Step 2 = Use Napisan in every washing-machine load.
Now let's look at your laundry basket. Mine is a jumble of everything as I don't have time to wash the germy socks and pants separately from the face flannels, pillow cases , hand towels etc. This could lead to spreading illness through the house, especially if (like me) you wash at cool temperatures most of the time to save energy.
Luckily I was alerted to this germ-soup pitfall some years ago when reading household advice given by Aggie Mackenzie (of Kim and Aggie fame). The suggestion given was to wash at 60 C. However nowadays there are laundry additives that can go straight into the washing machine which kill germs at 40 C. On a cautionary note, before I realised that these special additives existed, I did try soaking my husband's stripey bath towel (which hadn't dried fully so was smelling perpetually musty) in a weak bucket of Milton sterilising solution. Oops. It bleached it. the stripes were (and still are many years later) more impressionist than they were. But it did remove the smell!
My laundry-additive of choice is 'Napisan' powder. It comes in a cardboard box (with a metal 'spout' for easy pouring), so it has no plastic packaging to add to landfill. It costs approx £3.75 for 800g. One box lasts for 20 washing-machine washes. You do need to use enough of the product for it to work - The Napisan box to says put 2 tbsp into each machine wash. Keep a 1 tbsp measuring spoon with the box to ensure you are adding enough. Obviously, as with all detergents, keep away from children.
This vintage-look Laundry powder detergent tin (26.5cm x 18.5cmx16cm), from Pretty Maison would fit 3-4 packets-worth of of Napisan in, and it even comes with a handy scoop that hangs neatly on the side (although I'd like to know if the scoop happens to handily be equivalent to 2 tbsp or not...). Anyway, at £16 it is going on my wish list! Thanks to Ideal Home Magazine (March 2018) for bringing the tin to my attention. www.prettymaison.co.uk/laundry-powder
Napisan can also be used to soak stained or very germy (use your imagination any parents reading this) items - use 2tbsp in 5 litres of warm water for two hours. Make sure you stir it well to dissolve the powder, before leaving it to soak, as the undissolved powder could bleach your items! It's a good idea to invest in a lidded bucket / use an large lidded tupperware container, as a child-proof place to soak nasty items in Napisan whilst waiting for the previous machine-wash cycle to finish.
I have found that Napisan is amazing for PE / sports kit. Most of my running gear is too delicate to risk washing at 60 C, so adding the Napisan to every wash has banished the sweaty stains under the arms and luckily stopped the very unpleasant 'sweat steam cloud' which used to happen when ironing cotton sports kit ready for work.
Dog (and other pet) owners also take note - dog bedding, dog coats, dog toys can all be hard to wash as they often can't take 60 C temperatures. Napisan is your answer too!