Second-hand clothes are cheap, but they are expensive for your health: they are full of germs

The clothes vintage It’s fashionable, but if you don’t take care to wash it, you could be bringing a source of viruses, bacteria and fungi into your home.

Each person’s skin microbiome is uniquely adapted to them. What is normal and harmless for some may be cause of illness for others.

This is explained by a new article, published in December last year, cited by .

Research reveals that clothing can harbor many infectious pathogens.

These range from “germs like Staphylococcus aureus (which causes skin and blood infections), bacteria such as Salmonella, to E coli, the norovirus e the rotavirus (which can cause fever, vomiting and diarrhea) and fungi that can cause athlete’s foot and ringworm”, explains The Conversation.

Some studies, such as in Pakistan, detected the presence of bacteria that can cause skin irritation (dermatitis and scabies), such as Bacillus subtilus ea Staphylococcus aureus.

The aforementioned bacteria can remain on clothes for months, and pose serious health risks. In the tests carried out, it is common to observe that germs present in cotton or mixed fiber clothing can remain alive for up to 90 days. But on polyester fabrics, these germs can live for up to 200 days.

Find out what care you should take when washing second-hand clothes before using them.

Areas of the skin that tend to be moist — such as the armpits, feet and genital areas — tend to have the greatest number and most diverse species of microbes. However, water is not the only way germs spread: factors such as crumbs or food stains are also responsible.

Don’t worry: You don’t need to stop buying second-hand clothes. One about second-hand clothing contaminated with the scabies parasite ended up concluding that washing clothes eliminated all parasites.

The Conversation therefore recommends that you wash second-hand clothes with detergent at a temperature about 60°C. According to another, this will clean dirt from clothes and remove germs, deactivating pathogens.

If you cannot wash these clothes in hot water, you can always opt for a laundry disinfectantwhich will also “kill” germs. One hot dryer or an iron ironing equipment can also help to ensure everything stays clean.

Therefore, there is no need to stop saving money and making the environment happy — you can continue going to , which is becoming more and more fashionable. But don’t forget: Trying it without washing is not a good option.