How do you wash your scrubs?

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I start nursing school in August and just bought my scrubs. This is probably silly, but I noticed on the tags that they are machine wash cold. Is this the standard for scrubs or is it the particular brand that I bought? Washing in hot water would kill any bacteria brought home from the hospital, but I don't want to ruin my scrubs by washing in hot. My scrubs are navy, so I can't add bleach, either. How do you wash your scrubs?

Ewww....tight scrubs....I don't know your SIL, but just the folks who I know who wear them should be forced to look at the rear view.....it's SOOO not a good look.

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does anyone else have issues w/ their cherokee pants shrinking? mine are always the perfect length when i buy them..then maybe 3 washes later..not so much.

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does anyone else have issues w/ their cherokee pants shrinking? mine are always the perfect length when i buy them..then maybe 3 washes later..not so much.

Hmmm, no. All my pants are Cherokee and I've never noticed any shrinkage. Mine are always too long so if they shrank, they'd probably be perfect!

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I machine wash in warm with regular laundry soap and add a non-chlorine, fabric safe bleach (like Clorox2, Biz, OcyClean) if they are especially dirty and tumble dry on medium heat.

20 years of working in a variety of environments and I've never brought anything home.

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Specializes in none as of to date.
I machine wash in warm with regular laundry soap and add a non-chlorine, fabric safe bleach (like Clorox2, Biz, OcyClean) if they are especially dirty and tumble dry on medium heat.

20 years of working in a variety of environments and I've never brought anything home.

I was just about to say the same thing... I love bleach..the longest I ever went without using it (around the house) was 3 looooong weeks...but thats just me!:p

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I have whites so I bleach the heck out of them and wash in hot water with a second rinse cycle.

CT Pixie I have never had actual fecal matter on my hands or hair however I have had it on my scrubs, that goes with a lot of other body fluids as well so Ill continue to use bleach on my scrubs

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

In most instances, it is unnecessary to launder scrubs in hot water and bleach. I wash mine in cold water with regular detergent, then place them in the clothes dryer on high heat for at least 30 minutes.

My microbiology professor stated that 30 minutes in a dryer on high heat is enough to kill microbes, even bacteria and viruses that are resistant. A corporate RN consultant for a chain of group homes also told me this.

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CT Pixie I have never had actual fecal matter on my hands or hair however I have had it on my scrubs, that goes with a lot of other body fluids as well so Ill continue to use bleach on my scrubs

Never had fecal matter on anything but your scrubs?!...consider yourself lucky. I notice you are a student, give it time, I guarentee one day you will experience some sort of body fluid land on you. I've worked in health care with direct patient contact for 25 years, I've had all kinds of body fluids on me...blood spatters, urine, fecal matter, mucous..you name it I've had it on me. No matter how careful and diligent you may be with taking precautions, there are times it will happen. You cannot walk around gloved, gowned, cap, eye goggles etc the entire shift. I worked at a time when gloves were not used. And one day, one of your patients may projectile vomit, spit at you, touch you with hands that have been places hands shouldn't be

I never suggested for you to stop using bleach..have at it. I was simply stating that bleach and hot water is not needed in order to kill anything you may bring home that might be on your scrubs. I have to ask..do you change before you get in your car? Do you change your shoes? If not, are you bleaching and using hot water on your car door handle or steering wheel, seats and gas and break pedals?

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I'm not even willing to have 'em in my car... I change at the hospital and deposit the dirty scrubs in a dedicated, plastic-lined gym bag. I wear my "hospital shoes" out to the car where they're deposited into a plastic case before I get into the car.

I'm not a germophobe in general but I don't like hospital germs.

I'm not at all sure that the water from your water heater is hot enough to get a sure kill unless you've got it cranked all the way up... even then...

I like bleach.

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I recently posted on a related topic, but my thread hasn't gotten any replies yet.:rolleyes: https://allnurses.com/nursing-scrubs-uniforms/hospital-laundered-scrubs-482878.html

I am just starting my prereqs, so I have a while before I need to worry about scrubs, but I was just thinking about why more hospitals don't launder their employees scrubs so they don't have to wear germy uniforms home. I know it would be a huge expense for the hospital, but it seems like the benefits for employees/families and patients alike would be worth it. I'm not really a germophobe either, but this seems like common sense to me. I hope that whatever facility I end up has a nice locker room with showers so I can change before leaving work :chair:

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
I was just thinking about why more hospitals don't launder their employees scrubs so they don't have to wear germy uniforms home. I know it would be a huge expense for the hospital
You answered your own question... cost.
It seems like the benefits for employees/families and patients alike would be worth it.
The patients don't benefit and the employees... well, the hospital doesn't really care since the benefit can't be quantified in terms of cost-benefit to the organization.
I hope that whatever facility I end up has a nice locker room with showers so I can change before leaving work
I wish mine did... I have to change in a tiny bathroom in the break room.
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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

I wash EVERYTHING and I mean everything in cold. I am too lazy to separate my clothes so they all get cold.

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Thanks for all the responses everyone. I appreciate your input.

CT Pixie - wow, you make me super excited to start clinicals ;)....can't wait for my first spit/vomit/mucus in the face...:barf01: My mom was a nurse for 30+ years and said she got spit on more times than she'd like to admit...yuck.

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