Neighbor concerned about bacteria in the shared washer. What do I do? - Page 2

[sandsprite]

Let me tell you a story.

I am a nurse in a critical care unit in a major centre. We in one year, had SARS, & RABIES, along with the usual, flesh eating disease, HIV, Chicken pox, hep A,B,C, TB, MRSA, VRE, C Difficile and any other cool going-to-kill-you bug in our ICU. AND our hospital decided it was no longer going to do our laundry. We would have to take our dirty uniforms home. So we all raised our concerns about all these bugs we were bringing home.

It turns out, that studies show that the heat in the standard home dryer is more than enough to kill all these bugs. And there is nothing that comes out of a healthy baby that far nicer than any of the bugs I get to play with at work.

I have a tenant that shares our washer, and I always do a load of plain house laundry before she gets her turn. If that is not enough for your neighbour (sometimes there is no convincing some people) you could always do one empty quick wash in the washing machine with a tablespoon full of bleach. That should be overkill.

[mamajama]

Isn't it dangerous to soak diapers in bleach? I always thought the fumes of bleach mixed with the ammonia in urine is toxic.

[newlywaaz]

didn't read the rest of the replies, but I wanted to add in case it hadn't been mentioned that tea tree oil is a natural disinfectant as well.

[wednesday]

There's a page somewhere on the CDC website that addresses laundering textiles that have been soiled with bodily fluids. The basic message is that hot water and hot drying kill everything. Bleach is a bonus, but it's not necessary.

[Bartock]

I have my food-safe certificate ( ya so what does that have to do with anything ) To much bleach is harmful, it can poison you. All you need to do to make her happy is mix 1 capful of bleach in 1 liter of water, put in a spray bottle spray the washer after use, that little amount of bleach water is enough to kill germs and sanitize, that's what we used a DQ to clean the tables, it was that or expensive sanitizer spray. I use this mixture on my counter tops after I have had raw meat on them. If that is not good enough for her and she does not be live it will kill the germs, tell her to get a hold of me and I will show her my darn certificate so she knows what I am saying is true

[Bartock]

Originally Posted by mamajama

Isn't it dangerous to soak diapers in bleach? I always thought the fumes of bleach mixed with the ammonia in urine is toxic.

I don't think so, yes mixing bleach and ammonia will cause a chemical reaction and can kill you, but pee ammonia is different, I think

[Brilliantmama]

Originally Posted by ilovemy2ds

All you need to do to make her happy is mix 1 capful of bleach in 1 liter of water, put in a spray bottle spray the washer after use, that little amount of bleach water is enough to kill germs and sanitize

Honestly, as much as I would love to thumb my nose at this paranoid new mama, I think this might be the best solution so that you can all coexist peacefully.

You could offer to provide a spray bottle ($2 or so) and the bleach solution (a tiny bottle should last forever with this dilution) and just offer her this advice. You could also offer to spray it down AFTER diapers, but also leave it out for anyone who is worried about any germies (because WE all know that they are not just in diapers!)

cheap, fairly easy, and promotes neighborly friendliness.

But I still think you have the right to wash whatever you want unless there is a specific rule against it.



And I am dying to know what you decided to do!

[littlemizflava]

unless she uses the machine right after you did a load of diapers i dont see anything she should worry about i share 3 washers with 45 other familys i only use one machine for diapers cause it is larger then the others what about telling her to do a wash of towels or something like that in hot water that would clean the machine if she felt anal she could do the bleach thing with that load and then wash her babys clothes after that the machine would be clean and the baby would not be subjected to the bleached clothes

[fiveyearsapart]

Originally Posted by ilovemy2ds

All you need to do to make her happy is mix 1 capful of bleach in 1 liter of water, put in a spray bottle spray the washer after use, that little amount of bleach water is enough to kill germs and sanitize, that's what we used a DQ to clean the tables, it was that or expensive sanitizer spray.

This is a what I would do.

[lovingmommyhood]

What is she going to do if her babe has a blow out?? I'm assuming that clothing will be going straight into the washer without a second thought.

Also, not to be gross but there can be some pretty funky things on adult underwear... ie period stains, skid marks,(maybe they're not wiping good enough. lmao) discharge... Sorry to be disgusting but COME ON. If she's not monitoring every little gross thing she puts in the washer why should you?

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by Shenjall

I'm not one to be dishonest - but I cant help but suggest telling her you are soaking them in bleach first. Then dont.

I agree that the hot washes would suffice.

ITA with this. All evidence is to the contrary of what her ped told her and it isn't going to hurt her to believe that your diaper loads are 'safe' now...when in truth they already are...

[achintyasamma]

bump...update in first post. anyone have any ideas???

[Momsteader]

I would just keep going as is. If SHE is concerned, then she'll need to use something in her laundry or run an extra load. This isn't a burden to be placed on you.

Have you asked her what she does with clothing her baby might vomit on? Or have a poo blow-out? Or if a toddler had an accident? Well, she'd just put into the laundry and wash!

[LizaBear]

Originally Posted by achintyasamma

bump...update in first post. anyone have any ideas???

Honestly, at this point - I think I'd tell her to go stuff it. But I'm in a bad mood tonight and it's not likely the best recourse if you want to stay on decent terms with her.

[mama_b]

Originally Posted by LizaBear

Honestly, at this point - I think I'd tell her to go stuff it. But I'm in a bad mood tonight and it's not likely the best recourse if you want to stay on decent terms with her.

: Like others have said, there is probably way nastier stuff going into the washer than your baby's poop.

[mama2mygirl]

I used tea tree oil with dd's diapers. (I can't believe so much time has passed! She's been out of dipes for three years!!!)

[achintyasamma]

I've thought of using tea tree, but I doubt it would pass her test. Her ped has to say it will eliminate any possible contamination. I'm looking for some research-based information on the efficacy of tea tree, bac-out, or something similar. I'm also interested in any legal information about the use of public machines.

[eclipse]

Um, I'd probably just say "sure, no problem, I'll soak them in bleach!" and then continue to do what I felt like doing.

[CJ 5]

My mother manages a huge commercial laundry for a hospital. She would probably know what you could do. If it were me I would just keep doing what I am doing and find a way to secure my rights before they pass some wierd rule in your apartment building.

Do you usually do a batch of your own clothes when you do the diapers. If so just do them second and what can she say?

[achintyasamma]

Originally Posted by CJ 5

My mother manages a huge commercial laundry for a hospital. She would probably know what you could do.

Do you usually do a batch of your own clothes when you do the diapers. If so just do them second and what can she say?

Could you ask your mom for some info? We do wash our regular clothes after the dipes. This still doesn't set her mind at ease. She was thinking of using a laundromat so she wouldn't have to use our machine, but that doesn't make sense to me because she would be sharing a machine with hundreds of people instead of just three other families. I think she's just all around uncomfortable with the idea of cloth diapers being washed in the same machine she uses. She wants everything hyper-sanitary.