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What’s the difference between liquid and powder laundry detergent? It’s not just the obvious

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nathan-kilah-599082">Nathan Kilah</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888">University of Tasmania</a></em></p> <p>When shopping for a laundry detergent, the array of choices is baffling. All of the products will likely get your laundry somewhat cleaner. But what gets the best outcome for your clothes and your budget?</p> <p>Do you want whiter whites? Do you need enzymes? And what’s the difference between a powder and liquid detergent?</p> <p>As is often the case, knowing more about the chemistry involved will help you answer those questions.</p> <h2>What is a detergent?</h2> <p>The active ingredients in both laundry powders and liquids are “surfactants”, also known as detergents (hence the product name). These are typically charged or “ionic” molecules that have two distinct parts to their structure. One part interacts well with water and the other interacts with oils.</p> <p>This useful property allows surfactants to lift grease and grime from fabrics and suspend it in the water. Surfactants can also form bubbles.</p> <p>Metal salts dissolved in your water can limit the performance of the surfactants. So-called hard water contains lots of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts which can readily form soap scum.</p> <p>Modern laundry detergents therefore contain phosphates, water softeners and other metal “sequestrants” to stop the formation of soap scum. Phosphates can cause algal blooms in fresh water environments. This is why modern detergent formulations <a href="https://accord.asn.au/sustainability/phosphorus-standard/">contain smaller amounts of phosphates</a>.</p> <p>Many products also contain optical brighteners. These chemicals absorb ultraviolet light and release blue light, which provides the “whiter white” or “brighter colour” phenomenon.</p> <p>Laundry detergents typically contain fragrances. These aren’t essential to the chemistry of cleaning, but give the impression the clothes are fresh.</p> <p>Lastly, some laundry detergents contain enzymes – more on those later.</p> <h2>What’s in laundry powder?</h2> <p>While detergents and ingredients to avoid soap scum are the most important components, they aren’t the most abundant. The main ingredients in powders are salts (like sodium sulfate) that add bulk and stop the powder from clumping.</p> <p>Another common salt added to laundry powders is sodium carbonate, also known as washing soda. Washing soda (a chemical cousin of <a href="https://theconversation.com/vinegar-and-baking-soda-a-cleaning-hack-or-just-a-bunch-of-fizz-225177">baking soda</a>) helps to chemically modify grease and grime so they dissolve in water.</p> <p>Laundry powders also frequently contain oxidising agents like sodium percarbonate. This is a stable combination of washing soda and hydrogen peroxide. An additive known as tetraacetylethylenediamine activates the percarbonate to give a mild bleaching effect.</p> <p>Chemically, powders have an advantage – their components can be formulated and mixed but kept separate in a solid form. (You can usually see different types of granules in your laundry powder.)</p> <h2>What’s in laundry liquid?</h2> <p>The main ingredient of laundry liquid is water. The remaining ingredients have to be carefully considered. They must be stable in the bottle and then work together in the wash.</p> <p>These include similar ingredients to the powders, such as alkaline salts, metal sequestrants, water softeners and surfactants.</p> <p>The surfactants in liquid products are often listed as “ionic” (charged) and “non-ionic” (non-charged). Non-ionic surfactants can be liquid by default, which makes them inappropriate for powdered formulations. Non-ionic surfactants are good at suspending oils in water and don’t form soap scum.</p> <p>Liquid detergents also contain preservatives to prevent the growth of microbes spoiling the mixture.</p> <p>There are also microbial implications for inside the washing machine. Liquid products can’t contain the peroxides (mild bleaching agents) found in powdered products. Peroxides kill microbes. The absence of peroxides in liquid detergents makes it more likely for <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/1/195#B15-molecules-27-00195">mould biofilms to form</a> in the machine and for bacteria to be transferred between items of clothing.</p> <p>As an alternative to peroxides, liquids will typically contain only optical brighteners.</p> <p>Liquids do have one advantage over powders – they can be added directly to stains prior to placing the item in the wash.</p> <p>A recent “convenience” version of liquid formulas are highly concentrated detergent pods. Colourful and bearing a resemblance to sweet treats, these products have been found to be <a href="https://poisoncenters.org/track/laundry-detergent-packets">dangerous to young children and people with cognitive impairment</a>.</p> <p>Pods also remove the option to add less detergent if you’re running a smaller load or just want to use less detergent in general.</p> <h2>So, what about enzymes?</h2> <p>Enzymes are naturally evolved proteins included in laundry products to remove specific stains. Chemically, they are catalysts – things that speed up chemical reactions.</p> <p>Enzymes are named for the molecules they work on, followed by the ending “-ase”. For example, lipase breaks down fats (lipids), protease breaks down protein, while amylase and mannanase break down starches and sugars.</p> <p>These enzymes are derived from organisms found in cool climate regions, which helps them function at the low temperature of washing water.</p> <p>Running an excessively hot wash cycle can damage or denature the enzyme structure, stopping them from assisting in your wash. Think of an egg white <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-the-perfect-pavlova-according-to-chemistry-experts-196485">changing from translucent to white while cooked</a> – that’s protein denaturing.</p> <p>If your detergent contains enzymes, the washing temperature should be neither too hot nor too cold. As a guide, temperatures of 15–20°C are used in <a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/document/download/557d8ab5-4e75-41a4-a901-1548be7f685d_en">standard laundry tests</a>.</p> <h2>Is powder or liquid better?</h2> <p>We make consumer choices guided by performance, psychology, cost, scent, environmental considerations and convenience.</p> <p>It’s worth experimenting with different products to find what works best for you and fits your needs, household budget and environmental considerations, such as having <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-can-some-plastics-be-recycled-but-others-cant-229270">recyclable packaging</a>.</p> <p>Personally, I wash at 20°C with half the recommended dose of a pleasant-smelling laundry powder, packaged in recyclable cardboard, and containing a wide range of enzymes and an activated peroxide source.</p> <p>Knowing a little chemistry can go a long way to getting your clothes clean.</p> <p>However, laundry detergent manufacturers don’t always disclose the full list of ingredients on their product packaging.</p> <p>If you want more information on what’s in your product, you have to look at the product website. You can also dig a little deeper by reading documents called <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-tiktok-trend-has-people-drinking-toxic-borax-an-expert-explains-the-risks-and-how-to-read-product-labels-210278">safety data sheets</a> (SDS). Every product containing potentially hazardous chemicals must have an SDS.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/239850/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nathan-kilah-599082">Nathan Kilah</a>, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania-888">University of Tasmania</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-liquid-and-powder-laundry-detergent-its-not-just-the-obvious-239850">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Home & Garden

