by Tara Harkins


Physicians, nurses and hospital janitorial staff are typically required to wear hospital scrubs to work. The scrubs are a hospital uniform staple that consists of lightweight clothing that lets the hospital worker move freely and are free of buckles, zippers or other items that could come in contact with a patient's skin. Hospital employees know very well that every time they set foot in the hospital and in a patient room that they are coming in contact with potentially harmful germs and bacteria and they know it's crucial to keep the scrubs sanitized.

You should be diligent in the use of disinfectant wipes if you come in contact with germy surfaces while at work. Wipe up any spills immediately. Once you get home from work, the first thing you should be doing is tossing your scrubs into a washing machine full of hot water. Scrubs should be washed separate from your other laundry and should also be in washed in a large load so they can move freely within the machine.

Add a half a cup of white vinegar along with a sanitizing detergent to the load as a way to offer your scrubs a double dose of sanitizing. Vinegar is a great agent to clean and deodorize the scrubs along with the hot water. Some people turn their scrubs inside out as a way to keep the colors from fading but then others feel that doing this will trap the germs and bacteria inside.

Toss the scrubs in a dryer on hot for at least 30 minutes. This double dose of hot will work together to help kill as many germs and bacteria as possible. Scrubs that are brand new should be line dried the first few times to keep them from shrinking. Iron the scrubs as a third step in killing all germs and bacteria that might not have been eliminated in the washing machine and the dryer. Ironing is the third step in using heat to kill the germs in your clothes.

It was a startling report put forth by Infection Control Today when it found that one third all hospital workers didn't even bother to wash their scrubs between shifts. What does this mean to a patient or to a co-worker? It means that your colleague could be contaminating you and a patient with pathogens and diseases. Cleaning and sanitizing your scrubs is crucial to keeping patients, your coworkers and your family safe from possible infection.




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