Your washing will generally smell breezy and fresh when you have finished a load, but there is a good chance that it’s actually dirtier than you think.

In modern times we have moved to cooler washes of 30 degrees and detergents tend to be less harsh. This is good for fabrics, the environment and for sensitive skin too, but it could be costing our health in other ways.


Researchers have found some disturbing things still living in our clothes after such a wash.

On average 0.1g of faecal matter will remain on your clean knickers after a wash and there may be more than one million bacteria in just two tablespoons of washer water.

This can potentially cause significant problems to health and there are particular risks if you are combining loads. Dr Lisa Ackerley explained that putting something ridden with bacteria into your washing machine could spread it onto anything else in the load.

This should be something to consider next time you go to wash your tea towels with your dirty underwear.