What clothes should I wear when going out due to the novel coronavirus? Is it hygienic to continue wearing the clothes I wear when I get home?

We all know that the new coronavirus is a relatively serious new virus recently. It is highly contagious and can be spread through air, droplets, and contact, etc. You must take good protection when going out. So what clothes are better to wear when going out during the epidemic? Let's take a closer look!

Are sweaters more likely to pick up viruses?

In fact, the external environment is not as "full of toxins" as people imagine. The spread of viruses in the air is very limited. It will automatically settle after 1-2 meters from the human body's droplets, rather than lingering in the air for a long time. So if you don't go to places with more viruses, or go out without contact with pollution (for example, someone sneezes, coughs, or drops splash on your clothes when talking), there is actually no need to over-clean or disinfect.

On the other hand, in this kind of weather, we may wear plush clothes, and some people may think that sweaters are more likely to "hide dirt and filth". In fact, viruses prefer smooth surfaces, and the smoother the surface, the longer they can survive. Therefore, for relatively hard and porous sweaters, it is actually difficult for most viruses to maintain their activity for a longer period of time.

What clothes are better to wear when going out during the epidemic?

Many people may think that fluffy clothes are more likely to harbor dirt and grime. In fact, from a materials science perspective, sweaters are indeed closer to the living environment of viruses and bacteria, both in terms of humidity and composition.

However, in a previous interview with CCTV, relevant experts have pointed out that the smoother the surface, the easier it is for the virus to survive. On the contrary, our clothes and wool products have a relatively short survival time. In other words, compared with clothes with smooth surfaces, fluffy clothes may actually carry the virus for a shorter time.

This may be because the virus cannot survive without moisture. Most materials with smooth surfaces do not absorb water, and the surface moisture content should be greater than that of woolen clothing, so the virus is more likely to survive on clothing with smooth surfaces.

So if you are going out during the epidemic, try to avoid wearing clothes with too smooth surface, such as patent leather clothes, leather clothes, etc. You might as well wear some cotton and wool clothes, such as polar fleece jackets and lamb wool jackets, which have been very popular in the past two years.

How to disinfect clothes when you go out and come home during the epidemic

In fact, there are many ways. First of all, it is not recommended to spray 75% alcohol or 84 disinfectant to disinfect clothes. Although alcohol can evaporate, it will be contaminated on the fabric. If it does not evaporate completely, it may ignite when it encounters an open flame. 84 disinfectant has a strong bleaching effect, which may cause fading of colored clothes. For clothing disinfection, I recommend the following methods:

1. For clothes that need to be washed, you can use the disinfection and washing function of the washing machine. Many washing machines now have a heating and washing function. Set the washing temperature to 60°C and wash for more than 30 minutes, and the new coronavirus can be killed.

2. Clothes that do not need to be washed should first be hung in a ventilated place with sunlight. Friends who have ultraviolet disinfection lamps at home can choose to use ultraviolet disinfection lamps to disinfect clothes. Ultraviolet rays can effectively kill the new coronavirus.

3. If you have a clothes dryer, you can also use the heating function of the dryer to dry-heat disinfect the clothes, or use a household hanging iron to disinfect the outside of the clothes with steam, which are also feasible methods.

Can 84 disinfectant be used to disinfect clothes?

84 disinfectant does have its advantages in inactivating viruses, but because it has a bleaching effect, it may corrode clothes if soaked for too long. Therefore, it is generally recommended to spray with 75% alcohol instead of directly using 84 disinfectant. Therefore, we do not recommend using 84 disinfectant when washing clothes.

In addition, here is a reminder that 84 disinfectant should not be used together with toilet cleaners; do not let your skin come into direct contact with 84 disinfectant. If the surface of some furniture needs to be cleaned with 84 disinfectant, you should also pay attention to diluting it to the appropriate proportion, and wipe it twice with clean water after wiping it once.