Care and nursing homes across Ireland are committed to maintaining high standards of hygiene, safety, and infection control to safeguard residents and staff against illness. An up-to-date laundry policy is essential, including clear instructions for the safe operation of all laundry equipment.
It is equally important to provide all staff with training in the safe use of washing machines and tumble dryers. Incorporating infection risk reduction into staff induction processes is a key component of effective hygiene management.
Plans for regular servicing and maintenance of all relevant equipment must be in place, with detailed records of commissioning and service visits kept. If your laundry disinfection process has been verified, you should maintain supporting records to demonstrate compliance.
Laundry Process Checklist
Here at Reliance, we have developed the following checklist to assist your team in upholding stringent infection control, health and safety measures within the laundry room:
• Use red water-soluble bags to minimise direct handling of infectious linen.
• Remove linen from residents’ beds carefully and place it in the appropriate bags, based on its classification.
• Handle residents’ clothing with care, ensuring it is placed in the correct bags and not on the floor.
• Sort linen before transporting it to the laundry room.
• Avoid emptying linen bags on the floor for sorting as this increases infection risk.
• Red soluble bags must not be opened by laundry staff.
• Wash hands thoroughly after handling linen.
• Classify linen correctly: items contaminated with body fluids and/or blood are deemed ‘soiled’ or ‘fouled’.
• Pay special attention to infectious linen from residents with diagnosed infections or known infection indicators.
• Use red bags for infectious linen and white bags for soiled or fouled linen unless local policy dictates otherwise.
• Ensure all linen enters the laundry via a designated dirty entrance area and is processed without delay.
• Items that are heavily soiled, including those in red bags, should undergo a prewash or sluice cycle.
• Process red bags on a thermal disinfection cycle.
• Avoid overloading washing machines—fill them to no more than three-quarters capacity to allow effective mechanical action.
Operating guidance for washing machines in care homes
Staff in your care home should adhere to the following practices ensure hygiene standards are met when operating washing machines.
• Commercial washing machines provide superior temperature control required for disinfection. Domestic machines are unsuitable, may void warranties and could struggle to achieve disinfection.
• Sort laundry before loading to select the appropriate programme for each load.
• Load washing machines correctly to allow effective mechanical action, ensuring the drum is three-quarters full.
• Do not bypass or advance wash cycles.
• Use the correct wash cycle and detergent options suited to the load.
• Always process red bags and absorbent pads (Kylies) on a thermal disinfection cycle.
Guidance for operating tumble dryers in your care home
At first glance, it seems straightforward to operate tumble dryers, but it is important to ensure you are using them safely and efficiently in line with the following guidelines.
• Do not leave machines running with full loads overnight.
• Separate laundry items by type (e.g., towels or sheets) to optimise drying times.
• Upon unloading, unfold and spread items to facilitate the finishing process.
• Use auto-dry cycles to prevent overdrying.
• Avoid overloading or underloading dryers, as this can compromise health and safety and reduce energy efficiency.
• Ensure tumble dryers are not left unattended while in operation.
For further guidance on managing care home laundry facilities, contact Reliance Laundry today.