What washing machine settings can I use to make my clothes last longer?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alessandra-sutti-1513345">Alessandra Sutti</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amol-patil-1513347">Amol Patil</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/maryam-naebe-1513346">Maryam Naebe</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a></em></p> <p>Orbiting 400 kilometres above Earth’s surface, the astronauts on the International Space Station live a pretty normal social life, if not for one thing: they happily wear their unwashed clothes <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/nasa-glenn-interns-take-space-washing-machine-designs-for-a-spin/">for days and weeks at a time</a>. They can’t do their laundry <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Keeping_your_underwear_clean_on_the_Moon">just yet</a> because water is scarce up there.</p> <p>But down here on Earth, washing clothes is a large part of our lives. <a href="https://bigee.net/media/filer_public/2013/03/28/bigee_domestic_washing_machines_worldwide_potential_20130328.pdf">It’s estimated</a> that a volume of water equivalent to 21,000 Olympic swimming pools is used every day for domestic laundry worldwide.</p> <p>Fibres from our clothes make their way into the environment via the air (during use or in the dryer), water (washing) and soil (lint rubbish in landfill). Most of this fibre loss is invisible – we often only notice our favourite clothing is “disappearing” when it’s too late.</p> <p>How can you ensure your favourite outfit will outlast your wish to wear it? Simple question, complex answer.</p> <h2>Washing machines are not gentle</h2> <p>When you clean the filters in your washing machine and dryer, how often do you stop to think that the lint you’re holding <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk-laundry-releases-microfibres-weighing-the-equivalent-of-1-500-buses-each-year-199712"><em>was</em>, in fact, your clothes</a>?</p> <p>Laundering is harsh on our clothes, and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0250346">research confirms this</a>. Several factors play a role: the type of washing machine, the washing cycle, detergents, temperature, time, and the type of fabric and yarn construction.</p> <p>There are two types of domestic washing machines: top-loader and front-loader. Mechanical agitation (the way the machine moves the clothes around) is one of the things that helps ease dirt off the fabric.</p> <p>Top-loaders have a vertical, bucket-like basket with a paddle, which sloshes clothes around in a large volume of water. Front-loaders have a horizontal bucket which rotates, exposing the clothes to a smaller volume of water – it takes advantage of gravity, not paddles.</p> <p>Top-loading machines <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12541-010-0047-7">tend to be more aggressive</a> towards fabrics than front-loaders due to the different mechanical action and larger volumes of water.</p> <p>Washing machine panels also present many choices. Shorter, low-temperature programs <a href="https://clevercare.info/more-eco-temperature-tips">are usually sufficient for everyday stains</a>. Choose longer or <a href="https://iprefer30.eu/animations/UK/wash-brochure-uk.pdf">high-temperature programs</a> only for clothing you have concerns about (healthcare uniforms, washable nappies, etc.).</p> <p>Generally, washing machine programs are carefully selected combinations of water volume, agitation intensity and temperature recommended by the manufacturer. They take into consideration the type of fabric and its level of cleanliness.</p> <p>Select the wrong program and you can say goodbye to your favourite top. For example, high temperatures or harsh agitation may cause some fibres to weaken and break, causing holes in the garment.</p> <h2>Some fabrics lose fibres more easily than others</h2> <p>At a microscopic level, the fabric in our clothes is made of yarns – individual fibres twisted together. The nature and length of the fibres, the way they are twisted and the way the yarns form the fabric can determine how many fibres will be lost during a wash.</p> <p>In general, if you want to lose fewer fibres, you should wash less frequently, but some fabrics are affected more than others.</p> <p>Open fabric structures (knits) with loose yarns <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-98836-6">can lose more fibres</a> than tighter ones. Some sports clothing, like running shirts, are made of continuous filament yarn. These fibres are less likely to come loose in the wash.</p> <p>Cotton fibres are only a few centimetres long. Twisted tightly together into a yarn, they can still escape.</p> <p>Wool fibres are also short, but have an additional feature: scales, which make wool clothes much more delicate. Wool fibres can come loose like cotton ones, but also tangle with each other during the wash due to their scales. This last aspect is what causes wool garments to shrink when <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/004051756403400303">exposed to heat</a> and agitation.</p> <h2>Go easy on the chemicals</h2> <p>The type of detergent and other products you use also makes a difference.</p> <p>Detergents contain a soap component, enzymes to make stains easier to remove at low temperature, and fragrances. Some contain harsher compounds, such as bleaching or whitening agents.</p> <p>Modern detergents are very effective at <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/laundry-and-cleaning/laundry-detergents/review-and-compare/laundry-detergents">removing stains such as food</a>, and you don’t need to use much.</p> <p>An incorrect choice of wash cycles, laundry detergent and bleaching additives could cause disaster. Certain products, like bleach, can <a href="https://site.extension.uga.edu/textiles/textile-basics/understand-your-fibers/">damage some fibres like wool and silk</a>.</p> <p>Meanwhile, research on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749120366872?via%3Dihub">fabric softeners and other treatments</a> <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0233332&type=printable">continues</a> – there’s no one-size-fits-all answer about their potential impact on our clothes.</p> <h2>Just skip laundry day</h2> <p>So, how to ensure your clothes last longer? The main tip is to wash them less often.</p> <p>When it’s time for a wash, carefully read and follow the care labels. In the future, our washing machines will <a href="https://www.teknoscienze.com/tks_article/trends-in-laundry-by-2030/">recognise fabrics and select the wash cycle</a>. For now, that’s our responsibility.</p> <p>And the next time you throw your shirt into the dirty laundry basket, stop. Think of the astronauts orbiting above Earth and ask yourself: if they can go without clean laundry for a few days, maybe I can too? (Although we don’t recommend just burning your dirty undies, either.)<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224064/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C1j6KLP492E?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alessandra-sutti-1513345">Alessandra Sutti</a>, Associate Professor, Institute for Frontier Materials, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amol-patil-1513347">Amol Patil</a>, Research Engineer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/maryam-naebe-1513346">Maryam Naebe</a>, Associate professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-washing-machine-settings-can-i-use-to-make-my-clothes-last-longer-224064">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Home & Garden

1 in 5 Australians admit they don’t wash their hands every time they use the toilet

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christine-carson-109004">Christine Carson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a></em></p> <p>Do you wash your hands every time you use the toilet? How about before you handle food? Be honest.</p> <p>Australia’s Food Safety Information Council has released its <a href="https://www.foodsafety.asn.au/topic/latest-report-card-on-aussie-handwashing-blokes-still-need-to-do-better-global-handwashing-day-15-october-2024/">latest report card</a> on the country’s hand washing habits. It found 19% of Australians don’t wash their hands every time they use the toilet. Close to half (42%) admit they don’t always wash hands before handling food.</p> <p>So who’s doing well when it comes to hand hygiene, who’s not – and why does it matter?</p> <h2>What did the report find?</h2> <p>The new report surveyed hand washing practices of 1,229 people. Results were consistent with what we’ve learned from <a href="https://www.foodsafety.asn.au/topic/latest-research-shows-improvement-in-aussie-handwashing-but-blokes-still-need-to-do-better-global-handwashing-day-15-october-2023/">similar surveys</a>.</p> <p>Once again, women do better than men at washing their hands after using the toilet, although only slightly (80% of men say they do every time, versus 83% of women). Just 55% of men wash their hands before touching food, compared to 62% of women.</p> <p>Age also seemed to make a difference. Under 34 years old, 69% of people washed their hands every time they used the toilet. Over age 65, that jumped to 86%.</p> <p>Although some of these differences aren’t completely unexpected – such as <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2020/02/women-hand-washing-more-than-men-why-coronavirus.html">the gap</a> between men’s and women’s hand washing habits – the reasons remain unclear.</p> <h2>Why don’t people wash their hands?</h2> <p>Public health messaging often focuses on how to wash hands well. But there’s less research that follows up on how widely people actually adopt these practices. And to understand why – if they are skipping the soap and water – those messages might not be getting through effectively.</p> <p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33998334/">One study</a> that looked at this question in India asked school children about barriers to hand washing. The vast majority (91%) had low “illness threat perception”. In other words, they simply didn’t perceive a risk of getting sick form not washing their hands after going to the toilet.</p> <p>Interestingly, the inability to see germs with their own eyes was one of the biggest barriers, cited by 46% of the children. But 72% said they would wash their hands if their friends did.</p> <p>It’s tempting to speculate these reasons may also apply to other age groups, but we simply haven’t done enough research to know. People’s reasons for hand washing, or not, likely vary across their lifetime and with their circumstances.</p> <h2>What are the risks?</h2> <p>Urine and faeces contain millions of germs, especially faeces, which has more than <a href="https://theconversation.com/your-poo-is-mostly-alive-heres-whats-in-it-102848">100 billion</a> germs per gram.</p> <p>When you use the toilet and touch surfaces in the bathroom, you will pick up germs. People who skip the hand washing step on the way out take those germs with them when they leave, depositing them on each surface they touch afterwards.</p> <p>You may not get sick yourself, but you’re increasing the spread of bacteria. This can increase the risk of infection and illness for other people, including those with compromised immune systems such as older people and those undergoing common forms of treatment for cancer.</p> <p>Hand washing before cooking and eating is also important. The risk here goes both ways. If you have disease-causing germs on your hands (maybe because you didn’t wash them after the toilet) you may transfer them to the food where they can multiply and even produce toxins. People who eat the food may then get sick, often involving vomiting and diarrhoea.</p> <p>In the other direction, some foods naturally carry germs before cooking – such as <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7697675/">salmonella and campylobacter bacteria in raw poultry</a>. If you don’t wash your hands after handling these foods you may transfer them to other surfaces and risk spreading infection.</p> <h2>How should I wash my hands?</h2> <p>Follow these three simple tips for hand washing correctly:</p> <ol> <li> <p><strong>wet</strong> your hands and rub them together well to build up a good lather with soap for at least 20 seconds and don’t forget to wash between your fingers and under your nails. You might have to use a nail brush</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>rinse</strong> well under running water to remove the bugs from your hands</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>dry</strong> your hands thoroughly on a clean towel for at least 20 seconds. Touching surfaces with moist hands encourages bugs to spread from the surface to your hands.</p> </li> </ol> <h2>What about hand sanitiser?</h2> <p>If no running water is available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser. These rapidly inactivate a wide range of germs, rendering them non-infectious. Hand sanitisers are effective against a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513254/#_article-17334_s3_">wide range of bacteria and viruses</a> that can cause many common gastrointesintal and respiratory infections.</p> <p>However if your hands are soiled with organic matter – such as blood, faeces, meat, sand or soil – they won’t be effective. In that case you should clean your hands with soap and water.</p> <h2>The bottom line</h2> <p>Hand washing is a bit like wearing a seat belt — you do that every time you get in a car, not just on the days you “plan” to be involved in an accident. The bottom line is hand washing is a simple, quick intervention that benefits you and those around you — but only if you do it.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/241481/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christine-carson-109004">Christine Carson</a>, Senior Research Fellow, School of Medicine, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-5-australians-admit-they-dont-wash-their-hands-every-time-they-use-the-toilet-241481">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Body

