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I was sick and pooped a bit on my underwear (a bit of diarrhea)

How do I clean this?

I suppose I shouldn't put it into the washer with other underwears and wash at 30C?

Most of my underwears say "30C" on them. Not sure if they'd get damaged at 40C or if 40C would be enough for cleaning

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    Clean them by hand first, and soak them in an antibacteriological agent, say overnight. Then launder as usual. If they aren't clean, you could try again at a higher temperature, but modern detergents don't need high temperatures. You might wash bed linen at a high temperature to kill the "wildlife" that inhabits it, such as mites.
    – Weather Vane
    Sep 22, 2022 at 13:51
  • Why not just buy a new pair? When this happens to me I throw away the dirty underwear and buy a new one, the process of cleaning properly would cost almost the same, if not more, as you need special agents/materials, not to mention the time you'll waste on it.
    – Shadow The Spring Wizard
    Sep 29, 2022 at 8:04
  • @ShadowTheKidWizard: just for a fresh stain like this, throw them away?! That is a good solution ONLY if they are already old and are worth throwing anyway.
    – virolino
    Sep 30, 2022 at 10:47
  • give it a good scrub of bleach and dish soap (fairy liquid in UK) and leave it to soak in for ten minutes before you launder it.
    – bigbadmouse
    Oct 17, 2022 at 10:03

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First, rinse with cold water. Hot water will set the stain. Poop & blood foam when you put hydrogen peroxide on them. Let it sit for a few minutes. I’ve then scrubbed with soap or detergent; I’ve rinsed first, then added the soap.

RISKY: I’ve put on hydrogen peroxide & sprayed with bleach. (small quantities & Cl is heavily diluted) It gets warm & bubbles more. Best on white material.

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  • I confirm that H2O2 is a good 'destroyer" of fresh biological material (especially blood). Chlorine might be too strong, with undesirable side effects. Also, elbow grease is a good recommendation also, before mixing the dirty stuff with the not-so-dirty.
    – virolino
    Sep 30, 2022 at 10:43
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    Please note that you should NEVER MIX DIFFERENT CLEANERS like hydrogen peroxide and bleach. Some mixtures react violently and possibly fling chemicals into your face, others produce toxic gasses. Only use one product at a time and thoroughly rinse in between using different products.
    – Elmy
    Oct 5, 2022 at 6:20
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If it's just your tighty whities, bleach and other aggressive cleaning agents are fine, but these will most likely discolour your clothes.

I would first rinse these thoroughly, then soak in hot soapy water. The trick is in extending exposure, so give it an hour, rinse, empty out the soapy water and then repeat the process. And yes, regular soap does kill bacteria (just give it time).

If the water you empty out doesn't change colour anymore, you can then proceed with a regular machine cycle.

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    I had to Google "tighty whities", didn't know what it means. One never stop learning! :D
    – Shadow The Spring Wizard
    Nov 7, 2022 at 12:35

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