(HealthDayNews) -- Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but it's also very close to a health hazard if you use an electric washing machine.
The Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, studied the way water droplets are dispersed when a washing machine is running -- and also took a look at what was in the water.
As The Journal of the Air Waste Management Association reports, those drops of water are filled with alcohol from liquid detergents and chloride from bleach. If the drinking water is at all polluted, the machine agitation will spread those pollutants, too. The extent of the health hazard depends on the wash load and water temperature, but even a small, cold-water wash on a delicate cycle can spread harmful chemicals and bacteria.
So make sure your washing machine is well vented, and don't stand around watching the machine.
