Can disinfectant be used together with laundry detergent?
Apr 29, 2023
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Yang Shuwen
Introduction
In general, disinfectant should not be used together with laundry detergent. Disinfectant is a liquid formulation designed to kill pathogenic microorganisms on transmission media. Frequent use of disinfectants may lead to dependency, reduce exposure to normal bacteria in daily life, disrupt the natural stimulation process of the human immune system, and ultimately harm one's health.
Generally, disinfectant should not be used together with laundry detergent. The detailed explanation is as follows:
Disinfectant is a liquid formulation designed to kill pathogenic microorganisms on transmission media, while laundry detergent is a liquid cleaning agent used for washing clothes. Disinfectant is typically weakly acidic, whereas laundry detergent is weakly alkaline. When used together, the active ingredient chloroxylenol (which kills proteins) in the disinfectant may be attracted by non-ionic surfactants present in the laundry detergent, significantly reducing its disinfecting and bactericidal effectiveness. At the same time, chloroxylenol can deactivate the enzymes responsible for accelerating stain breakdown, and the non-ionic surfactants, influenced by chloroxylenol, become less effective at removing dirt. This leads to reduced cleaning performance of the detergent. Therefore, combining disinfectant with laundry detergent simultaneously weakens both disinfection and cleaning capabilities.
In addition, frequent use of disinfectants may lead to dependency, reduce normal exposure to everyday bacteria, disrupt the natural stimulation process of the human immune system, and ultimately harm one's health.