38-year-old message in a bottle washes up on beach

<p>A message in a bottle written almost 40 years ago has been discovered by a four-year-old at a beach in Perth. </p> <p>Meg Prideaux took her son Leo, 4, “looking for treasure” at the beach in their hometown of Lancelin, when he spotted the bottle with a rolled-up note inside.</p> <p>“We brought it home and we waited for my daughter and my husband to come home, but we couldn’t get it open,” she said.</p> <p>“There was a bit of corrosion and a few barnacles had started to grow, so it had been there for a while.”</p> <p>After a bit of trouble, they got the bottle open and unfurled the soggy, but still legible, letter and found it dated from 1985. </p> <p>The message had been written 39 years ago by then-teenagers Joanne Hunter and Louise Pocock, who were 15 when they wrote the note while on holiday. </p> <p>Their note came with a simple request — that anyone who finds the bottle send a return letter to the girls in suburban Perth.</p> <p>With the help of <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/message-in-a-bottle-thrown-into-sea-in-1985-washes-up-on-wa-beach-c-15876207" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>7News</em></a>, Meg and Leo Prideaux were able to track down Joanne Hunter, who is now Joanne Evans and aged 54.</p> <p>“I was like, ‘Oh my god. Is that really that?’ I haven’t thought about that in forever,” Evans said.</p> <p>“We wrote it at night and sealed it with wax and then we actually swam it out into the water because, at first, we threw it from the beach and it kept washing back in, so we swam out the next morning."</p> <p>“My family had a beach house directly across the road and Louise came with my family for the school holidays. She was always full of excitement and had such a great imagination, it was her idea to do it.”</p> <p>Pocock died of leukaemia six years ago but her sister, Sarah Martin, said she would have enjoyed “such a kick” knowing the message had been found.</p> <p>“Oh, she’d be so happy, she really would — especially that a little boy found it as well after 39 years just sitting in the sand,” Martin said.</p> <p>“She was a really great, fun, happy-go-lucky sort of person and really did well in her life, very artistic and creative, and she met a wonderful man and married him and had a beautiful little girl.</p> <p>“As time goes on, you feel like they’re slipping further away from you and then this message is such a wonderful thing that just came out of the blue.”</p> <p>The Prideaux family now plan to meet Evans to return the bottle and the message to its original author some time in the near future.</p> <p><em>Image credits: 7News / Prideaux family</em></p>

Family & Pets

7 items you should never put in your dryer

<p>There are just some items that can’t take the dryer’s heat. To avoid shrinking and more these are the ones you should never put in the dryer.</p> <p><strong>1. Bathing suits</strong></p> <p>The dryer will leave the spandex of bathing suits brittle and broken.</p> <p><strong>2. Pantyhose</strong></p> <p>The delicate material of pantyhose will shrink in the heat of the dryer and the tumbling motion can cause stockings to get tangled.</p> <p><strong>3. Rubber-backed rugs</strong></p> <p>They may be small enough to fit in your dyer but the rubber-back of these mats might crumble in the heat of the dryer.</p> <p><strong>4. Bras</strong></p> <p>The heat of the dryer can damage bra’s elasticity and shape.</p> <p><strong>5. Clothes with embellishments</strong></p> <p>Embellishments can easily snag in a dryer – and also snag other items in the process.</p> <p><strong>6. Anything that warns against dryers</strong></p> <p>Double-check the care tag of your item of clothing before chucking it in the dryer. If it warns against using the dryer, it’s for good reason. It will help your clothes look new for longer and prevent shrinking and more.</p> <p><strong>7. Running shoes</strong></p> <p>The heat can ruin the cushioning, weaken adhesive and shrink the rubber.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p>

Home & Garden

Why scalp care is just important as washing your hair

<p dir="ltr">When it comes to our daily beauty routines, we tend to focus on what looks and feels like it needs a refresh, such as washing our hair when it looks a little greasy, or cleansing our faces after a day of wearing makeup. </p> <p dir="ltr">While our beauty, skin and hair care routines are quick to become second nature, there is one area that often gets overlooked: our scalps. </p> <p dir="ltr">When washing our hair, it is easy to focus on the products and techniques we need to get our tresses clean, while skimping on what is best for our scalp. </p> <p dir="ltr">But now, the scalp, which is often the most overlooked part of our skin, is finally being recognised as an area that needs just as much TLC as your face.</p> <p dir="ltr">Implementing scalp care as part of our beauty routines is a must, as this sensitive area can often need extra attention due to a build-up of product, delicate skin and aggressive hair washing techniques. </p> <p dir="ltr">Hair care expert Sanja Scher from Beatnik Studio has shared how important it is to care for the scalp as the foundation for hair growth and health, and how it all starts with the right products. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Revlon Professional, known for game-changing professional haircare, styling, and colour, offers a range of products dedicated to improving the scalp - and they're available to take home. By removing excess build-up, replenishing moisture, and rebalancing the scalp’s microbiome, these targeted products ensure that the microbiome, the first line of defence, can shield hair follicles from pathogens, hair damage, infections and other irritations,” she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“And this equals healthier, stronger, more beautiful hair.”</p> <p dir="ltr">To kick start the revolution of your hair care routine to protect your scalp, Revlon Professional's launch of the Eksperience Marine Face Mist Ultra-Light Hydration is a game-changing product that effortlessly combines skin care with hair care.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C3Bc5xDSOab/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C3Bc5xDSOab/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Revlon Professional Australia (@revlonprofessionalaustralia)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Formulated with Earth Marine Water and Algae extract, the same ingredients used in their Eksperience hair care range, the mist helps to hydrate and re-mineralise the skin. </p> <p dir="ltr">For an extremely gentle shampoo, the Revlon Professional RE/START Balance Scalp Soothing Cleanser is sulphate-free and works to clarify the scalp’s microbiome, whilst hydrating, moisturising and nourishing the scalp. </p> <p dir="ltr">If you suffer from irritation, redness or flaking of the scalp, a calming cleanser is what you need, with the Revlon Professional Eksperience Scalp Comfort Dermo Calm Hair Cleanser providing instant relief. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C28RxgsysSP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C28RxgsysSP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Revlon Professional Australia (@revlonprofessionalaustralia)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">For a moisturising lotion that is scalp-focused and hydrating, the Revlon Professional RE/START Balance Moisture Lotion is an essential in any hair care routine. It offers a leave-in, lightweight formula that helps to balance and protect the scalp’s microbiome whilst still keeping it nourished.</p> <p dir="ltr">These products not only target the skin on your head to build a stronger scalp barrier, but works to reduce irritation, dryness, and old buildup, further nourishing your hair.</p> <p dir="ltr">Revlon Professional RE/START and Eksperience products are available at <a href="https://www.adorebeauty.com.au/b/revlon-professional.html">Adore Beauty</a>, <a href="https://www.ozhairandbeauty.com/brands/revlon-professional">Oz Hair and Beauty</a> and <a href="https://www.ssshair.com.au/brands/revlon.html">SSS Hair</a>. </p> <p dir="ltr">So, next time you’re washing your hair or cleansing your face, think about putting the same level of care and attention into your scalp health, and see how these game-changing products can leave your scalp and hair healthier than ever. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p> </p>

