Question on Washcloth and bathing

Nursing Students CNA/MA

Published

My question is:

People at my facility are using wash clothes to wash patients with visible BM on the buttucks. Then at times also throwing them in the dirty laundry basket of said hamper. The hamper is washed for the resident with no disinfection (they just use laundry detergent).

Is this a healthcode violation?

Or a OSHA violation?

I am a CNA and I have told me administrator and DON. They just blow it off. I have asked for wipes as they are reembused by medicare and mediaid. No wipes have I seen purchased for the facility!

I cannot find physical proof anywhere in written form from any agency.

I absolutely refuse to do it and find it gross besides being a unhealthy to the patient.

Some of the caregivers find nothing wrong with it!

I don't put dirty washcloths in the hamper if they're covered in feces. The hamper is for clothing and other dry things. I put all wet linens in a garbage bag, which I then put in the communal laundry bins in our biohazard area, per policy. I usually use wipes to clean, but there are times when the central supply person chose to spend the entirety of the day shift not doing her job. :facepalm: As long as you are using soap, it's fine. :)

Specializes in ER, Med-surg.

I love the washcloths. I takes a bit longer to set up, but the clean up time is much quicker and I feel like I've totally cleaned my patient. It's wonderful!:cat:

I love the washcloths. I takes a bit longer to set up, but the clean up time is much quicker and I feel like I've totally cleaned my patient. It's wonderful!:cat:

For some reason, I like them more than wipes. Wipes are usually kind of cold. And the people who design them have clearly not heard about our country's obesity problem, since the wipes at my facility were smaller than my face. With washcloths, you can warm the water and it's much more comfortable, so I'm told.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
For some reason, I like them more than wipes. Wipes are usually kind of cold. And the people who design them have clearly not heard about our country's obesity problem, since the wipes at my facility were smaller than my face. With washcloths, you can warm the water and it's much more comfortable, so I'm told.

I like soapy washcloths better, too. However, here's a tip to warm up the wipes: pop the package of wipes in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and you've just rendered them warm enough to be comfortable for your patients' butts.

(Make sure the package of wipes contains no metal or foil before microwaving.)

At my facility we rinse the poop off any linens with a hand sprayer into the toilet. If you do not, the washing machine will not get it all and you have dried brown flakes when the dryer finishes with it.

Funny, if one of my kids "exploded" when they were younger I tossed the clothes. Wasteful? Maybe. I just couldn't handle the thoughts of all the contamination.

There have been a couple of times, although rare, that myself and other staff made the call to throw linens in the trash instead of the linen bag. The administration probably would have had a cow, but sometimes it's just too much for anyone to have to clean. I've seen people just roll up everything (including disposable wipes) and throw it in the linen cart. That's just unacceptable. If it's too big of a mess that you can't clean it properly without getting feces all over you then the hospital is just gonna have to take a loss IMO! Those times are few and far between though.

Specializes in Acute + Dementia Modules.

At my facility peri-care is performed using disposable wipes. In the event that cloths are used, as well as any clothing or linens that are soiled with bodily fluids including urine or BM, it is washed separately in a designated washer with bleach after being pre-cleaned/rinsed in a hopper as per our policy.

Clothing and linens that have been contaminated is always double bagged and removed from the room and goes straight to the laundry. This cuts down on odor and keeps the residents living space sanitary and presentable.

I had a major Code Brown to help clean up today and let me tell you, if we had used disposible wet wipes, we'd have used five packages. Instead, once we had the resident in a state that she could be transferred, we put her on a shower chair and I gave her a shower. Using a warm, soapy washcloth to clean her up was much easier and less time-consuming that using wipe after wipe on her.

Specializes in LTC.

That's what I do. If it's bad enough, put the resident in the shower and rinse it all down the drain!

We don't have wipes at my facility but most of our toilets have sprayers. Those are much better than bagging everything up and bringing it to the hopper, which sprays so forcefully that you end up with a mist of dirty water in the air and dripping down into your gloves*. I just throw the soiled stuff in the toilet and stick the nozzle under water so there's no splashing and spray away.

*I wish they made opera-length gloves.

*I wish they made opera-length gloves.

They do. You can snitch them from OB.

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