BBC Morning Live Dr Xand gives 'hottest' clothes tip to keep Norovirus away

BBC Morning Live Dr Xand gives 'hottest' clothes tip to keep Norovirus awayBBC Morning Live Dr Xand van Tulleken says a little thought can kill infections in your home - and save you cashCommentsNewsHoward Lloyd Regional content editor11:29, 08 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesBBC Morning Live's Dr Xand said it can boost your household's health(Image: BBC Morning Live)The ongoing Middle East conflict has caused energy prices to soar. Despite a ceasefire being agreed, gas and electricity bills are still widely expected to climb once the current price cap expires.‌As a result, households need to be more vigilant than ever regarding their energy consumption. One medical expert is urging people to pay close attention to the temperature at which they're washing their clothes.‌However, the concerns extend beyond simply saving money. Appearing on BBC's Morning Live, Dr Xand van Tulleken warned that your washing machine temperature can also carry significant implications for your health.‌He explained: "Hottest your washing machine will go is 90 degrees usually, and that will kill everything. It's almost boiling it, it's bad for the clothes, it's very expensive. Whatever's happened to those clothes, I think you've got to get new clothes at that point."Sixty degrees, certain bugs will be killed and that can be quite good. So if you've got an infection going around your house, particularly think of something like norovirus, put it up at 60. Along with the mechanical cleaning and the detergent, that's quite good.Content cannot be displayed without consent‌"Personally, I don't see the point in 40 degrees, because it's too hot to be cheap and it's too cold to kill anything. Commit to one of the other; either go hot or go cold."Thirty degrees, that gets the job done, it is much cheaper. So going from 40 to 30 saves you almost 40% in energy costs. It's quicker; make sure you get a lower tem...