18562 Online Quaterly Newsletter V5 SINGLE PAGES - Flipbook - Page 16
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Current guidelines state that
it is safe to wash uniforms
at home providing the wash
temperature is set to at least
60°C 1, but this comes with
an undefinable level of risk.
You wouldn’t, for example, consider laundering hospital
linen at home. Thermal disinfection of hospital linen in
accordance with HTM 01-04: Decontamination of linen
for health and social care specifies that the washing
temperature should be continuously maintained at or
above 65°C for at least ten minutes or 71°C for at least
three minutes. This is strictly monitored within controlled
commercial laundry environments – so why is the
laundering of staff uniforms not subject to the same
stringent criteria and monitoring?
The Thread