Beauty & Style

Why and how often do I need to wash makeup brushes and sponges?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/enzo-palombo-249510">Enzo Palombo</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rosalie-hocking-1428271">Rosalie Hocking</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a></em></p> <p>From the bristles of brushes to the porous surfaces of sponges, your makeup kit can harbour a host of bacteria and fungi.</p> <p>These potentially hazardous contaminants can originate not only from the cosmetics themselves, but also from the very surface of our skin.</p> <p>So, how can we keep things hygienic and avoid microbial growth on makeup brushes and sponges? Here’s what you need to know.</p> <h2>How do germs and fungi get in my brushes and sponges?</h2> <p>Germs and fungi can make their way into your makeup kit in lots of ways.</p> <p>Ever flushed a toilet with the lid open with your makeup brushes nearby? There’s a good chance <a href="https://theconversation.com/mobile-phones-are-covered-in-germs-disinfecting-them-daily-could-help-stop-diseases-spreading-135318">faecal particles</a> have landed on them.</p> <p>Perhaps a family member or housemate has used your eyeshadow brush when you weren’t looking, and transferred some microbes across in the process.</p> <p>Bacteria that trigger a pimple outbreak can be easily transferred from the surface of your skin to a makeup brush or sponge.</p> <p>And tiny little mites called Demodex mites, which have been linked to certain rashes and acne, live on your skin, as well, and so may end up in your sponge or brushes.</p> <p>Bacterial contamination of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38020232/">lip cosmetics</a>, in particular, can pose a risk of skin and eye infections (so keep that in mind if you use lip brushes). Lipsticks are frequently contaminated with bacteria such as <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>, <em>E. coli</em>, and <em>Streptococcus pneumoniae</em>.</p> <p>Low-quality cosmetics are more likely to have higher and more diverse microbial growth compared to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319562X23002978?pes=vor">high-quality cosmetics</a>.</p> <p>Brushes exposed to sensitive areas like the eyes, mouth and nose are particularly susceptible to being potential sources of infection.</p> <p>The range of conditions caused by these microorganisms includes:</p> <ul> <li> <p>abscesses</p> </li> <li> <p>skin and soft tissue infections</p> </li> <li> <p>skin lesions</p> </li> <li> <p>rashes</p> </li> <li> <p>and dermatitis.</p> </li> </ul> <p>In severe cases, infections can lead to invasion of the bloodstream or deep tissues.</p> <p>Commercially available cosmetics contain varying amounts and types of preservatives aimed at inhibiting the growth of fungi and bacteria.</p> <p>But when you apply makeup, different cosmetics with unique formulations of preservatives can become mixed. When a preservative meant for one product mixes with others, it might not work as well because they have different water amounts or pH levels.</p> <p>So preservatives are not foolproof. We also need to observe good hygiene practices when it comes to brushes and other cosmetics applicators.</p> <h2>Keeping brushes clean</h2> <p>Start with the basics: never <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Isolation-of-Pathogenic-Microbes-from-Beauty-Salons-Hassan-Hamad/0199635290628fe326fcd04a2b8a2422884a8240">share makeup brushes or sponges</a>. Everyone carries different microbes on their skin, so sharing brushes and sponges means you are also sharing germs and fungi.</p> <p>If you need to share makeup, use something disposable to apply it, or make sure any shared brushes are washed and sterilised before the next person uses it.</p> <p>Clean makeup brushes by washing with hot soapy water and rinsing thoroughly.</p> <p>How often? Stick to a cleaning routine you can repeat with consistency (as opposed to a deep clean that is done annually). <a href="https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-secrets/routine/clean-your-makeup-brushes#:%7E:text=To%20protect%20your%20skin%20and,every%207%20to%2010%20days.">Once a week</a> might be a good goal for some, while others may need to wash more regularly if they are heavy users of makeup.</p> <p>Definitely wash straight away if someone else has used your brushes or sponges. And if you’ve had an eye infection such as conjunctivitis, ensure you clean applicators thoroughly after the infection has resolved.</p> <p>You can use bactericidal soap, 70% ethanol or chlorhexidine solutions to wash. Just make sure you wash very thoroughly with hot water after, as some of these things can irritate your skin. (While some people online say alcohol can degrade brushes and sponges, opinion seems to be mixed; in general, most disinfectants are unlikely to cause significant corrosion.)</p> <p>For some brushes, heating or steaming them and letting them dry may also be an effective sterilisation method once they are washed with detergent. Microwaving sponges isn’t a good idea because while the heat generated by a domestic microwave would kill microbes, it would need temperatures approaching 100°C for a decent period of time (at least several minutes). The heat could melt some parts of the sponge and hot materials could be a scalding hazard.</p> <p>Once clean, ensure brushes and sponges are stored in a dry place away from water sources (and not near an open toilet).</p> <p>If you’re having makeup applied professionally, brushes and applicators should be sterilised or changed from person to person.</p> <h2>Should I wash them with micellar water?</h2> <p>No.</p> <p>Not only is this expensive, it’s unnecessary. The same benefits can be achieved with cheaper detergents or alcohol (just rinse brushes carefully afterwards).</p> <p>Disinfection methods such as using bactericidal soap, 70% ethanol, or chlorhexidine are all very good at reducing the amount of microbes on your brushes and sponges.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220280/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/enzo-palombo-249510"><em>Enzo Palombo</em></a><em>, Professor of Microbiology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rosalie-hocking-1428271">Rosalie Hocking</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-and-how-often-do-i-need-to-wash-makeup-brushes-and-sponges-220280">original article</a>.</em></p>

Beauty & Style

Spin cycle disaster: man puts winning Lotto ticket through the wash

<p>In a harrowing tale that's sure to wring out a chuckle or two, a man in his late 20s from <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Belmont, Western Australia, </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">narrowly escaped laundering his way out of a $2.8 million windfall – after nearly sacrificing his winning lottery ticket to the treacherous depths of his washing machine.</span></p> <p>It all started innocently enough at the Here's Luck Lottery Centre in Belmont Forum, where our hero – who very sensibly prefers to remain incognito – purchased what would turn out to be a life-changing ticket for the Saturday Lotto. Little did he know, his unassuming trousers would soon become the epicentre of a near-catastrophe.</p> <p>In a classic case of absentmindedness, our hero forgot to take his ticket out of his pants pocket before succumbing to the siren song of laundry day.</p> <p>"I forgot to take the ticket out of my trousers and put it in the washing machine," confessed the forgetful winner. "After five minutes I realised and stopped the washing machine to grab the ticket, fortunately, it was safe."</p> <p>Indeed, it was a race against the spin cycle as the man scrambled to rescue his potential fortune from a soapy demise. "I couldn’t think, I couldn’t sleep, I am still processing the win," he admitted with palpable relief.</p> <p>But our protagonist emerged victorious from this sudsy saga, managing to salvage his ticket just in the nick of time. With a sigh of relief, he made his way to Lotterywest HQ to claim his well-deserved prize.</p> <p>Lotterywest spokesman James Mooney chimed in, highlighting the importance of registering tickets to avoid potential mishaps of this magnitude. "For this player, it all came out of the wash okay, but it’s a reminder for players to register their ticket to prevent what could be a multimillion-dollar mistake," he wisely advised.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Money & Banking

How often should you wash your sheets and towels?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rietie-venter-100529">Rietie Venter</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p>Everyone seems to have a different opinion when it comes to how often towels and <a href="https://7news.com.au/video/lifestyle/cleaning/dr-karl-on-how-often-you-should-wash-our-sheets-bc-6320410318112">bed sheets should be washed</a>. While many people might wonder whether days or weeks is best, in one survey from the United Kingdom, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-61259074">almost half of single men</a> reported not washing their sheets for up to four months at a time.</p> <p>It’s fairly clear that four months is too long to leave it, but what is the ideal frequency?</p> <p>Bed linen and towels are quite different and so should be washed at different intervals. While every week or two will generally suffice for sheets, towels are best washed every few days.</p> <p>Anyway, who doesn’t love the feeling of a fresh set of sheets or the smell of a newly laundered towel?</p> <h2>Why you should wash towels more often</h2> <p>When you dry yourself, you deposit thousands of <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02362/full">skin cells</a> and millions of <a href="https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(23)00402-9/fulltext">microbes</a> onto the towel. And because you use your towel to dry yourself after a shower or bath, your towel is regularly damp.</p> <p>You also deposit a hefty amount of dead skin, microbes, sweat and oils <a href="https://theconversation.com/your-bed-probably-isnt-as-clean-as-you-think-a-microbiologist-explains-163513">onto your sheets</a> every night. But unless you’re a prolific night sweater, your bedding doesn’t get wet after a night’s sleep.</p> <p>Towels are also made of a thicker material than sheets and therefore tend to stay damp for longer.</p> <p>So what is it about the dampness that causes a problem? Wet towels are a breeding ground for bacteria and moulds. <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/housing/public-community-housing/public-housing-tenants/looking-after-your-home/safety/mould">Moulds</a> especially love <a href="https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/living-with/indoor-air-pollution/allergies">damp environments</a>. Although mould won’t necessarily be visible (you would need significant growth to be able to see it) this can lead to an unpleasant smell.</p> <p>As well as odours, <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/infections/can-clothes-and-towels-spread-germs/">exposure to these microbes</a> in your towels and sheets can cause <a href="https://aafa.org/allergies/types-of-allergies/insect-allergy/dust-mite-allergy/">asthma</a>, allergic skin irritations, or other <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/11/4/04-1094_article">skin infections</a>.</p> <h2>So what’s the ideal frequency?</h2> <p>For bedding, it really depends on factors such as whether you have a bath or shower just before going to bed, or if you fall into bed after a long, sweaty day and have your shower in the morning. You will need to wash your sheets more regularly in the latter case. As a rule of thumb, once a week or every two weeks should be fine.</p> <p>Towels should ideally be washed more regularly – perhaps every few days – while your facecloth should be cleaned after every use. Because it gets completely wet, it will be wet for a longer time, and retain more skin cells and microbes.</p> <p>Wash your towels at a high temperature (for example, 65°C) as that will <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34465009/">kill many microbes</a>. If you are conscious of saving energy, you can use a lower temperature and add a cup of vinegar to the wash. The vinegar will kill microbes and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8231443/">prevent bad smells</a> from developing.</p> <p>Clean your washing machine regularly and dry the fold in the rubber after every wash, as this is another place microbes like to grow.</p> <h2>Smelly towels</h2> <p>What if you regularly wash your towels, but they still smell bad? One of the reasons for this pong could be that you’ve left them in the washing machine too long after the wash. Especially if it was a warm wash cycle, the time they’re warm and damp will allow microbes to happily grow. Under <a href="https://textbookofbacteriology.net/growth_3.html">lab conditions</a> the number of these bacteria can double every 30 minutes.</p> <p>It’s important to hang your towel out to dry after use and not to leave towels in the washing machine after the cycle has finished. If possible, hang your towels and bedding out in the sun. That will dry them quickly and thoroughly and will foster that lovely fresh, clean cotton smell. Using a dryer is a good alternative if the weather is bad, but outdoors in the sun is always better if possible.</p> <p>Also, even if your towel is going to be washed, don’t throw a wet towel into the laundry basket, as the damp, dirty towel will be an ideal place for microbes to breed. By the time you get to doing your washing, the towel and the other laundry around it may have acquired a bad smell. And it can be difficult to get your towels smelling fresh again.</p> <h2>What about ‘self-cleaning’ sheets and towels?</h2> <p>Some companies sell “quick-dry” towels or “self-cleaning” towels and bedding. Quick-dry towels are made from synthetic materials that are weaved in a way to allow them to dry quickly. This would help prevent the growth of microbes and the bad smells that develop when towels are damp for long periods of time.</p> <p>But the notion of self-cleaning products is more complicated. Most of these products contain <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/chem-2016-0005/html">nanosilver</a> or copper, antibacterial metals that kill micro-organisms. The antibacterial compounds will stop the growth of bacteria and can be useful to limit smells and reduce the frequency with which you need to clean your sheets and towels.</p> <p>However, they’re not going to remove dirt like oils, skin flakes and sweat. So as much as I would love the idea of sheets and towels that clean themselves, that’s not exactly what happens.</p> <p>Also, excessive use of antimicrobials <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6636436/pdf/idr-12-1985.pdf">such as nanosilver</a> can lead to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.652863/full">microbes becoming resistant</a> to them.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216083/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rietie-venter-100529"><em>Rietie Venter</em></a><em>, Associate professor, Clinical and Health Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-often-should-you-wash-your-sheets-and-towels-216083">original article</a>.</em></p>

