Sept. 21, 2000

So you are washing your clothes to get all those nasty germs off them. Good luck.

Recent research found that 60 percent of home washing machines test positive for coliform bacteria, indicating fecal contamination.

Twenty percent of the washing machines tested had staph bacteria and 10 percent showed up with E-coli.

An Ohio State home economist says those germs came from you.

Marte Roloson / Home Economist: "GERMS ARE ALL OVER THE HOUSEHOLD. YOU HAVE THEM ON YOUR BODY. YOUR BODY EXCRETES SOME GERMS AND SOME BACTERIAS. IT'S A NATURAL FUNCTIONING OF THE BODY."

Here's what the experts say you should do:

• Save the undergarments for the last load

• Use the hottest water you can

• Use bleach whenever you can

• Run a bleach-based product through your machine without any clothes, just to clean it out

• Wash your hands after transferring clothes from the washer to the dryer