Tips to Learn How to Disinfect Thrift Store Clothes Easily (2024)

FAQs

Can I spray disinfectant on Thrifted clothes? ›

Wash the garment once in the hottest water possible, with a cap full of Pine Sol or other disinfectant. Then wash a second time with a table spoon of baking soda to remove the Pine Sol smell. Test your disinfectant on the garment prior to washing to make sure the chemicals don't stain or otherwise damage the clothing.

Heat can also do the trick if you don't feel like doing an entire load of laundry. “A steamer will pull all the chemical gunk out of the fibers of your clothes,” Richardson says. “So if you have the patience, you can just steam your clothes clean before wearing them.”

Let the clothes soak for at least an hour, sometimes two depending on the severity of odor or dirtiness. Once you feel like your clothes, have soaked long enough, drain the water, and wring out excess water.

Bed bugs are great hitchhikers. They can be brought into thrift stores on clothing, furniture and other used items from bed bug-infested homes. Bed bugs are very good at hiding and sometimes very difficult to find. Tiny holes, cracks and upholstery seams are often bed bug hiding places.

Immerse the second-hand items in a bowl of hot water (not boiling) with a small amount of washing powder and a powder clothes disinfectant. Leave to soak for a few hours. Wash them again in the washing machine.

The Best Way to Clean Clothes

To kill the germs in your laundry, wash your clothes on the hot cycle, then put everything in the dryer for 45 minutes. Wash whites with bleach, and use peroxide or color-safe bleach for colors. Do your laundry in water that's at least 140 F to kill any viruses or bacteria.

White Vinegar

To use vinegar to disinfect your laundry, try adding 1 cup to the rinse cycle. Not only can it kill germs and bacteria, but it's also a great natural deodorizer. White vinegar can be used on colors and whites, keeping clothes bright, and works as an effective fabric softener, too.

Lysol Laundry Sanitizer is specially designed to sanitize your laundry and to kill 99.9% of bacteria*. It can be used on most washable fabrics including: Baby Clothes, Gym Clothes, Undergarments, Towels, Bedding, and Delicates.

Donations are typically washed before they're donated, but we still recommend giving them a good cleaning when you get home. Even if the clothes are washed before they hit the thrift store floor, people will have since touched them. The same can be said even if you were buying new.

How do you deep clean clothes from thrift? ›

Vinegar. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your laundry, OR, swap out your detergent completely with vinegar and wash as you normally would (on any water temperature). If you're using it in place of detergent, 1/2 cup still works fine for small loads, but increase it to 1 cup for larger loads.

That's exactly what's happening at thrift stores. Thrift Tip: While most people wash the items they donate, most thrift stores don't have the capacity to clean the goods they sell. That's why we recommend washing your items before donation and after purchase.

Carefully examine the seams, pockets, and lining. Literally turn it inside out if possible, and check the inside for signs of bed bugs. Thrift stores wash the clothing they sell, but bed bugs often sneak onto it after it's been washed and put out.

Does Goodwill disinfect clothes? It turns out…they don't. Goodwill does not wash clothes but requests donors to wash the clothes they intend to donate. Stained and smelly clothes are never put on sale and are discarded, while visibly stain-free and odor-free clothes are assumed clean and sold.

Inspect clothing carefully for bed bugs before purchasing. Even if you choose an item from an undisturbed pile, bed bugs could still find their way onto clothing. Pay particular attention to the inside seams, looking for any signs of sticky white eggs, shed skins and the bugs themselves.

Baking soda is an effective fumigant that can help remove the odor attached to secondhand clothing. You can add a little to your desired quantity of water and soak the clothes overnight. You should let the clothes soak for at least 5 hours before cleaning them with detergent.

It's the dryer—not the washing machine—that lays waste to harmful microorganisms. “High heat drying for at least 28 minutes is the most effective way to kill viruses,” Reynolds says. The “high heat” setting is key.

So Clorox2® is color-safe for pretty much all your washable colored items, but doesn't meet EPA disinfecting requirements. You may, however, be able to safely launder your colored items with Clorox® Regular Bleach₂ (as long as the fabric is bleachable—always avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather, and spandex).

White vinegar has an ingredient known as acetic acid, which can kill viruses and bacteria so they can be easily washed away during the cleaning cycle. A half cup of white vinegar can act as a disinfectant and a deodorizer—removing those pesky germs and working to soften your fabrics.

