Cleaning your scrubs

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Aug 31, 2010

Hot water, detergent, friction and the heat of the dryer are enough to kill just about anything you might get on your clothes. That's all hospital laundries do with the grossly-soiled stuff they get. I think our society has gone too far overboard with the antimicrobial, germ-free, sterile-everything goal. What will our immune systems do without a little workout every now and then?

m_aidez · Aug 31, 2010

Hot water, detergent, friction and the heat of the dryer are enough to kill just about anything you might get on your clothes. That's all hospital laundries do with the grossly-soiled stuff they get. I think our society has gone too far overboard with the antimicrobial, germ-free, sterile-everything goal. What will our immune systems do without a little workout every now and then?

You're right. I don't even use anti-bacterial hand soap. Do you wash your scrubs along with other clothes? I know I sound like a germaphob, I swear I'm not! lol

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Aug 31, 2010

All my laundry goes in together. (Sorted by colour, of course.) My son is immunosuppressed (transplant recipient) and has never come down with anything I might have brought home from work, even though I work ICU where we see a LOT of highly pathogenic or multi-drug resistant bugs. I don't even think about it.

Fiona59 · Aug 31, 2010

Yup, my uniforms go into the machine with whatever else needs washing.

I do use clorox wipes on my shoes. It doesn't even hurt the leather

Silverdragon102, BSN · Aug 31, 2010

Me too my stuff goes in with hubby's stuff and he is still living (although not sure how cos I have nearly killed him a couple of times :))

Teebee5 · Sep 1, 2010

Yup, my uniforms go into the machine with whatever else needs washing.
I do use clorox wipes on my shoes. It doesn't even hurt the leather

I clorox my shoes too... as soon as I am home I strip down and through all in the wash... hot water and tide works great.

Even as a Lab Assistant, I have done this routine for years now.

Daisy_08, BSN, RN · Sep 1, 2010

i wash mine in hot separately because i don't wash my other clothes in hot or put them in the dryer. i also try and snag a virox wipe for my shoes when i can.

ruralgirl08 · Sep 4, 2010

I wash scrubs with my other clothes too, sort by colours, but if there are enough for a load I wash them separately. I prefer to hang my clothes out on the line in the summer. Mostly because I love to use a clothes line, but I also like to think UV light from the sun helps disinfect everything just a little. :)

Fiona59 · Sep 4, 2010

I wash scrubs with my other clothes too, sort by colours, but if there are enough for a load I wash them separately. I prefer to hang my clothes out on the line in the summer. Mostly because I love to use a clothes line, but I also like to think UV light from the sun helps disinfect everything just a little. :)

Never mind the sun bleaching the scrubs, just think of the smell. That's one of the best smells in the world. Laundry dried outside.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Sep 4, 2010

I'd love to be able to hang my clothes on the line. But our yard isn't very cooperative, between the garage, the trees, the hill, the fence... there isn't anywhere to put a line except one of those umbrella style arrangements, which would do me fine but DH forbids it. He doesn't have to manoeuvre the lawn mower around the post. Too bad they can't deploy him somewhere so I could sneak one in...

Fiona59 · Sep 4, 2010

Hah, I have one of those whirly ones. Tell him, he can collapse it and take it down when he cuts the grass.

I just leave mine in and make sure to duck under the washing if there is any on the line on the day's I cut the lawn.

I think I'm head up to Fort Sakatachewan to kidnap a sheep. Honest, I'd take it back at the end of grass season.