Laundry and textile hygiene in healthcare and beyond

Authors:

Dirk P. Bockmühl1, Jan Schages1 and Laura Rehberg1

doi: 10.15698/mic2019.07.682
Volume 6, pp. 299 to 306, published 01/07/2019.

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Affiliations:

1 Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Hygiene and Microbiology, Marie-Curie-Str. 1, 47533 Kleve, Germany.

Keywords: 

laundry, hygiene, microbiological contamination, healthcare, biofilm, washing appliances.

Corresponding Author(s):

Dirk P. Bockmühl, Tel.: +49 2821 806 73 208; Fax.: +49 2821 806 73 44208; dirk.bockmuehl@hochschule-rhein-waal.de

Conflict of interest statement:

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Please cite this article as:

Dirk P. Bockmühl, Jan Schages and Laura Rehberg (2019). Laundry and textile hygiene in healthcare and beyond. Microbial Cell 6(7): 299-306. doi: 10.15698/mic2019.07.682

© 2019 Bockmühl et al. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduc-tion in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.

Abstract:

The elimination of microbial contaminations from textile is an important aspect of laundering apart from the removal of stains and dirt from used and worn textiles. Although the framework for institutional laundering is well regulated to ensure hygienic cleanliness via the use of e.g. high temperatures and bleaching agents, there are several open points, especially in domestic laundering. In both cases, energy efficiency of appliances is a main driver for innovation and has resulted in a general decrease in washing temperatures which in turn can impact the antimicrobial efficacy of laundering. Thus, the different factors influencing the input and removal of microbial cells in the laundering process and possible adverse effects of microbial contaminants in the washing machine and on the textiles as well as suitable counteractions are discussed in this article, focusing on the clinical area but also considering the domestic environment, which will gain importance in the future, e.g. by the increase of elderly and ill persons being cared for at home.