The primary requirement of textile washing is to remove visible and stubborn stains from the fabric surface. However, professional disinfection for textiles is the key to ensuring hygienic safety. Efficiently killing various microorganisms attached to fabrics can significantly decrease the possibility of microbial contamination at the source. Thus, fabrics will not be the medium for the pathogen growth and disease transmission. This helps ensure the hygiene and safety of hotel guests.
With growing public awareness of environmental protection, energy conservation and emission reduction have become mainstream in the laundry industry. Low-temperature and energy-saving washing technology is widely promoted. Low-temperature washing can significantly reduce water, electricity, and energy consumption. It reduces energy loss and pollutant emissions during the washing process, which conforms to the green washing trend.
However, the drop in washing temperature directly weakens the core ability of traditional high-temperature sterilization, dramatically affecting the disinfection effects. Relying solely on the low-temperature washing cannot meet hygiene standards for public and commercial linen.
Currently, many authoritative health organizations in the world, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and World Health Organization (WHO), have issued technical standards and industry guidelines related to textile washing and disinfection. They clarify the disinfection standards and the strict requirements of textile washing.
The organizations reached a consensus that textile washing and disinfection should be based on the standardized washing procedure. The popular and qualified disinfection method is divided into two types: thermal disinfection and thermo-chemical disinfection.
Thermal Disinfection
Thermal disinfection is a traditional and widely accepted method. It depends on the high-temperature environment during the washing process. With the rational heat preservation time, it destroys the cell structure of microorganisms and reduces the pollutants on the fabric surface for disinfection purposes.
Authoritative health organizations develop clear standards for the temperature and time of thermal disinfection:
● CDC
The minimum standard of textile thermal disinfection is to maintain 71℃ for at least 25 minutes. This means to do complete thermal disinfection during the process of linen washing and drying.
● ECDC
90℃ high-temperature washing with specified detergents can achieve effective disinfection.
● WHO
With detergents or specified disinfectants, standardized thermal disinfection can be completed under a 70℃ environment for at least 25 minutes.
During the practical commercial washing process, thermal disinfection is often used at the main washing, drying, and ironing stage. Specified detergents combined with high-temperature technology can achieve the basic disinfection effects.
If fabrics need to be bleached and brightened, combine the main washing and bleaching procedures, and use detergents containing oxygen bleach agents. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) release (hydrogen peroxide, sodium percarbonate) with strong oxidative properties are the common bleaching materials for the high-temperature disinfection process. They release active ingredients and disinfect relying on chemical reactions while bleaching, which improves the entire disinfection efficiency. During the standardized washing process, the high-temperature duration is over 25 minutes. During the drying and ironing process, the temperature is up to 150℃, which meets the requirements.
Thermo-chemical Disinfection
Special textiles (such as wool, silk, and functional fabrics) suffer in the heat. The washing temperature fails to meet the basic requirements (70-71℃). So thermo-chemical disinfection should be used. This method is based on the temperature, contact time, and chemicals to improve disinfection performance under low temperatures.
According to the dosing time and procedure, thermo-chemical disinfection is divided into two types.
● Simultaneous Disinfection
Through the base temperature and contact time of the washing and bleaching process, stain removal and disinfection are completed simultaneously with the strong oxidative property of the chemical bleaching agent. The agent plays a central role in removing oxidizable stubborn stains (tea and coffee stains). Its strong oxidizing features have antimicrobial capability, which can efficiently break the microbial cell structure.
Currently, during the medium-temperature (40℃-60℃) washing process, typical chemical oxidants include oxygen bleach agents, peracetic acid, sodium percarbonate+TAED activation system, organic peracids, and sodium hypochlorite chlorine-based agents. The above disinfectant ingredients all conform to the EU Biocidal Products Regulation No. 528/2012. They are the standardized active bactericidal materials in the textile disinfection site.
● Independent Disinfection
If the temperature is too low during the washing and bleaching process, thermo-chemical disinfection cannot be activated by bleaching agents. It is necessary to add a separate sanitizing stage after the main washing. This stage uses specified disinfectants according to the European PT2 disinfectant standard under a low-temperature environment. It depends on the combination of low temperature, extended contact time, and specialized disinfectants to achieve disinfection.
In various low-temperature disinfectant ingredients, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), with their overall advantages, have become the mainstream industry choice. With its broad-spectrum antimicrobial ability, it kills harmful microorganisms (bacteria,viruses, fungi, and yeasts) and remains effective in spite of residual stains on textiles. It also has a better ecotoxicological profile and is fabric-friendly.
This disinfection process is carried out in a low-temperature environment (below 40℃) and after the main washing and oxidative bleaching stage. Right now, basic stain removal on fabrics has been done. Disinfection performance isn’t affected by residual stains. Disinfectants can play the key role in antimicrobial performance.
Conclusion
The core purpose of textile washing is not only to remove visible stains, but to reduce the microbial contamination load and meet the hygiene and safety standards through scientific disinfection technology. This helps break the chain of pathogen infection and cross-contamination.
In nature, microorganisms vary greatly. They vary significantly in their tolerance to temperature and chemical disinfectants. Therefore, laundries should adjust the process parameters and flexibly select the three key indicators (water temperature, contact time, and disinfectant concentration) to meet the microbial reduction requirements. They can also refer to the relevant laboratory data from EN disinfection efficacy standards to ensure the washing disinfection performance in different scenarios.
Q&A
Q1: What is the linen temperature during the main washing, drying, and ironing stages?
A1: The main washing temperature for pure cotton textiles is 75-80℃. Ironing temperatures can exceed 150°C.
Q2: How to disinfect with the low-temperature detergents on the market?
A2: The detergents should contain specified disinfection ingredients.
Q3: The ironing temperature for sheets and covers is different. Do I need to adjust it manually?
A3: Kingstar’s ironer has a temperature adjustment design. The ironing temperature will be automatically adjusted as long as the procedure is switched. It can improve the ironing efficiency and save on steam consumption.
Post time: May-22-2026