Red bags are commonplace in care home laundry rooms, but what are the regulations, how should they be handled and which specific items should be placed into them?
This guide provides an overview of red bag laundry procedures to help keep your care home safe, compliant and hygienic.
What are red soluble laundry bags and how do they work?
To reduce cross-contamination and risk to laundry handlers, HTM 01-04 states that infectious linen must be collected in a red water-soluble bag and placed directly in the washing machine.
These red soluble strip laundry bags act as a barrier between infected linen and laundry handlers and are designed to release the linen into the washing machine during the cold sluice step of the wash cycle. They dissolve in the wash, allowing staff to place them directly into the commercial washing machine without opening them in line with infection control protocols.
The key reasons to use red laundry bags include:
- HTM 01-04 compliance
- Protection against infected linen
- Open in the cycle’s sluice step of the wash cycle
What should I place in a red bag?
Some of our customers are sometimes unsure of which garments should be included in red bags and linen that does not require them so the following list should provide clarity.
Uniforms contaminated with blood or bodily fluids
Staff uniforms that have come into contact with blood, vomit, urine, faeces, or other body fluids. These should be laundered in-house and not taken home by employees.
Soiled bed linen and clothing
Items visibly soiled or used by residents with known infections, such as norovirus.
Reusable mop heads
These should be placed in red bags and laundered separately to prevent cross-contamination.
Infected or isolation room textiles
Any linen from rooms where residents are under infection control precautions.
Items contaminated during personal care
Towels, flannels, or clothing used during episodes of incontinence or wound care.
Handling of linen
Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as plastic aprons and gloves should be worn for handling dirty or contaminated clothing and linen.
Care should be taken when handling residents’ clothing and when removing bedding, which should be placed in the bag rather than put on the floor. Linen should not be held close to the chest area to reduce contamination, and an apron should be worn.
Staff should not empty bags onto the laundry room floor. Segregation should occur before items enter the laundry area to reduce contamination. Some care homes transport the water-soluble bags within cotton sacks on a wheeled trolley to safely transport them through the care home.
Additional detailed advice is provided from the Department of Health HTM-01-04 guidelines.
How can JLA help?
For over 50 years, JLA have been working with care homes helping them maximise hygiene within their laundry room.
Contact our consumables team for expert advice or assistance.
For more expert insights, visit the JLA Knowledge Hub.
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