With lots of laundry guidelines for care homes to consider and meet, it can be hard to know where to start if you’re building or refurbishing your washing facilities. Here we provide a quick guide to the things you’ll need to do to stay compliant – with a FREE infographic at the end of this article to help you plan best practice procedures in sorting, segregating, moving, washing and storing linen.
Sorting & segregation
- Place dirty linen in the right bag
- Wear plastic aprons and suitable gloves
- Check all linen for sharp objects and other items
- Always decontaminate hands after sorting
Key HTM 01-04 Laundry Guidelines For Care Homes
Disinfection must be achieved in every wash cycle. There are two accepted methods – thermal or chemical disinfection.
The Department of Health’s Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 01-04 provides guidelines for the disinfection of linens in care homes. Download a copy of the HTM 01-04 regulations here.
Transportation & washing
- Move linen and clothing to a designated ‘dirty’ route straight away
- Use commercial laundry equipment to ensure performance and compliance
- Run heavily soiled laundry through a sluice cycle and pre-wash
- Wash in an appropriate cycle according to fabric type and soiling
- Was heat sensitive items at the right temperature to avoid damage
- Always follow decontamination guidelines with thermal, chemical or ozone disinfection
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Drying & finishing
- Use safety-focused commercial dryers to reduce risks in your home
- Dry linen and clothes immediately after washing
- Remove items from dryer as soon as they are dry
- Place ironed/finished items into storage trolleys immediately
- Transport clean linen back to original location via a dedicated ‘clean’ route
- Store finished laundry on plastic or metal shelving
- Use a ‘first in, first out’ principle to avoid over-storing items
If you need help to meet the laundry guidelines for care homes, get in touch today. Simply ask our care team for help with layouts, workflows and maintenance and we’ll get back to you quickly to discuss your options.
What is essential for the safe handling of linen laundry?
As the quick guide above outlines, it’s vital that your care home laundry follows best practice in the sorting, segregation, transportation, storage, washing, finishing and drying of linen. Fill in the quick form below to download our free infographic and start planning a better way of working in your laundry…
- 26 mins
FREE care home laundry guide
Download your free guide today and keep your care home compliant.
