How To Properly Clean Reusable Shopping Bags

There has been a lot of news circulating about how many gross and dangerous things that can be found in your reusable grocery bags. (Nasty things like coliform bacteria and E. Coli.) As well as the fact that most people don't wash their very often, or at all.

In my younger days I wouldn't have cared, but now that I have a 20-month-old, news like this scares the bejesus out of me. So, I did a little research to see how to properly clean these bags and washed my entire stockpile of them this morning.

After all, 'reusable' does not mean 'self-cleaning' or 'sanitary', you have to take care of that part yourself.

According to the Cleaning Institute, you should be cleaning your reusable bags after every use, store them in a dry and ventilated place, and to use separate bags with for raw meats and produce.

As for the cleaning, each bag might be a little bit different.You should look at the tags in the bags and follow the care instructions.

Here's what the Cleaning Institute says to do for specific kinds of bags:

• Woven or Nonwoven Polypropylene Bags -  Machine wash (gentle cycle with soap and cold water) or hand wash in soap and water. Line dry
  
• Nylon or Polyester - Hand wash in warm water and soap. Turn inside out and line dry.
  
• Bamboo or Hemp - Hand or machine wash (gentle cycle) with mild laundry detergent. Machine or line dry.
  
• Cotton - Machine wash with hot water and laundry detergent. Machine or line dry.
  
• Insulated Bags - Hand wash in warm water and soap or wipe with disinfecting or anti-bacterial wipes, especially along seams. Line Dry.

The washing machine ones are easy. The insulated ones take a little more time and effort, but wiping them out with disinfectant and spraying them off upside-down int he sink with the sprayer seemed to work pretty well.

Now, the big question...

Unless you answered, "Every time I use them," you need to wash them more often. According to a report about Grocery Bag Bans and Foodborne Illness:

Recent studies, however, suggest that reusable grocery bags harbor harmful bacteria, the most important of which is E. coli. If individuals fail to clean their reusable bags, these bacteria may lead to contamination of the food transported in the bags. Such contamination has the potential to lead to health problems and even death.