A front-runner in the antiviral textile business is Intelligent Fabric Technologies North America (IFTNA), a Toronto-based biotech company that produces a fabric treatment called Protex (officially known as PROTX2AV). The company’s lab tests have shown that Protex can kill 99.9 percent of SARS-CoV-2 particles within 10 minutes. Researchers at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) in the United Kingdom applied model droplets of another coronavirus called HCoV-OC43, which is structurally similar to the COVID-19 spike protein. By taking their uniforms home, workers run the risk of contaminating their home environment, including the washing machine, because unlike in-house or industrial laundries, there is no segregation of laundry based on designated soiled and clean areas,” she noted . “If nurses and healthcare workers take their uniforms home, they could be leaving traces of the virus on other surfaces.” Geng Y, Wang Y. Stability and transmissibility of SARS‐CoV‐2 in the environment. Journal of Medical Virology. 2023;95(1):e28103. doi:10.1002/jmv.28103 As the pandemic has continued encompassing the globe, scientists have learned more about how long the virus can survive on an open surface and if that is a key component of transmission.

Not everyone has a washing machine in their home. However, those who use laundry facilities can still follow the guidelines listed above.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Science brief: SARS-CoV-2 and surface (fomite) transmission for indoor community environments. Later this year, IFTNA plans to launch a laundry product people can use to apply its antiviral chemical to their clothes at home, and by 2021, it will debut its own Underit line of Protex-treated activewear, like jogging pants and sports bras. If you considered any of our responses "irate" then I would please like you to consider the facts of the situation & the time wasted trying to explain to you that the only disappointment warranted is in your inability to differentiate between 3 different products & read product information which is not in "small print" but right next to the product images in a clear font/size. Your implication that we were somehow trying to reduce quality while increasing prices is unfounded and easily proven false; we tend to get a little irate when accusations of dishonesty are levelled against us. Precautions, such as physical distancing, quarantining, and self-isolating, can help reduce the risk of direct transmission. However, respiratory droplets can fall on objects and surfaces. SARS-CoV-2 can enter a person’s body if they touch these surfaces and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth. Data suggests that COVID-19 can remain viable and infectious on polyester fabric for at least three days.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Interim guidance for products including or adding efficacy claims for use on porous materials in non-residential settings. The designs look amazing & the cotton clothing might be better but I won’t be chancing it again, which is such a shame. The company is currently awaiting approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to market Protex as effective at destroying the novel coronavirus.

How Antiviral Clothing Might Work

Disinfect laundry baskets with 0.1% sodium hypochlorite or one of these household disinfectants, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved. On the fabric sample that was 100 percent cotton, the virus lasted for a single day, while the dosage on the polycotton sample only survived for six hours.

The National Health Service (NHS) of the U.K. has reportedly recommended industrial laundering of health care practitioner’s clothing. If this is not possible, washing and drying uniforms at home is the next best practice. When the pandemic first started, there was very little understanding of how long coronavirus could survive on textiles,” Laird said. “Our findings show that three of the most commonly used textiles in healthcare pose a risk for transmission of the virus.” Their results indicated that after about three days, the polyester posed the highest risk for virus transmission, since the sample of the HCoV-OC43 virus remained present and transmissible to other surfaces past 72 hours. Launder items with laundry soap or household detergent. Consider using a detergent that contains bleach. However, be sure to read the product description and guidelines to avoid potentially ruining certain clothing items. Consider soaking clothes in a solution containing quaternary ammonium before washing them.

The Bottom Line

In light of Laird’s research, she does not recommend washing health care uniforms at home since that could further spread the virus. Harbourt DE, Haddow AD, Piper AE, et al. Modeling the stability of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on skin, currency, and clothing. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020;14(11):e0008831. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008831 Although current research findings and guidance from public health authorities provide insight on how to reduce viral transmission on surfaces, the same is not true for clothing and other textiles. The material was described as polyester, & they weren’t wrong about that. I would have described it as plastic & horrible.