You Can Still Use Laundromats Safely During the Coronavirus Pandemic. Just Take a Few Precautions First.

With dozens of cities and states telling residents to stay home and to practice rigorous cleaning to avoid spreading COVID-19, everyday life has changed dramatically, right down to mundane tasks like doing laundry. If you don’t have a washer and dryer at home, public health experts are offering guidance for how to use the laundromat, send your laundry out for cleaning, or hand wash items at home as safely as possible. And there are strategies everyone can follow to carefully handle and thoroughly disinfect their laundry, whether or not they have a washer and dryer.

Can I use shared laundry facilities?

Laundromats or laundry rooms

Marilyn Roberts, professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Washington, told us, “It's safe to go to a laundromat, but you need to be very careful as far as person-to-person interaction.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believes that most cases of COVID-19 are spread through respiratory droplets from an infected person that are inhaled or that land on your mouth or nose. If your building has communal laundry facilities, or if you’re using a laundromat—hard-hit states such as New York, Washington, and California (PDF) still consider them essential businesses that may remain open—maintaining 6 feet of social distance is key. Ideally this would mean one person in a laundry facility at a time, but that may not be realistic. “People have to rely on their common sense,” Roberts said. Try doing your laundry at off-peak times when it’s less crowded. If your local laundromat is staffed, try calling ahead to ask how busy it is, or if it’s open at all—many may have closed.

New York City’s Department of Health has issued guidelines (PDF) requiring businesses to sanitize their equipment in order to protect their employees and customers. If you’re not confident your local laundromat or your building’s laundry room is being diligently cleaned, Roberts agrees that wiping down the front of the washer and dryer with disinfectant before using them, and washing your hands after moving your wet laundry to the dryer, are good safeguards. Wait to fold your clothes at home, too, to avoid touching tabletops.

Laundry services

We asked Scott Pauley, a representative for the CDC, if it’s better to send laundry out to a wash-and-fold service than use a laundromat, and he told us, “[It] would really boil down to social distancing, and whether you could limit close contact with other individuals.” If you choose to use a laundering service, protect the laundry workers handling your dirty stuff: If anyone in your household is sick, don’t send your dirty laundry out immediately. “Bundle it up, let it sit for a few days, and then send it out,” Roberts said. “Viruses don’t survive that long,” she noted. “Certainly not over two days or three days.” An article in the Journal of Hospital Infection agrees, finding that coronaviruses survive a max of two days on hospital gowns at room temperature. Similarly, be careful with the clean bundles of laundry you get back. “If you’re immunocompromised, if you’ve got lung issues, and you’re worried about it, then put them in a closet or something that’s not used, and don’t open them for a few days,” Roberts said. “That should pretty much get rid of the virus.”

Hand washing

If hand washing clothes at home is the best option for you, leave laundry hanging until it’s thoroughly dry—do not put items away if they’re at all damp. “We know that viruses in general, especially these kinds of [Corona] viruses, don't survive a very long time just out on surfaces,” Dr. Roberts says. “Especially if the surface is dry, if the humidity is dry.” A drying rack will make things easier and this Polder model will fit in the bathtub to cut down on drips.

If you don’t have access to laundry facilities, a portable machine could be a lifesaver. A portable washer would wring your laundry free of excess water to make air drying faster, and an electric dryer would ensure that your clothes dry thoroughly. But they’re also hot commodities right now. Most we’ve seen are sold out or have delayed shipping. Unfortunately we haven’t tested these machines recently, and our former recommendation from Panda is now discontinued (although we still consider Panda a reputable brand). One Wirecutter senior editor owns a combo washer and dryer similar to this Best Choice model that has worked well for her. If you are renting your home, make sure to check your lease before you buy an electric machine—many property owners don’t allow them because, depending on your building, they could cause plumbing problems or be fire hazards.

Another option is a hand-crank washing machine like The Wonder Wash or a pedal washer and dryer like this model from Best Choice. They don’t require electricity, and they’re convenient for hand washing, but we haven’t tested either machine, and they also won’t get your load completely dry, so you’ll still need to hang your clothes up.

There are also ways to reduce the amount of laundry you need to do. If you’re sheltering in place, Roberts suggests wearing clothes more than once (but changing your underwear every day). With everyone washing their hands so frequently, you might be going through a lot of hand towels. Even so, Roberts said, people should not be sharing them, whether they’re showing symptoms or not. Try keeping a stock of inexpensive extras so you can go longer between loads. She also recommends having at least two sets of sheets so you can change your bedding (we recommend once a week) even if you can’t do the laundry right away. Our budget pick for cotton sheets, Target’s Threshold Performance Sheet Set, is an affordable option if you need to order extra sets now. Extra pillowcases are also a smart idea. If you can’t change and wash your bedding as regularly as you would normally, Roberts says, at the very least wash and dry your pillowcases frequently, especially if you’re sick, since they collect the brunt of the germs from your body and they’re easier to hand wash than sheets.

How should I safely handle my laundry?

Whether you do your laundry at home, in a laundromat, or in a shared laundry room in your building, public health experts say there are some general safety guidelines everyone can follow. If you’ve purchased or made cloth masks, the CDC recommends cleaning them frequently in a washing machine—they don’t currently offer any guidance for handwashing them. If anyone in your household is sick, or if you’re worried someone has been exposed to COVID-19, the CDC says not to shake your dirty laundry—this could spread the virus. The CDC also recommends wearing disposable gloves while handling laundry and washing your hands thoroughly when you take the gloves off (if you don’t have disposable gloves, wash your hands as often as you can). New York City’s Department of Health recommendations for businesses (PDF) say to avoid “hugging” dirty laundry to your body to reduce contact with possibly contaminated items. And Roberts says you can also leave your dirty laundry untouched and out of the way for a couple of days before washing to allow any pathogens to die off the surface.

Roberts told us that, although researchers don’t yet know everything about how the new coronavirus behaves, some pathogens have been known to survive a trip through a washing machine with cold or warm water. She recommends using hot water, if you can, to try to destroy any traces of virus that may be left inside the machine or lingering on your laundry. The CDC also recommends doing laundry with the warmest water possible and making sure your load is completely dry. According to a study published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, viruses similar to the new coronavirus thrive in cold and humid environments, so as Roberts says, a dryer is the best tool to eliminate them. “The dryer is hot, and it doesn’t have a lot of moisture,” she told us. “That’s going to be the best protection.”

Sources

1. Scott Pauley, press officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, email interview, March 30, 2020

2. Marilyn C. Roberts, professor of environmental and occupational health at University of Washington, phone and email interviews, March 23 and March 24, 2020

3. Essential business, Washington State Coronavirus Response (COVID-19), March 23, 2020

4. COVID-19: General Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting for Non-Health Care Settings (PDF), New York City Department of Health, March 22, 2020

5. Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers (PDF), California Department of Public Health, March 22, 2020

6. Governor Cuomo Issues Guidance on Essential Services Under the ‘New York State on PAUSE’ Executive Order, The Press Office of the Governor of New York State, March 20, 2020

7. Cleaning And Disinfecting Your Home: Everyday Steps and Extra Steps When Someone Is Sick, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 17, 2020

8. How COVID-19 Spreads, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 4, 2020