbaceous odor) and 2-octanone (apple-like odor). “The work is fascinating as it links an everyday event - the washing of clothes - with cutting-edge research,” says Dean. “In this particular research project we applied a new and innovative analytical technique for the detection of volatile compounds found in laundry items. We hope this provides a way of analyzing the effectiveness of different washing techniques.”
(Score: 5, Informative) by b0ru on Monday May 23 2016, @08:07AM
In the interest of not supporting Elsevier, and other enemies of scientific publishing, here is the link the paper [northumbria.ac.uk], should anyone want to actually read it. Hint hint, submitters; it only takes five minutes...
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23 2016, @09:25AM
The original paper is already in the second link in the submission.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Aiwendil on Monday May 23 2016, @09:43AM
Seriously? WTF?
At 20c how do you get rid of the germs and fungal spores? (they tend do die in the 54-56c range) Or do you just use impressivly nasty chemicals instead [which would combat the notion of eco-friendly]?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Monday May 23 2016, @10:14AM
If you want to keep your feet healthy, the right thing is to wash them every day. Then you don't need to be afraid of germs or spores getting to them; they will get there anyway no matter how you wash your socks.
Things getting in contact with body openings or with food are a completely different games; for that I use 95°C exclusively. But I neither eat with my socks, nor do I wipe my ass with them, so who cares about a few germs on them? Not to mention that most of the germs will simply get physically removed by washing, together with the dirt.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by GungnirSniper on Monday May 23 2016, @01:29PM
95°C is 203°F, so where do you get water that hot?
Tips for better submissions to help our site grow. [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Informative) by schad on Monday May 23 2016, @03:24PM
I think most modern clothes washers have built-in heaters because you can't count on the home's hot-water supply actually being hot.
My clothes washer has a "sanitary" mode that heats the water to 170F and holds it there (by way of multiple fill/drain cycles) for about an hour before going on to a regular hot-water wash cycle. I use it for towels. I doubt anything else could survive more than one or two runs through.
203F/95C is either overkill or not enough. 170F/77C for a few minutes will kill damn near everything. The only stuff it won't kill can survive up to 482F/250C, which you won't achieve without specialized equipment. Also your clothes would melt/disintegrate at half that temperature.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 24 2016, @02:26AM
half that temperature
I don't think that means what you think it means.
(Score: 3, Funny) by maxwell demon on Monday May 23 2016, @03:34PM
The washing machine heats it up. Don't American washing machines do that?
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Francis on Monday May 23 2016, @02:00PM
If we cared about foot health we would only be wearing shoes when absolutely necessary. Such as in places like warehouses, construction sites, while riding motorcycles or kitchens.
Feet aren't really intended to be in shoes, between the fungi and bacteria there's ample reason to let the feet breathe regularly. Not to mention that ill-fitting shoes can cause all sorts of problems with the joints and that mass marketed shoes don't necessarily allow the foot to pivot the way that it should. Especially for people whose instep doesn't match the typical one for the length of the foot.
(Score: 2) by CoolHand on Monday May 23 2016, @02:22PM
I agree with everything you said, except, why kitchens? Bare feet somehow being a health hazard over wearing shoes is a misconception that should be stamped out immediately..
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23 2016, @02:32PM
in kitchens you can get slippery yucky stuff on your feet. it's simpler to just take off the slippers when that happens.
(Score: 4, Informative) by schad on Monday May 23 2016, @02:57PM
Foot safety, not food safety. Knives, grease spatter, boiling water. Safety of the rest of you, too; bare feet slip easily on even a small amount of water, but good shoes don't.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 24 2016, @10:13AM
why kitchens?
If you go barefoot in kitchens you get pregnant...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23 2016, @04:14PM
In Japan, I got used to taking off shoes when indoors. It's one of the better ideas they have over there... With all the crap I walk through, it really doesn't make any sense to spread it through my apartment.
Get a few pairs of slippers (plus a few extra for guests), change when entering or leaving. Your feet will feel much better, and your house will be much cleaner.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday May 23 2016, @07:23PM
This times 1000. Most foot problems can be traced back to wearing shoes too much of the time.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 24 2016, @12:11AM
As a major source of foot problems, I would include wearing shoes that are [archive.is] not [archive.is] foot [archive.is] shaped. [archive.is]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday May 25 2016, @02:13AM
Yes, apparently that's not nearly as obvious as it seems to be.
But beyond that, I find it funny that as a rule of thumb, the more expensive the running shoe, the more harm it does.
(Score: 2) by Username on Monday May 23 2016, @05:55PM
I spray my socks and shoes with chlorhexidine to keep the smell down. Chlorhexidine is deactivated by common washing detergents, so it’s fairly eco friendly.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23 2016, @12:51PM
Now we know what counts as cutting edge, at University of Northumbria -- they smell your socks...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23 2016, @04:03PM
You jest, but that's one of the major problems with financing research. Cutting edge or GTFO.
