Throw it on the floor?!

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NM nurse to be

172 Posts

You guys have enough bed pads to use a CLEAN one to roll up the dirty linen? I wish I could be that extravagant :) I have 30 people (probably 25 or so incontinent) at night and I'm lucky if we get 5-6 pads each from the last laundry run. You get REAL good at knowing who the heavy wetters are so you can change them before you have to change the bed. Sometimes this means every hour for those folks but it's more of a pain to change the bed 3 times.

I will admit that briefs, pads if that's dirty too, do go on the floor at times. With the dirty side, wipes all rolled up inside. If you do it right, when you roll the whole thing together, you can use the off-side tape ends to hold the dirty one in a bundle. No mess, no fuss. If we have can liners (which is rarely these days), the bundles go in that before the barrel. But if you've wrapped it all in a neat ball, there really isn't much smell anyway.

At night I start at one end of the hall and take both my cans with me from room to room. I can hang a bag for collecting water pitchers on the dirty linen cart and not make a separate trip for those. What I've done a few times is get one of the bigger wheelchairs and put a towel down and load it up with all my 'extras' for the night... gowns, pads (if there are any), bottom sheets, washcloths for get ups, a package of wipes and a periwash bottle. Then I drag that chair with me down the halls and don't have to run for stuff all the time.

So do you all notice this??? It always seem that when I find someone with a big messy BM, there are NO wipes or spray anywhere in that room?! And to go running to the storage room risks a bigger mess because that resident will now paint with the mess, now that they know it's there. So I keep a full package on my cart ALL the time. I don't know how many times that's saved me a bed change!

fuzzywuzzy, CNA

1,816 Posts

Specializes in LTC.

hmmm we're "extravagant" enough for clean bed pads, but not for wipes or spray. Our washcloths get used to clean both faces and butts. And they wonder why most people don't wipe anyone up after urinary incontinence. I'm religious about that and by the end of the day we have no linens and I'm using pillowcases to wash crotches! If there were wipes on every bedside table I bet everyone would do it.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide

VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN

22 Articles; 9,987 Posts

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

FWIW, I'm a charge nurse and I don't have a problem with aides throwing dirty linens on the floor. I even do it myself. Where the heck ELSE is it supposed to go in an occupied three-bed room?? :rolleyes:

Better the floor than somebody's chair or an UNoccupied bed, I say. Just make sure you bag everything before you leave the room, and for Heaven's sake, clean up if a bit of effluence escapes! :bow:

Misslady113

1 Article; 160 Posts

I do not throw linen on the floor. I always tie the plastic bag to the bedrail so that it hangs, and then put my linens in there. Maybe if its a blanket or something large I wont put it in the bag, just carry it down the hall to the utility room. But to put it on the floor... no no.:nono: I Have walked into residents rooms and found the place to be a mess when the CNA is cleaning them. Linens on floor, water from the basin all over the place. I can't work like that, but some do. And heavens forbid the DON or administrator walks in at that moment.:chair: But it seems based on the answers that some places don't offer plastic bags often, so using the pillowcase or a pad on the floor is a good idea.

Temeika, LPN

69 Posts

Specializes in Hospice.

I'm guilty of throwing linen on the floor. I have seen other CNAs throw it all the floor including dirty brief. I felt that was nasty because all that does is spread germs around on the floor which collects on the bottom of our shoes which we track everywhere.

Which is why I have a fit whenever I find my bag or purse on the floor because someone placed it there to take my chair. Those floors are not disinfected enough for me, or I may be a germaphobe.

I usually try to make sure the trash cans in my rooms are bagged and I would put all the soiled disposables in the trash can first, tie up the bag to carry out, then any soiled linen in the next empty bag to be placed in dirty linen cart. I try not to carry nothing dirty outside the rooms if I can help it. It adds to the already bad smelling facility.

Sadiewrap

6 Posts

I have seen people place soiled diapers and dirty linins on the pillows next to the patient's heads.

I wish they would just throw it on the floor.

People should be allowed to throw things on the floor and consider the floor to

be contaminated which it is anyway.

I have also seen people pick up sheets from the floor and put them on the patient which I think

is disgusting and disrespectful.

I have also grabbed these sheets, which someone took from the floor, out of people's hands

and thrown it back on the floor, and told them I would finish up with this patient and sent them out of the room.

CNA2day

197 Posts

I do thrown dirty linen on the floor. where the heck else are you supposed put it? Now if state is around i understand that they say it is not supposed to be on the floor. Can it be on the floor in a bag? Not all residents have a W/C. and how is it acceptable to put it in their chair...ewww. What exactly is acceptable to put underneath it?! a soaker? We dont' have enough of those to use them to take laundry out with!

These are the questions I ask!!!

CoffeemateCNA

903 Posts

Crazy bureaucrats that have never touched a real patient should not be allowed to make up all of these rules!! My state's CNA manual and procedure sheets assume that each CNA only has 4 residents (who are pretty independent, only requiring few cares) and that CNAs do EVERYTHING in pairs. So whenever you do peri care on someone, there is magically another aide at your side smiling and holding a trash bag open for you to drop the linens in.

And of course every facility has GOBS of necessary supplies to go around for everyone.

As if!!

justme01

124 Posts

Specializes in CNA.

LMAO!! :lol2: :lol2: ;)

Specializes in 6 yrs LTC, 1 yr MedSurg, Wound Care.
So whenever you do peri care on someone, there is magically another aide at your side smiling and holding a trash bag open for you to drop the linens in.

That's hilarious!

I think the point of not throwing soiled linen on the floor is to not track microbes around your facilities, and home. For a partial bath usually I use 2 bags, 1 for the dirty brief and 1 for the soiled linen. One trick is to open the bags before you get started, I either place the bag on the foot of the bed (the bag is clean), or tie it on the bed rail or bed side table or hand rail in the bathroom. If I have to choose between safety of my resident or throwing soiled linen on the floor, I'll throw the soiled linen on the floor.:redbeathe

Intern67

357 Posts

Do you throw everything on the floor or use bags?

Depends on a few factors. If the task is very easy, I bag it as I go. If I am dealing with a lot of poop, blood, vomit, or need to stay really close the resident - on the floor it goes and I clean it up after the resident has been cleaned up and is safe.

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