Characterization of Microbial Communities in Household Washing Machines

Abstract

Although microbial contaminations of domestic appliances are believed to gain importance, especially due to the trend towards lower cleaning temperatures, little is known about the existing microbial communities inside household washing machines. This study aimed to improve the knowledge of microbial composition of biofilms within household washing machines using a cultural-independent technology. Biofilms inside the detergent drawer and the rubber door seal of household washing machines were analysed using the 454-pyrosequencing method. The microbial community inside washing machines appeared to be highly diverse with Proteobacteria as the main prokaryotic and Basidiomycota and Ascomycota as the main fungal colonizers.Key words: biofilm, household washing machine, pyrosequencing, biodiversityCharakterisierung mikrobieller Gemeinschaften in Haushaltswaschmaschinen. Obwohl die mikrobielle Kolonisation von Haushaltsgeräten, insbesondere aufgrund des anhaltenden Trends hin zu niedrigen Wasch-und Reinigungstemperaturen, an Bedeutung gewinnen dürfte, ist wenig über die mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften in Haushaltswaschmaschinen bekannt. Im Rahmen dieser Studie wurden die mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften in der Einspülkammer und der Türdichtung von Waschmaschinen mittels 454-Pyrosequencing analysiert, wobei Proteobakterien als die dominanten prokaryotischen Besiedler ermittelt wurden, während Basidiomycota und Ascomycota die am häufigsten gefundenen Pilze innerhalb einer hoch diversen Gemeinschaft darstellten.

Laundry hygiene-how to get more than clean

“…; Nix et al . ). In this regard, it can be assumed that the laundering process causes a shift in the microbial community on the textiles from primary contaminants (e.g.…”

“…; Nix et al . ), it appears likely that biofilm‐forming organisms cause malodour when distributed onto the textiles after the main wash (Bellante et al . ; Lucassen et al .…”

“…Nix et al . () analysed biofilms using molecular methods on different washing machine surfaces, such as the detergent drawer and the rubber sealants and found the microbial community to be very diverse, consisting of fungi and bacteria many of which are known as biofilm‐forming organisms. It remains unclear, however, to which extent these strains may cause technical problems or pose a considerable health risk.…”

“…Some studies investigating the composition of the microbiota on textiles and in washing machines, have suggested that a mixture of skin-associated bacteria and ubiquitous micro-organisms from the environment and from machine biofilms may comprise the relevant microbial community associated with laundry (Blaser et al 1984;Smith et al 1987;Gattlen et al 2010;Babic et al 2015;Callewaert et al 2015;Nix et al 2015). In this regard, it can be assumed that the laundering process causes a shift in the microbial community on the textiles from primary contaminants (e.g.…”

Review of the Year 2017

“…Three papers are concerned with hygiene issues during laundering. Bockmühl et al characterized the microbial communities in household washing machines [5], Stamminger et al investigated the hygienic performance of commercial dishwashers [7] and Wasilewski et al studied the impact of hop cone extracts on the antibacterial properties of toilet cleaners [11].…”