Laundering to kill Germs: Microbiological Decontamination of Textiles

How to launder textiles to ensure decontamination

1. To ensure safe, regulated laundering of textiles from the school or healthcare environment a minimum temperature of 60°C should be used in a wash cycle no shorter than 10 minutes, using detergent.
2. Textile items from the school or healthcare environment should be washed separately to other items to prevent cross contamination to other clothing items or the environment.
3. If items have come from a healthcare environment where there are known sources of HAI the nurses uniforms/textiles should always be stored separately within the home before laundering and should be laundered after every shift before wearing again to ensure any contamination is removed.