How to Wash Scrubs: the Do's and Don'ts of Sanitizing Scrubs

Your scrubs come into contact with a host of germs at work, so you need to pay special attention to how they’re washed. You alone are responsible for ensuring that you properly wash and sanitize your clothes, but we’re going to help! Below, we’ve listed a few “do’s and dont's,” to washing medical scrubs.

Dos

Do keep your scrubs separate from the rest of your dirty laundry. Change out of them as soon as you get home and put them in a separate laundry hamper.

Do wash your scrubs using a disinfectant. Although a regular wash with warm to hot water and a spin in the dryer will kill most germs, it’s not the same as disinfecting. Take the extra step and add a disinfectant to the wash. For white cotton scrubs, use chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite)—not an oxygen-based bleach, like Clorox 2, which does not meet EPA disinfecting requirements. For other fabrics as well as color scrubs, use Pine Sol in warm water.

Do select scrubs made from quality, durable material. Our scrubs are made from a lightweight, quality poly-cotton blend fabric that is 65% polyester and 35% cotton. This material is extremely durable and withstands countless cycles in the wash as well as dries quickly.

Do consider buying a new washer and dryer that have a “Sanitize” setting.

Don’ts

Don’t wear your scrubs before you get to work, or out on break. To avoid contaminating your scrubs, don’t change into them until you arrive at work. If you must leave the premises for lunch or to run an errand, change back into your street clothes.

Don’t assume that the dryer is hot enough to disinfect your scrubs. Dryers generally reach temperatures of about 120 degrees F, while autoclaves used to disinfect laundry at hospitals run at 250 degrees F.

Don’t forget to treat stains before washing and disinfecting your scrubs. You might want to wash your scrubs in cold water to initially remove stains, before washing them a second time in warm water with disinfectant. Warmer water is likely to set the stains.

For more information on Blue Sky scrubs, scrub caps, lab coats, and more- visit our website today!