Using Vinegar to Disinfect Laundry

Vinegar has acetic acid, which can kill viruses and bacteria. For a bit of added disinfectant and deodorizer in your clothes, you can add ½ cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle.

What does hydrogen peroxide do to laundry? ›

You can use hydrogen peroxide to whiten and brighten clothes, disinfect laundry, and remove stains. Pour it directly on stains such as blood. Add one cup of hydrogen peroxide to whites in the washing machine to brighten them. Add one cup to a load of diapers to whiten, deodorize, and disinfect.

Yes, clothes and towels can spread germs. There are 3 main ways that germs are spread by clothes and towels: when towels or bedding are used by more than 1 person germs can spread between them. when someone handles dirty laundry they can spread germs onto their hands.

Q: How long do those germs live on laundry? Gerba: While respiratory viruses that cause COVID-19, colds and flu only survive a few days at most, viruses that cause diarrhea can survive for weeks. Bacteria can survive for weeks and, under some conditions, grow in stored laundry.

Wash and dry your clothes at a higher temperature (100–135°F) for at least 30 minutes to ensure sufficient killing of germs. 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.

Spritz a little on a soft cleaning cloth and get to sanitizing everything! Based on reports by the CDC, you'll want to use an alcohol solution with more than 60% of alcohol present. Any less than 60% of alcohol concentration can merely reduce the growth of germs instead of fully killing them.

White Vinegar

White vinegar is a powerful odor neutralizer and works wonders on underarm areas of fabrics. Fill your washing machine with water, then add 1/3 cup of white vinegar. Turn off the machine and let the garment soak for 20 minutes, then launder as usual.

Lysol^® disinfectant spray fabric sanitizer is specially designed for soft surfaces. With its unique cap, the 2x wider spray angle will provide better disinfection on soft surfaces like your mattresses, sofas, pet beds & more!

Our Lysol® Disinfectant Spray kills 99.9% of the germs that are hanging around on your homes' soft furnishings. Its unique cap completely covers large areas without over wetting, making it great for soft surfaces such as your decorative cushions, mattress, sofa etc. To use, simply spray and then allow to air dry!

How do you deodorize thrift store clothes? ›

Garments that smell extremely unpleasant can be saved if you give them a bath with water and white distilled vinegar. Tap up water in the tub, or a bowl, and add 1 dl of white distilled vinegar. Let the garment soak overnight and follow up by washing it in the washing machine.

Can you get bed bugs from Thrifted clothing? Bed bugs are great hitchhikers. They can be brought into thrift stores on clothing, furniture and other used items from bed bug-infested homes. Bed bugs are very good at hiding and sometimes very difficult to find.

Soak the garment in cool to tepid water with very mild soap or a gentle shampoo, rinse well in cold water, then add a small amount (several tablespoonsful in a 5-gallon bucket) of white vinegar to clean rinse water.

Vinegar spray

In a spray bottle with ample mist spray, mix in 3 parts water: 1 part vinegar. You might be tempted to add fragrance to mask that thrift store small but do not add anything else like essential oils or fragrance as oil can stain your clothing.

Sanitize used shoes with rubbing alcohol

Simply wipe the inside, outside, and seams of the shoe with your cloth. It should dry very quickly. You can also just spray the insides of your used shoes with a spray disinfectant (which is different than a shoe deodorizer).

While there's no “perfect” day to shop second hand stores, many regulars swear by shopping early on Monday and Tuesday. Homeowners tend to drop off garage sale leftovers on Sunday nights, making for new finds. Plus, the weekends are more crowded shopping days, so employees look to restock early in the week.

Early Morning Weekdays

The earlier you come in, the better. Weekends, when most people have free time, tend to be much busier than weekdays. If crowds aren't your thing, go thrifting early in the day and early in the week.

Being blood-sucking insects, you wouldn't expect bed bugs to be attracted to dirty clothes. But that's exactly what researchers at the University of Sheffield in England discovered. Bed bugs are twice as likely to hide in soiled clothing that has been worn versus clean clothing.

Goodwill doesn't take specific steps to treat their clothes for bed bugs. They certainly don't spray their clothes with bed bug sprays. They also don't use heat treatment to kill bed bugs, either. One easy way in which a thrift store could easily prevent bed bugs in clothes would be through washing them.

