A healthcare laundry planning facility will differ from a commercial laundry planning as hospital laundry would be dealing with many types of soiled linen and clothes. Healthcare facilities laundry deals with linen that is contaminated with faeces, blood, mucus, urine, bacteria, viruses and many more such organic contaminants. Since diseases are transmitted very fast in the medical community, the government has laid some rules for the healthcare systems to follow with respect to laundry planning.
Some practices for handling linen from healthcare
# The person who handles soiled linen from healthcare should always wear protective clothing, masks and reusable rubber gloves while handling them.
# Soiled linen should never be carried against your body, instead make sure to carry them on strolleys that need to be sterilized once they are unloaded at the laundry room.
# Soiled linen needs to be rolled up so that they do not contaminate the air surface around.
# Always place soiled linen labeled in leak-proof containers, and also do not transport them in the patient care area by hand.
# The laundry equipment used should follow the manufacturer’s instructions for time, temperature, water quality, mode if commercial washers and dryers are used.
Healthcare laundry planning
# There has to be a specific area dedicated for laundering of soiled linen.
# The floors and walls of the laundry room has to be made of durable material so as to withstand large water flow.
# Make sure to have a separation between the soiled linen storage area and the clean ones storage area.
# Use disinfectant in case the soiled linen comes from an area of high risk factor.
# Linens need to be dried using a commercial dryer.
# Usage of oxygen-based bleach and detergents must be registered by EPA to make sure that adequate disinfection is done on laundry. Hot water should also be used in these cases.
# Some healthcare laundry planning have a big pot where the laundry is thrown and a combination of detergent, baking soda and cold water goes in, then the linens are boiled for half an hour and later they are wringed out.
As listed above, the laundry planning of the healthcare industry is of utmost priority as any rules disregarded would lead to infections being transmitted through along with illnesses. Workers need proper training on the fundamental tasks they need to deliver each day. Cautious handling of healthcare laundry by many linen service providers has made the healthcare environment safer and more efficient.
Some practices for handling linen from healthcare
# The person who handles soiled linen from healthcare should always wear protective clothing, masks and reusable rubber gloves while handling them.
# Soiled linen should never be carried against your body, instead make sure to carry them on strolleys that need to be sterilized once they are unloaded at the laundry room.
# Soiled linen needs to be rolled up so that they do not contaminate the air surface around.
# Always place soiled linen labeled in leak-proof containers, and also do not transport them in the patient care area by hand.
# The laundry equipment used should follow the manufacturer’s instructions for time, temperature, water quality, mode if commercial washers and dryers are used.
Healthcare laundry planning
# There has to be a specific area dedicated for laundering of soiled linen.
# The floors and walls of the laundry room has to be made of durable material so as to withstand large water flow.
# Make sure to have a separation between the soiled linen storage area and the clean ones storage area.
# Use disinfectant in case the soiled linen comes from an area of high risk factor.
# Linens need to be dried using a commercial dryer.
# Usage of oxygen-based bleach and detergents must be registered by EPA to make sure that adequate disinfection is done on laundry. Hot water should also be used in these cases.
# Some healthcare laundry planning have a big pot where the laundry is thrown and a combination of detergent, baking soda and cold water goes in, then the linens are boiled for half an hour and later they are wringed out.
As listed above, the laundry planning of the healthcare industry is of utmost priority as any rules disregarded would lead to infections being transmitted through along with illnesses. Workers need proper training on the fundamental tasks they need to deliver each day. Cautious handling of healthcare laundry by many linen service providers has made the healthcare environment safer and more efficient.
