Although it seems mundane, cleaning your scrubs is an extremely important part of your career in the medical profession, and when you wash scrubs the right way, you will find that you can get rid of lots of bacteria and stains.

Scrubs were initially intended to be worn in the OR, where the operating room staff scrub in for surgeries. Currently, however, they are worn by all medical personnel, which is why you need to know the best way to wash scrubs.

How to Wash Scrubs

1. Wash them in warm water and white vinegar

This may be the best detergent to wash scrubs.  Washing them in warm water is excellent as it ensures they do not shrink or fade. The vinegar is great as a disinfectant.

2. Pre-treat stains right before washing

Scrubs typically have some pretty tricky stains, and removing these before you wash them is most ideal. If not done, the stains may set in and not come out ultimately. The most common stains are:

• Ointments
• Blood
• Liquid medication
• Iodine
• Bodily fluids

3. Clean scrubs right after work

To keep  microbes or fluids from spreading, it is wise to wash them right after your shift. This can also be the best plan if you are planning on hand washing scrubs.

4. Turn them inside out when washing

This is the same way you probably wash your favorite jeans. It’s good to turn them inside out, which helps prevent them from fading, and the fabric stays in good condition.

5. Don’t wash with bleach regularly

You may be tempted to wash scrubs using bleach as it’s likely to keep them crisp, like lab coats, but try and resist this urge. When you bleach them regularly, they tend to fade, and then the buttons will probably turn yellow.

The white oxygen bleach is fine for removing stains, but regular bleach should be avoided when cleaning your scrubs.

But, if you would like to disinfect the scrubs, you can use color-safe bleach, which can be done generally after hand washing scrubs.

Be sure to follow the packaging instructions and also add the right amount of bleach.

6. Check for stains right before drying

Before taking the scrubs to the dryer, be sure to check for any lingering stains, as you still have time to remove them while they are still wet.

Once it is dry, the stains are going to be almost impossible to remove.

Then, dry the scrubs on very high heat for about thirty minutes as this will give them the most disinfecting power, and if you are not too concerned about disinfecting, you can dry them on the lowest setting. If shrinkage occurs, you may want to line dry them instead.

Conclusion

You are always encouraged to wash scrubs the right way to get rid of all the stains and ensure that they serve you for longer. Faded and discolored scrubs look horrible, which is why we believe that our tips above will come in handy.