We have just moved to MI and I found a lovely job at EC observation unit. So I see a big difference between the hospital I worked at and this magnet hospital. Nurses are so much appreciated and protected from verbal or any abuse here. (Sorry for a long introduction)
So, I just wanted to share this with you. ? I had a little break and I missed my job soooo much! ?
I always wanted to ask other nurses how often you wash your scrubs. I usually throw it into laundry after each shift and its condition gets worn off fast.
So, do you, nurses, wash your scrubs after each shift or you think it is not necessary?
I was asking because we moved from our own house with washer and dryer to temporary renting apartment with washer and dryer on site and not free. I used to wash every single set after each shift. I didn't even let my kids hug me till I take it off and throw it into my washer machine and take 1 hour shower. Now I will be washing 3 sets every week then. ?
Other day I was talking to our techs and nurses how I feel relived every time after taking a shower after my shift. It turns out, not everyone take shower after their shifts because "I am so tired"!?
I've talked to people like that, too...Never have understood it. I don't even like to clean out the animal cage, until after I have showered. Don't want the little critter to get any diseases, from the cesspool that is work!
Oh, so you're asking if others do a load after every single shift and don't let the dirty scrubs sit in the hamper? No, I do a load when I'm out of clean ones, usually about every two weeks. I no longer work in the biohazard that is med/surg, but I do deliver babies so I occasionally get blood and/or amniotic fluid on my scrubs---so far, I'm not dead ? I do find scrubs only last a couple of years with the frequent washing.
Agreed. When I started a new job, I got the new color and paid a pretty good price for six pair and two jackets. After eight months of laundering, they were no longer wrinkle-free like they once were. I've tried different washers and dryers, different detergents, and different temperatures. They come out wrinkled every time no matter what.
The germophobe in me died a thousand deaths with the thought of not washing scrubs after wearing. My routine is to remove my scrubs in the garage, and throw my clogs into the woods. Not actually. They get thrown into the washer after each wear. On another note...how many of you Lysol/bleach wipe your badge, computer, phone at your workstation?
Yep. While I don't do my badge as much as I need to, at the end of every shift, I wipe down my stethoscope, nurse bag, purse, COW, phone, thermos, and work station.
I wash my scrubs immediately when I get home. I feel "dirty" after wearing them for over 12 hours, and not sure what they were exposed to during my shift.
I thought of a '70's Mitchum antiperspirant TV commercial where this hairy-chested beefcake says from his bed, "I didn't use my antiperspirant today, and I may not tomorrow even though I perspire profusely..."
I work 5 days a week. 5 sets. Wear once and wash the lot on the weekend. I don't separate from regular clothes. 31+years and haven't caught a thing from my scrubs. Now the grocery cart handles is another story.
Definitely only wear them for one shift. Sometimes I'll wear my jacket a few days in a row but I take it off before going into messy situations. It's just for warmth. I miss working in a specialty where I wore OR scrubs and didn't have to do my own work laundry! ?
Do you guys also iron them after washing and drying them? I remember years ago, I showed up to work with wrinkly scrubs. A doctor chewed me out for that and I never showed up for work ever again without ironed scrubs LOL. I'm ex-military, we iron our *expletive* anyway!! I slipped that one time.
After every shift, but I'm not paranoid to the point that I change in my non-existent garage/mudroom. My shoes go along with my other running shoes (on the bottom) on the rack and I wash my scrubs along with my other clothes. I live in a small apartment in a building, I don't have anywhere else really to put them. I have Lysol and Clorox wipes in my car that I wipe down my shoes with after I leave the hospital but that's about as germaphobic as I get. *shrug*
jag nurse, RN
80 Posts
I've talked to people like that, too...Never have understood it. I don't even like to clean out the animal cage, until after I have showered. Don't want the little critter to get any diseases, from the cesspool that is work!