Clean but also safe work clothes
Employers are responsible by law for the occupational safety and health of their employees. For many occupational groups, work clothing provides protection against hazards in their work.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is defined by standards and regulations. In addition, the protective effects must remain guaranteed over the lifetime of the garments. In industries with high hygiene standards (e.g. food industry, social and health care, catering industry), hygienically prepared workwear also prevents the spread of diseases.
In order to be able to guarantee the functional and hygienic requirements for workwear as a company, it is advisable to have workwear washed and reprocessed by industrial laundries using validated processes.
Household laundry and its risks
Having employees wash work clothes at home is problematic because many factors must be considered that employers cannot control.
- Liquid, bleach-free detergents and low temperatures are increasingly being used. Bacteria are not effectively rendered harmless below 60 °C.
- Household washing machines often do not reach the required 60 °C or cannot maintain the temperature long enough - then disinfection and documentation is not possible. Likewise, the load quantity and thus the effect and the wash chemistry cannot be controlled.
- Certain bacteria (e.g. E. coli and S. aureus) can survive on cotton fibers for up to 21 days and on polyester fibers for up to seven days. These bacteria often survive the household washing process.
- If high-visibility clothing is washed too hot, reflective stripes lose their luminosity.
- The use of fabric softener can make personal protective equipment with heat and flame protection flammable (increased conductivity).
- If residues such as oil or grease are not completely removed, the clothing becomes flammable - and thus life-threatening!
Therefore, it should be in the interest of employers to have work clothes washed and processed according to professional standards in textile service companies.
Advantages of industrial laundry
Professional companies have process and quality management systems that ensure reliable, hygienic and safe textile services.
- The reprocessing of work clothes by an industrial textile service company completely prevents cross-contamination in the domestic environment and ensures that the clothes are washed according to the required guidelines.
- Standards which must be complied with (e.g. reflectivity, conductivity, etc.) must be checked and documented at regular intervals using special installations. Professional textile service companies have systems for recording the individual washing cycles and for measuring the parameters defined by the standard and documenting the results.
- The management of the amount of clothes in circulation by the textile service company guarantees that there is always enough time to process the clothes correctly.
- Competent advice in the selection of work clothes guarantees that the clothes can withstand the procedures necessary for safety and hygiene without damage and remain in optimal use.
Source: Swiss Textile Care Association