Home & Garden

Mystery object washed up on WA beach finally identified

<p>Ok space enthusiasts and beachcombers. Here's one for the X-Files – Intergalactic Travel edition.</p> <p>Picture this: A strange and baffling object, looking like it's straight out of a sci-fi flick, decided to take a little trip to Green Head beach, about 250 kilometres north of Perth on the pristine WA coastline.</p> <p>As soon as the locals caught sight of this extraterrestrial-looking thingamajig, the news spread like wildfire, and it made international headlines faster than a speeding rocket, with all kinds of fascinating theories popping up as to what on <em>Earth</em> (or not on Earth) it could be.</p> <p>Was it a UFO? A top-secret government experiment gone awry? Well, turns out it was nothing that exciting. The Australian Space Agency put on their Sherlock Holmes hats and deduced that this enigmatic piece of debris probably came from a satellite launch vehicle. Eureka! Case closed!</p> <p>Of course, when something weird and otherworldly shows up on your doorstep, you can't be too careful. So, the local authorities played it safe and put the object under police guard for an entire week. (Better safe than sorry, right?)</p> <p>And who needs a red carpet when you have a front-end loader to transport your newfound cosmic artifact? The experts were summoned to figure out where this space junk came from, and they concluded it was most likely a fuel tank from some rocket launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation. </p> <p>Professor Alice Gorman from Flinders University explained to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-31/australian-space-agency-identifies-space-junk-green-head/102669472" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC News</a> that this fuel containment vessel was meant to fall off after launch. And it turns out that statistically, we've been pretty lucky not to have had more collisions with falling rocket parts. Imagine explaining that to your insurance company? "A rocket booster landed on my house. Is that covered?"</p> <p>But here comes the tricky part: What to do with all of this space garbage? Should they ship it back to India like some interstellar postcard, or leave it Down Under as an intergalactic souvenir?</p> <p>While India is technically (and legally) responsible for their space debris, they could decide to gift it to Australia if they so choose. It could be like an exotic space decoration for the country - "The Land of Kangaroos and Rocket Wreckage."</p> <p>Even better, the Green Head community itself appear to have come up with a few fabulous ideas. Forget the Sydney Opera House: let's make the space debris a tourist attraction! Move over, Eiffel Tower - we've got our own piece of space history right here.</p> <p>The WA Premier even suggested storing it next to space debris from NASA's Skylab space station (remember that?) in some kind of attempt to build a cosmic cabinet of curiosities. </p> <p>Of course, the local council is also very keen on keeping this celestial treasure. They're hoping the Indian government won't come back to claim it, to the point that everyone in the surrounding Shire of Coorow is buzzing with excitement over the possibility of having their very own space souvenir to draw crowds of star trekkers.</p> <p>And so while the mystery of the object on the beach has been solved, the debate over its fate is just beginning. Will it become a star attraction in a local park? Or will it be shipped off to India like an interplanetary package return? Only time will tell.</p> <p><em>Images: Nine News</em></p>

Travel Trouble

5 things we all do wrong in the shower

<p>While showering every day keeps us smelling fresh, it actually disturbs the natural bacteria on our skin and strips it of the oils that keep it supple. In fact, many shower habits can actually be very unhygienic. Experts reveal what we’re doing wrong, and what to do instead.</p> <p><strong>1. Showering everyday </strong></p> <p>The University of California found that too much washing can actually be bad for you, because it strips away beneficial bugs that the body uses to help ward off infections. Apparently, if we simply wash our hands and below the belt regularly we can skip a full shower every day.</p> <p><strong>2. Showering for too long </strong></p> <p>Water is an irritant, so the longer you’re in there, the more irritated and dry your skin will become. Oil from the sebaceous glands hydrate the skin, so showering for too long strips it of moisture.</p> <p><strong>3. Rubbing soap on your whole body</strong></p> <p>Soap dislodges dirt and oil from the body, allowing water to wash it away. But the skin on the arms and legs doesn't contain a lot of oil, so cleaning them with soap just makes them dry. Instead, simply focus on the armpits, buttocks, groin and feet</p> <p><strong>4. Letting the shower water blast over your face </strong></p> <p>A hot shower can cause and exacerbate fragile capillary networks in the cheeks, leading to unattractive, visible capillary networks and worsened impaired skin conditions, experts warn.</p> <p><strong>5. Using a pouf </strong></p> <p>Poufs and loofahs are a haven for bacteria — the dead skin cells they scrub so well from our body get caught up in the nooks where bacteria can feed on them. Also, because poufs take time to dry and may well retain dead skin cells, it’s a potential source of infection. To keep it clean, wet your pouf and put it on a medium heat in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds.</p> <p>How would you feel about skipping your daily shower, like one of these tips suggests? Let us now in the comments below.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="../health/body/2016/03/ways-to-stay-active-in-winter/"><em>4 ways to stay active in winter</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="../health/body/2016/04/ways-weather-influences-your-health-and-behaviour/"><em>5 ways weather influences your health and behaviour</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="../%20http:/www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/04/how-to-get-the-best-lawn-for-winter/"><em>How to get the best lawn for winter</em></a></strong></span></p>

Beauty & Style

8 hair washing tips to transform your tresses this winter

<p dir="ltr">One curly-haired influencer has shared her secrets to happy and healthy hair with the world, promising small changes that “make a big impact” over all. </p> <p dir="ltr">In a video posted to her social media accounts, Jennie - who goes by ‘The Curly Carr’ online - stressed the importance of learning to properly cleanse hair, and the benefits it can have on the likes of “hair health, definition, shine, volume, and growth”.</p> <p dir="ltr">As she explained, she too used to be guilty of just hopping in the shower, quickly slathering her hair in shampoo, and rinsing to get the job done. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I had no clue what I was doing!” she confessed. “Seems like such a small thing, but makes a big impact.”</p> <p dir="ltr">But luckily for Jennie - and anyone else fortunate enough to hear her top tips - she did learn what she should be doing, working her way towards the luscious locks many dream of, before setting out on her mission to help others on their hair journey.</p> <p dir="ltr">And in just eight simple steps, that won’t cost you a fortune in new products, Jennie has shared her findings, as well as some helpful advice to help with the transition from quickfire wash to thorough and effective hair care. </p> <p dir="ltr">Step one was straightforward enough, with Jennie noting that it’s important to “make sure your hair is thoroughly wet all the way through”. According to some experts, a good wetting with warm water helps hair to open up, allowing for a better conditioning process later on. </p> <p dir="ltr">Step two called for emulsifying shampoo in your hands before it goes anywhere near your head. Essentially, rub it between your hands until it froths up - once you’ve got the suds, it’s time to move on to the hair. </p> <p dir="ltr">Step three instructed hair hopefuls to massage their heads. But, as Jennie advised, do it “with the pads of your fingers, don’t use your nails”. Be gentle up there, just like you would be to your face. </p> <p dir="ltr">Step four followed directly on from three, with the instruction to message “all around your head” and to make sure everything got a good clean. Jennie noted that it may take anywhere from 3-5 minutes, but it would all be worth it to have your scalp cleansed. </p> <p dir="ltr">Step five had Jennie calling for the lengths of hair to be remembered, as “it’s not just your scalp getting buildup with products, dirt, and oil”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Step six was to use a <a href="https://www.priceline.com.au/product/189080/lady-jayne-restorative-scalp-brush-silicon-bristles-1ea">shampoo brush/scalp brush</a>, particularly for those who - like Jennie herself - tended to go a few days between washes, or did a pre-shampoo process. </p> <p dir="ltr">Step seven was another one many would be familiar with, as Jennie noted the importance of making sure all shampoo had been thoroughly washed out “before moving on to conditioner!” </p> <p dir="ltr">And last but not least, step eight instructed viewers to listen to their scalps, as they’d know best when it was time for the next all-important wash. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Your hair can always be refreshed,” Jennie explained, “but if your scalp is dry, itchy, and you can see buildup, it’s time to wash!”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnmLyOjKDC1/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnmLyOjKDC1/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Jennie 🌷 | Curly Hair Care and Simple Hairstyle Tutorials (@the.curly.carr)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

Beauty & Style

No, you shouldn’t wash raw chicken before cooking it. So why do people still do it?

