Coronavirus on Clothes – Survival Rate and Preventions

Preventing the spread of coronavirus is of the topmost priority and people do take it quite seriously. This is why a lot of folks out there prefer to disinfect their hands and home regularly, which is a very good practice since the Covid-19 virus can survive on surfaces for a few days. Another practice that is seen quite often these days is removing and washing the clothes right after a person steps into the house. The survival time of the coronavirus on clothes is still a bit of a dicey concept. Determining how long coronavirus lasts on clothes can be tricky because of the softness of the surface, difference in fabrics and other elements that are used to make clothes like buttons and zips.

Breaking it Down – Coronavirus Survival Rate on Clothes

Coronavirus can survive on plastic for about 3-7 days, copper for about 2 hours, 24 hours on cardboard and 3-7 days on stainless steel surfaces as well. The logic here is the moisture accessible to the virus. The covid-19 virus needs some amount of moisture to survive. The ideal conditions mean a closed room or lower temperature, a hard surface and >50% humidity. So, the surfaces that are bad conductor of heat and stay cooler for a long time have a higher survival rate for Covid-19. The surfaces which are hard but can absorb moisture are in the same league as cardboard.

The data on how long coronavirus lasts on clothes or fabric is not backed by solid research yet. However, it is safe to say that the part of your clothing items like buttons and zips can certainly retain coronavirus, as per the survival rate for each type of material. Even though the data about how long coronavirus lasts on clothes is not certain, it is speculated by experts that this virus may survive from a few hours to a few days on them – depending on the moisture content of the fabric and fibre density.

How Can You Take Precautions?

Now that we have established how long coronavirus lasts on clothes, we need to understand the right way to ensure that the spread of the virus is under control. Whether your clothes have been exposed to Covid-19 virus or not, it is wise to follow the below-given steps to ensure maximum protection for you and your family:

• Take off the exposed clothing items and place them gently in the washer. If you do not plan to wash the clothes right away, keep them in a separate, sealed hamper for protection. However, it is advisable to wash exposed clothing right away.
• Try and not shake them before washing
• Use a warm water cycle to wash the clothes that have been exposed to coronavirus
• Add a fabric disinfectant in the mix for additional protection.
• Once you are through with the laundry, use a disinfectant to wipe down the machine including the insides, buttons, knobs, etc.
• Dry the laundry in the machine dryer

How to Do Laundry When There Is a Covid Patient in Your Home?

Following is a list of a few extra precautions you should take when dealing with the clothes of a Covid positive patient:

• Use a separate hamper for storing dirty laundry
• Use disposable plastic bags in the hamper
• Wash the clothing items separately following the aforementioned directions.
• Wash your own hands and disinfect after you are done with clothing and disinfecting the washer.
• Dry in the machine dryer

Health Insurance Plans – A Covid-19 Essential Precaution

Disinfecting and preventing the spread of the virus are the first level precautions that we need to take to ensure safety and having a secure health insurance plan is the second. Even though the outbreak of coronavirus is rather new, several top insurance providers are already offering comprehensive coverage for not only treatment of covid-19 but also RT PCR tests, rapid tests and other pre-hospitalisation services. Opting for one of the best health insurance Dubai plans from the top provider would mean maximum security and precautions for you as well as your family.

Conclusion

Knowing how long coronavirus lasts on clothes and other surfaces could mean a greater deal of security for all of us. Our hands touch numerous things in a day and that simply puts us at a higher risk of getting infected. So, ensure that you follow a proper disinfecting routine as per the survival rate of each surface and keep the infection at bay. Also, consider adding another layer of security with some of the best health insurance plans available in Dubai and UAE that offer covid-19 covers because prevention is always better than cure.