ECO-FRIENDLY washing machines that clean clothes at low temperatures are a breeding ground for deadly superbugs, scientists warn.
Water temperatures in many home washers have declined from 60C or higher to 30C in the drive to cut energy bills and save the planet.
But researchers from the University of Bonn, in Germany, say this is not hot enough to kill germs.
It comes after a breakout of the bug Klebsiella oxytoca on a babies’ intensive care unit was traced to a domestic washing machine.
It was transmitted on the knitted caps and socks used to keep the tots warm and only stopped when the machine was removed.
Hospitals normally use special washing machines and laundry processes that wash at high temperatures and with disinfectants.
Experts say the finding is also important for homeowners looking after elderly relatives or younger ones with oozing wounds or infections.
They should wash clothes and bed linen at higher temperatures.
It is believed the germs remain in residual water in the rubber seals of a washing machine or are spread during the rinse cycle.
Dr Martin Exner said: “If elderly people requiring nursing care with open wounds or bladder catheters, or younger people with suppurating injuries or infections live in the household, laundry should be washed at higher temperatures, or with efficient disinfectants, to avoid transmission of dangerous pathogens.
“This is a growing challenge for hygienists, as the number of people receiving nursing care from family members is constantly increasing.”
Klebsiella oxytoca are healthy gut bacteria inside the intestines but can cause pneumonia, sepsis, or urinary tract infections when spread.
It is resistant to several drugs.
The newborns were in the intensive care unit mostly because of premature birth or unrelated infection.
They had been colonised by the bug, meaning it was harmlessly present, but were not infected by it.
This was either because it had not yet invaded the tissues where it can cause disease or their immune systems repelled it.
The findings are published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
