Say we spend some sweaty and also non-sweaty days using tops of
1) wool
2) cotton
3) polyester and other synthetics
4) cotton + synthetic blend
What happens if we leave each of the tops to air dry for a week+?
What dangers would this pose upon wearing each top after the air-drying period?
Will the bacteria still remain (or have multiplied)?
In: Biology
We wash clothes with the use of soaps and detergent to wash away the gunk and the dirt our clothes have accumulated. These dirt are often suspended on oil or fats that needed to be digested with a use of a basic solution which is the detergent. The pathogens that are also present on clothes are embedded within a lipid layer and can only be destroyed through detergents. Air drying alone is not enough to remove them within the crevices of each fiber on clothes.
are you asking why we machine-dry clothes or why we wash them at all? machine washing is for speed, mostly.
Hanging dirty clothes on a clothes line for a week will not clean them. Dirt, oil and food stains will still be on them. Allowing sweaty clothes to dry may prevent mildew or mold from growing, but it’ll still be greasy and nasty.
Air doesn’t kill the bacteria, doesn’t get rid of your sweat, doesn’t get rid of the dirt, and doesn’t get rid of the dead skin cells and other things stuck to your clothes. That’s why we wash clothes in water and some type of soap, to get all that stuff off.
Think of it this way. You go and play outside in the dirt. Your hands are all dirty. Now, flap your hands in the air or put them in front of a fan. How much of the dirt comes off? Maybe a little at first, but you can stay there for hours and your hands will still be pretty much as dirty as they were at the beginning.
Now, go take your hands to a sink, use some soap and water, and scrub them. The dirt comes off. Now, you can take your clean hands and flap them or hold them in front of a fan and they’ll get dry.
Air is very good at drying stuff. Air doesn’t wash stuff.
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