Nancy Bock, Senior Vice President of Meetings & Education at the American Cleaning Institute®

Q. Help! I've mixed my kitchen towels with my bathroom cleaning rags. What should I do?

A. Generally, it is best not to mix the bathroom cleaning cloths with those used to clean food preparation surfaces or dishes. Bathroom cleaning cloths could carry a risk of contamination with fecal, skin-borne or other pathogens.

If you have mistakenly used your bathroom cleaning cloth in the kitchen, rewash your dishes and clean the surfaces again and disinfect them. If you used your kitchen towels in the bathroom, I recommend washing them in hot water or warm and add bleach.

So how hot is hot water?

Hot water is 120° - 140° F (50° - 60° C)
Warm water is 90° - 105° F (30-40°C)
Cold water is 65° - 85°F (20-30° C)

Note: Cold water should not be lower than 65° F. If the temperature is below 65° F, select a warm wash water sheng or partially fill with warm water and complete the fill with cold water. Temperatures below 65 ° F may not activate laundry additives and may cause lint or leave detergent residue. In addition, clothes are unlikely to be cleaned very well.