How Proper Linen Handling Supports Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities
Infection prevention begins with the everyday processes that help limit opportunities for contamination, including how healthcare textiles are handled. Sheets, towels, gowns and other reusable textiles move through patient-care environments every day. From the moment a textile is removed from use, proper handling, containment and processing help protect employees, maintain appropriate separation between soiled and clean goods, and support a healthcare facility’s broader infection prevention efforts.
In Part 1 of our Healthcare Linen & Infection Prevention series, we’re following that process from the point of use through professional laundering and examining what it means for a healthcare textile to be hygienically clean.
Infection Prevention Begins With Proper Handling of Soiled Linen
The linen process begins before textiles ever reach the laundry.
Sheets, towels, gowns and other reusable textiles may become contaminated with blood, body fluids, microorganisms or other potentially infectious material during patient care. The way these items are handled can affect both employee exposure and environmental contamination.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard requires contaminated laundry to be handled as little as possible and with minimal agitation. OSHA also requires contaminated laundry to be bagged or containerized where it was used rather than sorted or rinsed in the patient-care area. For wet contaminated laundry that could soak through a bag or container, OSHA requires containment that prevents leakage to the exterior.
These practices help establish a clear barrier between contaminated textiles and the people and environments they encounter before processing.
Best practices for handling soiled healthcare linen include:
- Bag or contain soiled linen at the point of use.
- Avoid shaking or unnecessarily agitating contaminated textiles.
- Do not sort or rinse contaminated laundry in patient-care areas.
- Use appropriate leak-resistant containment when textiles are wet or heavily contaminated.
- Follow facility procedures for labeling or color-coding contaminated laundry.
- Use appropriate personal protective equipment when employees handle contaminated linen.
- Keep soiled and clean textile workflows clearly separated.
These steps are not simply laundry procedures. They are part of a broader system designed to reduce opportunities for contamination and occupational exposure.
What Does “Hygienically Clean” Mean?
Healthcare textiles generally do not need to be sterile unless they are intended for procedures requiring sterility. They do, however, need to be hygienically clean.
The CDC specifically distinguishes between sterilized textiles and hygienically clean textiles, which are appropriately laundered but not sterilized. In fact, CDC guidance recommends hygienically clean textiles for neonatal intensive care units while reserving sterilized textiles, surgical drapes and gowns for situations in which sterility is required.
Achieving hygienically clean linen depends on a controlled laundering process that combines the appropriate wash chemistry, temperature, mechanical action, time and drying procedures.
For traditional hot-water healthcare laundry cycles, CDC guidance specifies washing with detergent at 160°F (71°C) or higher for at least 25 minutes. The CDC also recognizes properly designed lower-temperature processes when appropriate chemicals are used at the correct concentrations.
This distinction is important. Temperature alone does not determine whether a textile has been properly processed. A healthcare laundry operation depends on a complete, controlled process designed around textile type, soil level, wash chemistry, equipment and established procedures.
From Soiled Linen to Hygienically Clean Textiles
Proper linen handling begins at the point of use and continues through professional processing. From minimizing agitation of contaminated textiles to following controlled laundering procedures, each step contributes to a larger system designed to support healthcare hygiene and infection prevention efforts.
But producing hygienically clean textiles is only part of the process. Once clean linen leaves the laundry, it must remain protected throughout transportation, delivery, storage and distribution.
Next in the series: Healthcare Linen & Infection Prevention, Part 2: Protecting Clean Linen From Laundry to Patient