It should be noted that other than PPE, there is no scientific data supporting the need for or regulations requiring that healthcare employers provide such uniforms for infection prevention reasons. Similarly, there is no study suggesting that home laundering (versus institutional type laundering) poses any increased risk of infection transmission.

What does this mean for you in your healthcare setting? It means that staff working on a nursing unit can safely wash their uniforms at home. What about wearing uniforms outside of the work setting (e.g. to run errands after a shift)? While the UK document states that this isn’t necessarily an infection control risk, many patients and members of the public think that it is a risk, and this may, in turn, undermine confidence in the healthcare system.

In terms of surgical scrubs, the guidelines are less clear. The APIC text states the following about home laundering of "soiled” surgical scrubs:

The Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) has historically opposed the practice of permitting surgical personnel to launder soiled attire at home, but the CDC describes the matter as unresolved. The variances in the positions taken by these two organizations obviously accounts for the
difference in positions taken by healthcare providers and the infection control community. However, AORN has recently acknowledged that many hospitals have been permitting their surgical personnel to launder their own "soiled” attire at home. In so doing, they have suggested the manner for laundering and specified that the process include the use of chlorine bleach.”

The ORNAC (Operating Room Nurses Association of Ontario) guidelines still maintain that "Home laundering of surgical attire, including warm-up jackets and cloth hats, is not recommended”.