Not all research is or needs to be cutting edge.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday May 23 2016, @06:17PM
I wonder how many cool, interesting, and useful things we don't know because the research subject seemed too ordinary? Probably quite a lot.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by butthurt on Monday May 23 2016, @08:29PM
They also analysed the smells with static headspace – multi-capillary column – gas chromatography – ion mobility spectrometry. GC-IMS equipment is commercially available, but when I searched for "SHS-MCC-GC-IMS" I only found this group's work. Examining familiar things with a new instrumental technique can be worthwhile (consider when Hooke put living things under the microscope).
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday May 24 2016, @05:28PM
Yep -- if you know exactly what compounds you're dealing with, you can determine exactly how to best formulate detergent to neutralize said compounds, and don't have to shotgun the wash with every sort of deodorizer and hope one works.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23 2016, @01:14PM
heap used clothes in dark and dry corner. keep adding.
it will start to smell (do not disturb!).
on week-end (with time and low electricity prices) drop in washing machine with detergent.
wash at 40.
spin-dry 1200 RPM.
remove quickly after washing and let to dry in well ventilated (outdoor)
location and well spaced (dry it quickly)!
? profit
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23 2016, @03:24PM
Anecdotally, just letting clothes dry without washing them reduces odour significantly.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23 2016, @04:09PM
Yep, we do this. After exercise or yard work, sweaty clothes are hung over the edge of the dirty clothes bin to dry out, then flipped into the bin when convenient.
To the Euro requester -- most US washing machines don't have hot water heaters in them. North American hot water systems typically include a well-insulated, heated storage tank ("hot water heater") that is at the water main pressure all the time (could be 3-5 bar). These have a thermostat, and ~50 gallons/200 liters of hot water is always ready (except for transit time from tank to tap).
Quite different from systems I've seen in England & Europe with separate hot water tanks on an upper floor of the building that gravity feed down to taps. Among other small advantages, we can have single lever mixing valves with no worries that hot or cold systems will be at different pressures--and possibly back fill from one side into the other.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by number6 on Monday May 23 2016, @08:45PM
Myself, being a protein fiber (wool, silk) aficionado, I do know from personal experience that they are incredibly resistant to developing the odours described in the research.
I noticed the choice of textile in the research was "...Sock samples (74% cotton, 19% polyester, 5% nylon and 2% lycra) and 100% polyester white sport T-shirts (Nike)...".
Synthetic fibers (Polyester, Nylon, etc) are highly attractive breeding grounds for bacteria and odours; this is one of their main negative qualities along with the fact that they melt when exposed to extreme heat; and Cotton, when damp and placed in an unventilated space such as a plastic bag has negative qualities too; it quickly develops moldy smells and begins to weaken and rot; this is the reason the military chose to replace cotton canvas gear for soldiers with synthetic canvas (i.e. 'Cordura' Nylon by Dupont for example).
Wool and Silk on the other hand are naturally resistant to bacteria and odours;
you can wear a (fine non-itchy) wool T-shirt every day and never wash it for months and it is still OK to wear and no one around you will notice any significant foul smells [*].
you can wear a (80% wool, 20% nylon) sock every day and never wash it for months and it is still OK to wear and no one around you will notice any significant foul smells [*].
Ditto for underwear too !!!!!
My conclusion about this research: NOT VERY INSIGHTFUL; SCIENCE WITH BLINKERS ON.
BTW: I have been wearing wool as first layer against my skin for decades now; everything touching my body directly is made of super-fine wool, i.e....
- T-shirts, Full-arm tops, and Singlets (I get the Singlets custom made for me by a retired tailor who lives down the road from me but will start up his sewing machine for cash).
- Socks (both winter(thick) and summer(thin) types).
- Underwear (I get them custom made from fine wool with a long leg length like bicycle shorts; I hate the feeling of cold air going up my legs into my crotch; My winter ones are made from wool used for old peoples night leggings; My summer ones are made from fine lace womens wool underwear).
- Head Caps and Beanies (yes even those are always wool, I have some custom made ones of extremely fine silk and wool as used in the trimmings of expensive mens suits and scarves; they are tissue paper thin yet keep their shape beautifully and are more comfortable than anything made of cotton even in extreme hot weather).
[*] If by some chance you are a soldier and you are reading this.... DO NOT wear white or light-colored wool items for an extended period of time without washing unless you (or the people looking at you) can handle looking at disgusting shades of grey yellow and brown; use black or dark colors and the problem will not be visible.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday May 24 2016, @05:32PM
Where the heck do you find such fine wool fabric? the nearest I can think of is in some older-style suits.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by bitstream on Monday May 23 2016, @08:52PM
Use >60 ⁰C.
And use ordinary dishwasher agent that contains hydrogen peroxide and surfactant etc. It wipes most smelly stuff out. No need for special (expensive) special agents.
Temperatures below 60 ⁰C will only wash away sweat etc so it's not hygienic as all the fungi and bacteria remains.
Curiously, chlorine doesn't seem to get rid of these fungi and bacteria but sure makes ugly spots and smell. Cooking also works, but then your clothes loose coloring and soon breaks.
It would be interesting to know what fungi and bacteria that cause these smells. And thus how to explicitly kill them and not the fibers.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday May 24 2016, @01:56AM
?"
For years, every single collared shirt I ever wore would get its collar torn up on the inside.
"You don't wash with hot water".
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]