<p>Food safety authorities and regulators <a href="https://foodsafety.asn.au/topic/tips-poultry/">around</a> <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/chicken.html#:%7E:text=after%20handling%20chicken.-,Do%20not%20wash%20raw%20chicken.,that%20previously%20held%20raw%20chicken.">the</a> <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/cleaning">world</a> <a href="https://www.mpi.govt.nz/food-safety-home/preparing-and-storing-food-safely-at-home/clean-cook-chill/#:%7E:text=Don't%20wash%20raw%20chicken,food%20poisoning%20from%20campylobacter%20bacteria.">recommend</a> you don’t wash raw poultry before cooking. </p> <p>That’s because washing chicken can splash dangerous bacteria around the kitchen. It’s best just to thoroughly cook the chicken without washing it, so it is safe to eat.</p> <p>Despite this, chicken-washing remains common. A <a href="https://www.safefood.qld.gov.au/newsroom/does-raw-chicken-need-rinsing/">survey</a> by Australia’s Food Safety Information Council showed almost half of Australian home cooks washed whole chickens before cooking. Dutch research found <a href="https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2022/05/dutch-survey-finds-a-quarter-of-people-wash-chicken-despite-expert-advice/">25%</a> of consumers washed their chicken often or almost always.</p> <p>So why do people do it – and what does the research say about the risks of chicken-washing?</p> <h2>Chicken meat and germs</h2> <p>Incorrect cooking temperatures and cross-contamination between different foods are two of the most important factors linked to foodborne illness. </p> <p>This is particularly relevant to poultry meat. Two leading causes of foodborne illness are the bacteria <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/campylobacter/index.html">Campylobacter</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/salmonella-food.html">Salmonella</a>, which are commonly found on raw poultry. </p> <p>In Australia, reported cases of Campylobacter and Salmonella have almost <a href="https://foodsafety.asn.au/topic/tips-poultry/">doubled</a>over the last two decades. </p> <p>Of the estimated 220,000 cases of Campylobacter infection each year, <a href="https://foodsafety.asn.au/topic/tips-poultry/">50,000</a> can be attributed either directly or indirectly to chicken meat.</p> <h2>Chicken-washing myths, busted</h2> <p>One <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107682">analysis</a> of consumer responses to an education campaign about the dangers of washing raw poultry shed light on why many people still wash raw chicken before cooking.</p> <p>Some believe there is a need to wash faeces and other matter off the chicken meat. In fact, modern processing techniques mean chicken carcasses do not need additional cleaning. </p> <p>Others believe washing with a slightly acidic solution (such as vinegar or lemon juice) will kill bacteria. </p> <p>On the contrary, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.06.034">research</a> has shown washing raw poultry in lemon juice or vinegar does not remove bacteria and can increase the cross-contamination risk.</p> <h2>Washing chicken splashes bacteria around</h2> <p>One of the more compelling arguments why washing raw poultry under a running tap is a risky activity comes from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0083979">recent research</a> on water droplets ejected from the surface of washed chicken. </p> <p>The study clearly showed bacteria can be transferred from the surface of the chicken to surrounding surfaces via water droplets.</p> <p>Using high-speed imaging, the researchers found a higher tap height can increase splashing. </p> <p>Chicken meat is often soft and the water flow can create a divot in the surface. This leads to splashing that would not occur on a curved, hard surface. </p> <p>The researchers placed large agar plates next to the chicken surfaces to capture any water droplets. This allowed them to grow the bacteria that were transferred with the splashed water. </p> <p>They found the level of bacterial transmission increased with greater tap height and water flow rate. </p> <p>Aerated water (which is what you get when the tap is running very hard) also increased splashing and bacterial transmission. </p> <h2>What if I still really want to wash my chicken meat?</h2> <p>While washing raw poultry is not recommended, it appears some home cooks are reluctant to let go of this old habit. </p> <p>If you insist on washing chicken meat, consider doing so in a sink of water rather than under a running tap.</p> <p>Use a paper towel to mop up any liquids, dispose of the towel and clean up afterwards. </p> <p>This will help reduce the risk of cross-contamination and keep the kitchen safe. And please wash your hands after handling raw meat!</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-you-shouldnt-wash-raw-chicken-before-cooking-it-so-why-do-people-still-do-it-192723" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Food & Wine

How often should you wash your sheets?

<p><strong>Cleaning your sheets</strong></p> <p>How often should you wash your sheets? It may not be a question you ask yourself regularly. After all, unless you spill something on them or your pet has an accident, it’s easy to assume they’re clean and just get into bed. But, unfortunately, there’s a lot lying on those sheets besides you.</p> <p>We spend upwards of 60 hours a week on our sheets, according to Annette Grant and Sarah Karakaian, full-time short-term rental managers and hosts of the Thanks for Visiting podcast. “If you think of it like wearing the same t-shirt or pants for 60 hours a week, laundering your sheets more often doesn’t seem like such a tall order. Caring for your bedding can directly affect your health and the quality of your sleep,” they say.</p> <p><strong>How often should you wash your sheets?</strong></p> <p>“Washing once a week is best,” says lifestyle expert Cheryl Nelson. “But definitely wash sheets AT LEAST once every two weeks. That’s the maximum amount of time you should go. You’re washing off germs, sweat, saliva, body oils, allergens, pollen, makeup residue, dead skin cells, pet dander, dust mites, bacteria, fungi, and even bodily fluids/faecal matter, all of which can cause health problems.”</p> <p>What happens if you don’t wash your sheets often enough? “More exposure to pollen, pet dander, fungi, etc can worsen allergy and asthma symptoms,” Nelson points out. “Dirty sheets can also cause contact dermatitis or trigger eczema.”</p> <p><strong>Some people may need to wash their sheets more often</strong></p> <p>How often you should wash your sheets depends on your body and lifestyle. Nelson suggests you wash your sheets every few days if you:</p> <ul> <li>Suffer from allergies or asthma</li> <li>Sweat excessively</li> <li>Eat in bed</li> <li>Let your pets sleep in your bed</li> <li>Have an infection or lesion on your body</li> <li>Sleep naked</li> <li>Don’t shower before getting into bed</li> </ul> <p>All of these factors make it more likely that you’ll have some kind of negative reaction if you don’t wash your sheets regularly.</p> <p><strong>Why it's important to wash your sheets regularly</strong></p> <p>Because your skin comes in direct contact with them for so many hours, some of the negative reactions you can have to dirty sheets include:</p> <ul> <li>Skin irritations</li> <li>Acne</li> <li>Eczema</li> <li>Allergies</li> <li>Infections</li> </ul> <p>However, you can rest assured that you will not get bed bugs from dirty sheets. “Bed bugs have nothing to do with cleanliness,” explains Nelson. “They ‘hitchhike’ a ride on other items brought in from outside, like luggage, bags, and shoes.”</p> <p><strong>How often should you buy new sheets</strong></p> <p>According to Grant and Karakaian, the quality of your sheets will directly affect how long they last. “Sheets made of higher-end cotton are more durable and can last up to four to five years,” they say, “but the average polyester sheet will start to break down after two or three years.”</p> <p>Some of the signs that you need to invest in new sheets include pilling, tearing, thinning, and stretching. If your sheets have stains that can’t be removed, they don’t smell as fresh after washing anymore, or they just don’t feel as good against your skin, toss them. Depending on your preferences, consider buying a set of cooling sheets or some cosy flannel sheets for a good night’s sleep.</p> <p>“If you really hate doing laundry, we recommend having extra sheets on hand,” say Grant and Karakaian. “That way, you can still change your sheets every week but you don’t have to wash them as often.”</p> <p><strong>Should you wash brand-new sheets?</strong></p> <p>“Yes!” says Nelson. “Sheets are often made with chemicals and dyes that can irritate skin, eyes, and airways – especially if you have allergies or sensitive skin. I always wash sheets first with a hypoallergenic and fragrance-free laundry detergent to ensure they’re clean.”</p> <p><strong>How to wash sheets </strong></p> <p>Even if you know how to do laundry, you’ll want to know how to choose the best washing machine temperature and how to choose the best dryer setting for getting your sheets their cleanest. Here’s a step by step guide to washing your sheets, according to Grant and Karakaian, who, as full-time short-term rental managers, have perfected the process.</p> <ul> <li>Check the instructions and laundry symbols on the care tags before doing anything.</li> <li>Pretreat any stains by soaking in your desired stain remover in it for an hour.</li> <li>Unless otherwise noted on the care instructions, select the normal cycle on your washing machine and opt for warm water.</li> <li>When the wash cycle is complete, remove the sheets and hang them on the line or toss them into your dryer. If using a dryer, hoose the permanent press setting if your machine offers it. This will allow sheets to continue tumbling after the cycle is through until you’re ready to remove them. If your machine doesn’t offer permanent press, select the medium or warm setting. Do not dry your sheets on high! Doing so will significantly cut the lifespan of your sheets.</li> <li>Remove sheets from the dryer just before they’re completely dry. Place your sheet on the bed and smooth out with your hand.</li> <li>When folding bedding to be stored, keep an iron and ironing board close by. Fold the sheets into thirds, then take a warm iron and run it over the folded sheets. Fold them again and take the warm iron to them one more time before storing. When you pull them out to make the bed, they’ll be fresh and crisp</li> </ul> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/home-tips/how-often-should-you-wash-your-sheets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Home & Garden

