By Ken Tyler, Consultant
There is a lot of talk about hygienically clean in our industry – as well there should be. It is imperative that textiles in a hospital setting are hygienically clean to ensure patient safety. But what is the science behind testing for hygienically clean textiles?
From 1979-1981, I had the pleasure to work with the VA Distinguished Physicians Group and members of the Center for Disease Control. During that time, we conducted several textile studies.
From those studies, it was determined that only through the maceration of textiles could they be deemed hygienically clean. In essence, a “hygienically clean” determination after washing requires maceration or, seeding the textile with various bacteria prior to washing. Then, scientific analysis is used to determine the cleanliness of the textile.
The more common and less expensive testing method, RODAC Plates may not be appropriate or fully conclusive on textiles since it is commonly used for hard surfaces – not textiles.
Ultimately, when considering whether your facility has hygienically clean textiles, you should consider and fully understand the testing methods for that determination.
The health of your patients and employees depend on that.
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About the author: Ken Tyler has been active in laundry and textile programs for over 53 years. He managed the entire textile and laundry operations for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for 23 years where he planned and managed the design and construction of 57 VA laundries and established quality standards for laundry system and textile inspection. Prior to that, he was the director of textile and uniform operations for the Department of the Navy, where he was responsible for all fleet and base laundry operations. Between his position as Chief of the VA Laundry program and the Chief of Laundry Operations at the DOD he managed the modernization, and construction of over 100 healthcare laundry operations. Tyler received numerous commendations including the GSA Excellence award, Department of Energy awards for energy conservation and the Presidential Award for Performance. Tyler is currently an advisor to the Joint Commission Accreditation of Hospital Organizations (JCAHO) and the Federation for Government Accountability (FGA). He has also served numerous organizations including AHA, TRSA, ALM and ARTA.
