Does anyone know anything about using magnets to clean clothes in your washing machine?

Question

I just got an email about using magnets instead of detergents and bleach to clean your clothes in the washing machine. Has anyone actually tried this? We have kids and dogs, so our stuff gets really dirty. I bleach everything I can. Would using magnets destroy all the bacteria? Does it work well in all temperatures of water?

Answer 1

Magnets attract ferrous materials (iron-based). So, unless all the dirt in your clothes is particules of iron, I can't imagine how introducing magnets to your wash water would help get your clothes clean, much less replace the detergent.

Answer 2

I understand why you'd want to check this out, I have kids and a dog and a husband in construction, so I know about dirty laundry too. This so looks like one of those scams. Really, how could magnets take out all the soil and stains in your laundry. If that would work, you could do it yourself by hand with any magnet you had at home! It's very easy to make up things on the internet and make up phony quotes that sound good. Here's a link by a chemist who researches phony science and scientific claims:

http://www.chem1.com/CQ/magscams.html#ML...

It talks about magnetic laundry aids about 1/3 of the way down the page.

Personally, I would be wary of putting something like this in my washer and chipping the tub! Hope this helps. Good luck!