Tactile robot with a sense of touch can fold laundry

<p>Why can you buy a robot vacuum cleaner easily, but not one that folds laundry or irons clothes? Because fabric is actually a very difficult thing for robots to manipulate. But scientists have made a breakthrough with a robot designed to have tactile senses.</p> <p>Fabric is soft, and deformable, and requires a few different senses firing to pick up. This is why the fashion industry is so <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/garment-supply-chain-slavery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">labour-intensive</a>: it’s too hard to automate.</p> <p>“Humans look at something, we reach for it, then we use touch to make sure that we’re in the right position to grab it,” says David Held, an assistant professor in the School of Computer Science, and head of the Robots Perceiving and Doing Lab, at Carnegie Mellon University, US.</p> <p>“A lot of the tactile sensing humans do is natural to us. We don’t think that much about it, so we don’t realise how valuable it is.”</p> <p>When we’re picking up a shirt, for instance, we’re feeling the top layer, sensing lower layers of cloth, and grasping the layers below.</p> <p>But even with cameras and simple sensors, robots can usually only feel the top layer.</p> <p>But Held and colleagues have figured out how to get a robot to do more. “Maybe what we need is tactile sensing,” says Held.</p> <p>The Carnegie Mellon researchers, along with Meta AI, have developed a robotic ‘skin’ called <a href="https://ai.facebook.com/blog/reskin-a-versatile-replaceable-low-cost-skin-for-ai-research-on-tactile-perception/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ReSkin</a>.</p> <p>It’s an elastic <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/explainer-what-is-a-polymer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polymer</a>, filled with tiny magnetic sensors.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p220637-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.62 spai-bg-prepared init" action="/technology/laundry-folding-robot/#wpcf7-f6-p220637-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <p style="display: none !important;"><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap referer-page"><input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/" aria-invalid="false" /></span></p> <p></form> </div> </div> <p>“By reading the changes in the magnetic fields from depressions or movement of the skin, we can achieve tactile sensing,” says Thomas Weng, a Ph.D. student in Held’s lab, and a collaborator on the project.</p> <p>“We can use this tactile sensing to determine how many layers of cloth we’ve picked up by pinching, with the sensor.”</p> <p>The ReSkin-coated robot finger could successfully pick up both one and two layers of cloth from a pile, working with a range of different textures and colours.</p> <p>“The profile of this sensor is so small, we were able to do this very fine task, inserting it between cloth layers, which we can’t do with other sensors, particularly optical-based sensors,” says Weng.</p> <p>“We were able to put it to use to do tasks that were not achievable before.”</p> <p>The robot is not yet capable of doing your laundry: next on the researchers list is teaching it to smooth crumpled fabric, choosing the correct number of layers to fold, then folding in the right direction.</p> <p>“It really is an exploration of what we can do with this new sensor,” says Weng.</p> <p>“We’re exploring how to get robots to feel with this magnetic skin for things that are soft, and exploring simple strategies to manipulate cloth that we’ll need for robots to eventually be able to do our laundry.”</p> <p>The researchers are presenting a <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/reskin-cloth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paper</a> on their laundry-folding robot at the 2022 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Kyoto, Japan.</p> <p></p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=220637&title=Tactile+robot+with+a+sense+of+touch+can+fold+laundry" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/laundry-folding-robot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by Ellen Phiddian. </em></p> <p><em>Image: </em><em>Carnegie Mellon University</em></p> </div>

Technology

Here’s how often you should be washing your dish towels

<p><strong>Easily forgotten job</strong></p> <p>Most people are probably not throwing their dish towels in the washing machine quite often enough. It’s easy to forget them, and after they’ve air-dried, they look ready for another use. But too often, we keep using them long after they’ve gotten dirty, and all we’re really doing is spreading bacteria and germs on everything they touch.</p> <p>“Believe it or not, dish towels can be one of the dirtiest items in your home. From cleaning up spills to wiping off counter tops, they often get used more than they’re cleaned,” said Bailey Carson, head of cleaning at Handy. A study by the American Society of Microbiology showed that half of kitchen towels tested contained some sort of bacterial growth, such as E. coli or staph.</p> <p><strong>Bacteria breeding ground</strong></p> <p>Because dish towels are so absorbent, they are the perfect home for bacteria, mildew and even mould. Your damp, warm towel is also the ideal breeding ground for that bacteria. That smell you associate with your dish towels and washcloths? Yup. That’s mould and mildew. If your towels or cloths smell, it’s time for a wash in very hot water. If they come out of the dryer still smelling less than pleasant? It’s time to get a new set.</p> <p><strong>Stopping the spread</strong></p> <p>But exactly how often DO you need to wash your dish towels to avoid spreading germs? That answer is: It depends. It depends on what exactly you’re using your dish towels for. Are they just for drying your hands after washing them, with maybe a quick use to mop up some spilled water or a food stain on the front of your cupboards?</p> <p>In that case, Julie Finch-Scally, founder of The Duster Dollies, says that it’s all right to reuse that type of towel for three to four days. If you’re using your dish towels to wipe up anything other than your wet hands, they’re getting more use than a towel you use after you shower, and you’ll have to wash them more often than the average amount of time you should wait between washing your bath towels.</p> <p><strong>Other surfaces</strong></p> <p>If you’re using your dish towels to wipe down cutting boards, wash down stovetops, clean up after spills, or even for drying your dishes, you may have to replace them a bit more often. In this case, Liz O’Hanlon, director of Metro Cleaning (UK) Ltd, says, “Ideally you should change your dishcloths once a day. Unless you use the towel to wipe up spillages which include raw meat or fish; then the towel should be washed immediately after use.”</p> <p><strong>Wash together weekly</strong></p> <p>Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to run a load of a few towels every single day. Laura Smith, owner of All Star Cleaning Services, recommends collecting dirty towels in a small bin under your sink and washing them when you’ve got a full load. That way, once you’ve figured out how often you need to wash your bedsheets, you can throw them all in together.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/heres-how-often-you-should-be-washing-your-dish-towels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Home & Garden