Does laundry detergent disinfect clothes? ›

Unfortunately, laundry detergent alone isn't enough to kill harmful germs. Luckily, disinfecting your laundry is relatively easy and inexpensive, so you won't have to go completely out of your way to do it.

However, it is important to clean each clothing item before you wear it. Since most of the items you find in second-hand stores and rummage sales have been worn, it's a good idea to sanitize them to reduce exposure to bacteria, fungus, and harmful insects that might tag along.

"For gym clothes, workout wear, any clothing that gets sweaty, smelly, and gross—sanitize it all!" says Mary Gagliardi, aka "Dr. Laundry," Clorox's in-house scientist and cleaning expert. "A good rule is: if you sweated in or on something, it needs to be sanitized.

The good news is that laundry detergent can kill bed bugs. The even better news is that the detergent you use doesn't need to be expensive or in any way unique. IN fact, good old fashioned washing up liquid can kill bed bugs. All you need is a generic laundry detergent and you are good to go.

Where Do Bed Bugs Hide on Your Body? Bed bugs do not typically hide on the body. They prefer to feed, then move back to their hiding place until they are hungry again. In some cases, they may hide in your clothes or the soles of your shoes.

The color of bed bug eggs ranges from pearly white to pale yellow. Unhatched eggs are somewhat translucent, while hatched eggs are hollow and almost entirely transparent. Freshly laid bed bug eggs sometimes have a shiny appearance, due to the sticky, glue-like liquid that female bed bugs use to cover their eggs.

A: Yes, you can spray Lysol on upholstery, carpet, curtains, bedding etc..kills germs, smells great. I like the Clean Linen because it leaves a fresh fragrance. Lysol is the best!

Instead, use Lysol® Max Cover Disinfectant Mist to spray the fabric, making sure to cover the whole of the surface in order to disinfect it thoroughly. However, always check the product directions to make sure that it is suitable for the sort of material that you own.

This alcohol-heavy substance will work safely on quite a few fabrics, but you'll want to avoid using it on anything that includes rayon, wool, acetate or silk. Go ahead and use it on cotton T-shirts, most carpets and even leather—just be sure to spot test it first before going all-in on your precious pieces.

A half cup of white vinegar can act as a disinfectant and a deodorizer—removing those pesky germs and working to soften your fabrics. Vinegar is also effective at cleaning both whites and colored items, so your clothes will come out bright, soft, and smelling good every time.

Does Febreze disinfect fabric? ›

Spray away your fabric's yuck with Febreze Antimicrobial. This formula kills 99.9% of bacteria* and prevents mold** in all your favorite fabrics. Not only that, it fights odors with a fresh scent. Now there's a sanitized freshness you'll actually like.

Vinegar will not only remove odors and freshen clothes, but also naturally soften them without leaving any kind of residue. Just make sure to use distilled white vinegar (the clear kind, as opposed to apple cider vinegar which is a light brown and could stain).

Like most disinfectants, Clorox wipes are approved for disinfecting only non-porous surfaces. It's best to avoid unfinished, unsealed, unpainted, waxed, oiled, or worn surfaces. Avoid cleaning carpet or fabric with the wipes, too, since it won't work, and you'll have to extract the cleaning agent from the fabric.

Rubbing alcohol can also be used to disinfect some fabrics, but you'll want to avoid using it on anything that's synthetic or delicate. Using hydrogen peroxide on fabrics can cause yellowing.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an oxidizing agent used as laundry bleach. The best choice for laundry is the 3% solution sold in drug stores as a first-aid disinfectant. It is safe to use on all washable, dye-stable fabrics.

The alcohol content will completely evaporate in approximately fifteen seconds. Alcohol hand sanitizers are safe for children to use under supervision. Since alcohol has a drying effect many of these products contain emollients to make them gentler on the skin.

Does hand sanitizer stain clothes? No, hand sanitizer doesn't stain clothes, but the ingredients found in hand sanitizers can damage some fabrics and cause discoloration. Alcohol is the main ingredient in hand sanitizers. Therefore, if it splatters onto clothing, it forms a discolored spot that can look like a stain.

Our parent testers told us that the bacteria-fighting laundry additive did a good job removing odours from sweat, body oil, spit-up, vomit, urine, feces and pets, and left clothes, towels and bedding smelling fresh and clean.