Whether a hospital will launder a patient’s personal garments is a common concern when preparing for a stay. A distinct separation exists between the industrial-scale processing of hospital-owned linens and the handling of a patient’s private wardrobe. Hospitals provide patient gowns, bedding, and towels, managed by specialized laundry services, but they do not extend this service to personal apparel. This policy is driven by rigorous infection control standards and the need to mitigate liability risks associated with personal property.
Standard Hospital Policy for Patient Clothing
Hospitals consistently do not wash personal patient clothing during a stay, a policy rooted in infection prevention and property risk management. Upon admission, staff advise that a patient’s street clothes be immediately sent home with a family member or friend. This minimizes personal belongings in the patient care environment and prevents misplacement during transport or transfer.
If no family member is present, clothes worn upon arrival are bagged, labeled with the patient’s information, and placed in secure storage until discharge. This avoids subjecting delicate or expensive items to an industrial laundry process that cannot guarantee their safe return. For clothing heavily soiled with body fluids or suspected of contamination, staff use a water-soluble bag that is sealed and sent home for washing. This specialized bag prevents staff and family from having direct contact with infectious material, allowing the sealed unit to be placed directly into a home washing machine.
Management of Personal Items and Valuables
The management of personal items and valuables follows a meticulous security protocol. Hospitals advise that jewelry, large amounts of cash, and electronics like tablets or laptops be left at home to prevent loss or damage. If a patient arrives with these items, staff create a detailed, itemized inventory list of all personal property.
Valuables signed over to the hospital are sealed in a tamper-resistant bag and transferred to a secure location, such as the hospital safe or security office, for safekeeping. Essential items that must remain with the patient, such as dentures, eyeglasses, or hearing aids, are placed in designated containers near the bedside. This careful inventory and storage protects the patient and shields the hospital from potential legal liability should high-value items become lost or damaged during the stay.
Specialized Hospital Laundry and Infection Control
The hospital’s policy regarding personal clothes contrasts with the intense, industrial process used for their own linens, which is required for public health. Hospital-owned items like patient gowns, sheets, and surgical scrubs are sent to commercial laundries adhering to strict healthcare accreditation standards. This process requires thermal disinfection, where washing occurs at a temperature of at least 160°F (71°C) for a minimum of 25 minutes.
This sustained high heat, often combined with chlorine bleach, is necessary to achieve the sterilization required to destroy pathogens like Clostridium difficile and MRSA. To prevent cross-contamination, commercial laundry facilities operate with strict separation between “dirty” receiving areas and “clean” processing and storage zones. This rigorous, multi-step system ensures the textiles that contact patients are medically clean.