14 ways you’re shortening the life of your washer and dryer

<p><strong>You run the washer/dryer more than you need to</strong></p> <p>“The life of a laundry machine is completely dependent on how often it’s run,” say the tax experts at H&R Block. Try to stick to eight loads a week or less, which they say will “yield an average of a (low) double-digit life,” regardless of the type of machine (front-loading or top-loading, for example). Running only full loads will help to keep your energy bill down.</p> <p><strong>You didn't have your washer/dryer professional installed</strong></p> <p>Proper installation is critical for all laundry machines. For one, they must be installed “level.” Depending on the peculiarities of your floor, that can be more or less complicated. As for dryers, proper venting is critical, and proper venting means selecting the appropriate size and material for your venting tube as well as proper placement of the tube to permit optimal air flow. If you installed your own machines, consider having a professional eyeball your work.</p> <p><strong>You're stuffing your machine</strong></p> <p>Neither washers nor dryers work optimally when overstuffed, and worse, they have to work harder than they should when they’re too full. That increases wear and tear on the machine’s mechanisms such as the washing machine’s central agitator. Plus, if you pack too many clothes into the machine, some detergent residue could be left behind – which will attract more dirt next time you wear the clothes.</p> <p><strong>Using too much detergent</strong></p> <p>Using more detergent than the manufacturer recommends is bad for your washing machine, according to Angie’s List. Using too much soap leads to more suds, which could cause your washer to overflow. Have a high-efficiency washer? They require even less soap to wash clothing properly, so be sure to skimp on the detergent and only use soaps marked safe for HE washers.</p> <p><strong>Washing stuff you shouldn't be washing</strong></p> <p>Hand washing certain items is not just for the sake of said item, but also better for your washing machine, too. Hooks and underwires from lingerie can damage your washing machine’s drum, while zippers can scratch the door of your front-loading machine.</p> <p><strong>Not cleaning out your washing machine's dispensers</strong></p> <p>“When you’re done washing a load of laundry, wipe down the detergent and fabric softener dispensers,” Angie’s List advises. “If you don’t, the build-up could cause a clog.” You should also be washing your washing machine monthly if your owner’s manual recommends it.</p> <p><strong>Not cleaning out the lint from your dryer</strong></p> <p>You should be cleaning the lint out of your lint-catcher every time you run the dryer. Leaving lint in the dryer filter lowers the efficiency of the machine by slowing down the drying process. It can also cause the dryer to overheat and possibly catch fire.</p> <p><strong>Not regularly maintaining your dryer vent</strong></p> <p>Maintaining your dryer vent (the tube that directs moisture and lint out of the dryer drum and out of the house) is crucial to keeping your dryer in good working order. A good rule-of-thumb is to have your dryer vent inspected and cleaned out once per year, according to Ivey Engineering.</p> <p><strong>Overusing dryer sheets</strong></p> <p>“Dryer sheets might make your clothing soft, static-free, and smell fresh, but they have a waxy layer that melts in the dryer,” advises Angie’s List. Using too many can gum up the appliance. But no matter how many dryer sheets you use, you need to be cleaning your lint trap on a regular basis – not just cleaning out the lint but actually removing the lint trap and soaking it in sudsy water every couple of months (or more often if you’re also using fabric softener in the washing machine, which also leaves a residue in the dryer).</p> <p><strong>Leaving stuff in your pockets</strong></p> <p>Gum, tissues, even coins, and paper money can clog your washer drain, and if they don’t fall out of your pockets during the wash cycle, you’ll probably hear and/or see them spinning around the dryer, which isn’t good for your dryer’s inner workings. So empty your pockets before throwing your clothes in the wash for the sake of your laundry machines running smoothly, efficiently and over many years.</p> <p><strong>Not taking clothes out of the washer right away</strong></p> <p>A big problem with washing machines is mould. Mould can lead to a foul-smelling machine, which is definitely going to shorten its life. To avoid mould, take your clean clothes out right away. Bonus points if you also leave the washer door open to allow the machine to air-dry between loads.</p> <p><strong>Drying stuff you shouldn't be drying</strong></p> <p>If you’re planning on drying anything besides clothing, bedding, and towels, check the manufacturer’s instructions to see if you’re actually going to be harming your dryer in doing so. For example, some dryers are not meant to dry rubber, so if you’ve washed your bathroom rug (with a rubber back), don’t dry it in the dryer unless the instructions say it’s OK.</p> <p><strong>Not reading and following the manufacturer's maintenance instructions</strong></p> <p>When Consumer Reports asked laundry machine manufacturers what consumers can do to extend the life of their laundry machines, the same answer kept coming up: follow the manufacturer’s instructions for maintaining the machine. With washing machines, that almost inevitably involves cleaning the washer itself. Many modern washing machines have self-cleaning cycles.</p> <p><strong>Drying the wrong things together</strong></p> <p>Sorting laundry isn’t just for the sake of keeping your whites white. An appliance salesperson Reader’s Digest spoke to told us never to dry “towels with t-shirts.” When we asked him to elaborate, he explained that your dryer works best when it’s drying items of similar weight and that mixing items of significantly different weight can throw off the balance of the machine.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/14-ways-youre-shortening-the-life-of-your-washer-and-dryer?pages=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Home & Garden

Man wins $117 million after getting cancer “from baby powder”

<p>A man from New Jersey has been awarded $117 million after filing a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, claiming his use of the brand’s talcum powder products had given him the lung disease mesothelioma.</p> <p>46-year-old investment banker Stephen Lanzo filed a lawsuit against the company and its supplier, Imerys Talc, after being diagnosed with the disease that is often linked to asbestos exposure.</p> <p>Mr Lanzo claimed the company was aware that its talcum powder products contained carcinogenic asbestos but failed to warn the public about it.</p> <p>Last week, a jury awarded him $30 million and his wife Kendra $7 million for “loss of consortium”, in which spouses are compensated for any harm caused by a “negligent injury”.</p> <p>On Wednesday, Mr Lanzo was awarded a further $80 million in punitive damages, taking his total compensation payout to $117 million.</p> <p>Punitive damages are generally awarded for unethical or negligent actions, but both Johnson & Johnson and its supplier have denounced the danger of talcum powder use. </p> <p>Both the company and the supplier plan to appeal the verdict.</p> <p>Mr Lanzo is the first male to file a lawsuit linking a cancer diagnosis with the talcum powder products he used for over 20 years. However, thousands of women have filed lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and other companies, claiming a link between talcum powder use and ovarian cancer.</p> <p>Lawyers for Mr Lanzo claimed Johnson & Johnson had withheld information from the public about the health effects of talcum power since the 1960s.</p> <p>The powder is made from talc, a soft mineral that is generally found near asbestos deposits.</p> <p>Previous studies have revealed that there is a risk of cross-contamination between the two during the mining process.</p> <p>Asbestos exposure has been linked to mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that usually affects the lungs, as well as ovarian cancer.</p> <p>Johnson & Johnson claimed the company undertakes extensive testing to ensure that none of the products contain asbestos.</p> <p>"While we are disappointed with this decision, the jury has further deliberations to conduct in this trial and we will reserve additional comment until the case is fully completed," a spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson told CNN.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Legal

Clever mum shares the ultimate laundry hack for clean sheets

<p>Aussie mum Dina Santos has been sharing handy home hints and tricks over on her popular Instagram page.</p> <p>Her latest is a little-known hack of adding salt and baking soda to each load of white sheets or clothes to help them keep their bright white colour. The home stylist also recommends not overloading the drum and putting whites on a warm-wash so they come out as fresh and clean as ever.</p> <p>"Put all your whites in the washing compartment making sure you never overload," she wrote in the clip.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cfa1sdZARC_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cfa1sdZARC_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Home styling with dina (@dina.sweethome.style_)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Dina said to make sure to put washing liquids or powder in the right compartment in the detergent drawer as per the machine's instructions.</p> <p>She used a laundry pod and scent boosters that go straight into the drum along with her bed linen.</p> <p>“Add two full teaspoons of baking soda and two of salt flakes (I swear ladies, this work miracles and your whites come out beautifully),” the mum-of-two suggested.</p> <p>Dina's clip racked up thousands of views and hundreds of comments from many of her followers thankful for the sharing the clever hacks.</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

You’re probably washing your hair wrong - here’s how to fix it

<p dir="ltr">Unlike many other aspects of life, how to look after our hair isn’t necessarily something we’re taught to do.</p> <p dir="ltr">While there are plenty of tutorials, explainers and hacks for pulling off particular hairstyles, how-to’s for ensuring your hair is healthy (and looks it) seems to still be catching up.</p> <p dir="ltr">Hair expert Zoe Irwin says that many people who are washing hair incorrectly are even inadvertently damaging it, and has gone on a crusade to teach people how to care for their locks.</p> <p dir="ltr">Speaking to <em>The Sun</em>, the creative director at John Frieda Salons said hair is often more of an “afterthought” than other aspects of their physical wellbeing, such as skincare.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Your hair needs the same treatment in order to look its healthiest,” she says.</p> <p dir="ltr">To help your hair look its best and healthiest, here are some of Irwin’s top tips and advice across each stage of the hair-washing process.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Less is more when it comes to shampoo</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">According to Irwin, most of us use too much shampoo, and cutting back can not only save you money by making each bottle last longer but can lessen the amount of chemicals from shampoo that ends up in the environment.</p> <p dir="ltr">She suggests using only a small blob of shampoo - slightly smaller than a 50-cent coin - and to apply it by spreading the shampoo over your hand rather than directly onto your hair. This means that when you do wash your hair, the shampoo will be distributed more evenly.</p> <p dir="ltr">Irwin also discourages rubbing shampoo into your hair to create a lather, since your hair is at its most fragile when wet. </p> <p dir="ltr">Instead, massage your scalp by holding your head still and moving your fingers along your scalp.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Use conditioner from tip to top</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">After shampoo removes dirt and excess oil, conditioner comes in to nourish and replenish lost moisture - and there’s a way to apply it to avoid the dreaded feeling of a greasy scalp. </p> <p dir="ltr">Irwin says applying conditioner starting from the tips of the hair and working up to the top solves this problem, as the amount of product will dilute as you move towards your scalp. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Take care when drying your hair</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Finally, Irwin says drying your hair should be done with care - avoiding too much friction of heat on your fragile locks.</p> <p dir="ltr">Instead of rubbing your hair dry with a towel, she suggests wrapping it in a towel or hair wrap and delicately pressing and patting the towel against your head. The longer you do this, the less amount of time you’ll need to use your hair dryer.</p> <p dir="ltr">When you do switch on your hair dryer, it’s best to use it in small sections of your hair on medium heat in circular motions. This helps your hair not only dry faster but also reduces the amount of heat damage inflicted.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Wash intuitively and ditch the schedule</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">As for how often to wash your hair, Irwin doesn’t say, but that’s because it's highly subjective. Though there is plenty of debate about washing hair daily, every couple days, once a week or even less frequently, it all comes down to how your hair behaves.</p> <p dir="ltr">Dermatologist Dr Iris Rubin told Cosmopolitan it’s best to shampoo hair as flakiness, excessive grease, itchiness or build-up start to crop up, rather than by following a regular schedule - with finer, straighter hair generally needing more frequent washes compared to thicker, curlier hair.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c38228cc-7fff-2500-a403-985e0c9b29c7"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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