Covid-19 Contaminated Laundry
We are starting to receive calls from both end users and our distributor partners regarding proper laundering procedures for fabric contaminated with Covid-19.
At this time the recommended procedure for washing fabric is to follow normal wash procedures based on soil classification using proper temperatures, wash chemicals, and formula. The thought is that if we are able to remove the soil we will also be removing the virus from the fabric.
The CDC suggests setting your wash temperature at 160 degrees for 25 minutes to kill the virus. Since most laundry accounts cannot achieve wash temps of 140-160 degrees, much less maintain that temperature for 25 minutes, we can rely on the dryer to provide a temperature of 180 degrees for an average of 20-25 minutes.
If the account is looking for an additional level of kill claim we can inject Shurguard Ultimate into a pre-wash operation with warm water at low level for 10 minutes at a concentration of 3.5 ounces per 4.5 gallons (450 ppm concentration). Directions for use in laundry as a presoak are listed on the Shurguard Ultimate tech sheet. (This is not for use in California)
To test the concentration in the laundry you can use either the QT-40 test strip, sku D6009920 or the QC-1000 test strip, sku D014947. The QT-40 is good up to 500 ppm and the QC-1000 is good up to 1000 ppm. Test the ppm concentration at the drain after the pre-wash cycle is complete.