Potential for Microbial Cross Contamination of Laundry from Public Washing Machines
2022
Kelly Whitehead | Jake Eppinger | Vanita Srinivasan | M. Khalid Ijaz | Raymond W. Nims | Julie McKinney
Although clothes washing machines remove dirt, microorganisms are not reliably removed by modern cold-water machine-washing practices. Microbial bioburden on clothing originates from the wearer’s skin, the environment (indoor and outdoor), and the washing machine itself. While most clothing microbes are commensals, microbes causing odors and opportunistic pathogens may also be present. Understanding the extent of microbial transfer from washing machines to clothes may inform strategies for odor control and for mitigating the transmission of microbes through the laundering process. This study was designed to quantify and identify bacteria/fungi transferred from laundromat machines to sentinel cotton washcloths under standard cold-water conditions. Bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS sequencing enabled identification of microorganisms in the washcloths following laundering. Total plate-based enumeration of viable microorganisms also was performed, using growth media appropriate for bacteria and fungi. Opportunistic human bacterial pathogens, including <i>Enterococcus faecium</i>, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>, <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, and <i>Enterobacter</i> spp., were recovered. The fungal bioburden was ~two-fold lower than the bacterial bioburden. Most sequences recovered were assigned to non-pathogenic fungi, such as those from genera <i>Malassezia</i> and <i>Ascomycota</i>. These results suggest that public washing machines represent a source of non-pathogenic and pathogenic microbial contamination of laundered garments.
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