3.5 Managing a Laundry Program
As with a custodial program, the goal of the laundry department is to clean and disinfect, specifically the linen used in the facility. Linens include everything from bed sheets, blankets, and personal clothing to tablecloths, bibs, napkins, and kitchen towels. Many linen items can be contaminated by human blood, saliva, vomit, and even urine. Here are some best practices for operating a laundry program that ensure safe protocols for the staff.
Step 1 – The Collection Process
Provide the laundry staff with personal protective equipment. Laundry staff should wear gowns or lab coats that provide an outer layer of protection against contamination, gloves, and masks. Linen should be separated into coloured bins or bags. It is suggested to use yellow bags for infectious linen, such as bed sheets and bibs, and clear bags for noninfectious linen, such as kitchen towels and tablecloths. Choose to use plastic bins or bags, as cloth bags can get wet and leak contaminants. The staff should collect the bags in plastic wheeled bins and return them to the laundry room for sorting.
Step 2 – Partition the Laundry Room
Best practices recommend two separate rooms, one for dirty or contaminated linens and one for clean linens.
Step 3 – Use Hot Water Washes
Wash water should be between 65 – 79 degrees Celsius for a specific time. The time will be dependent on the chemical detergent used in the workplace. The correct temperature and time are key to effective cleaning and disinfecting.
Step 4 – Label Chemicals
There are many types of chemicals used in laundering linens to effectively clean and disinfect them. Get to know the chemicals. Read the manufacturer’s instructions. Provide this information to the staff. Every chemical used in a workplace should have a Workplace Material Data Sheet (MSDS) available to the staff.
Example: MSDS Sheet for Laundry Detergent
Look at this example of an MSDS sheet for laundry detergent: Concentrated Laundry HE Detergent Safety Data Sheet [PDF]Step 5 – Distribution of Clean Linens
Staff should change into clean personal protective equipment. Linens should be sorted and placed on clean carts to be delivered back to the areas of the facility where they are required for use.
Maintaining the laundry equipment in good working order is important to staff safety and the efficacy of the laundry program.
“Implementation of Laundry Management Linen Management At RSI Unisma Malang” from Journal of Hospital Management and Services by Enny Efitasary, Setyo Budi Susanto, Laili Wulandari, & Matrahman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Modifications: Used Introduction; rewritten and edited.
