A white coat shows everything. When you work out how to wash a lab coat, deal with the stains first and the temperature second. Pre-treat ink, blood, and collar grime, then wash the coat on its own in the hottest water the care label allows. Dry it fully, press it, and keep a second coat ready so the first can be laundered at least weekly.
Key Takeaways:
- Most clinical lab coats are white cotton or poly-cotton twill that can take a warm or hot wash.
- Treat blood with cold water and ink with rubbing alcohol before any heat touches the fabric.
- Infection control guidance says to launder white coats at least weekly and whenever they look soiled.
- Research lab coats follow the lab’s own rules, and some labs don’t allow home washing.
How to wash a lab coat, step by step
Lab coats wear unevenly. Collars and cuffs collect skin oil and makeup, and the front panels catch splashes. Here’s how to wash lab coats in a home washer or a practice’s back-room machine.
- Empty the pockets of pens, highlighters, and alcohol wipes.
- Check the collar, cuffs, and front panels for stains under good light.
- Pre-treat each stain by type. The next section covers each one.
- Close the snaps, and turn the coat inside out if it has an embroidered name or logo.
- Wash lab coats on their own or with other white work garments, and don’t overload the machine.
- Use a full dose of heavy-duty detergent and the hottest water the label allows.
- Add chlorine bleach for white cotton if the label permits it. Use an oxygen bleach for colored trim or embroidery.
- Check stained spots before drying, since dryer heat sets anything the wash missed.
- Tumble dry on the heat setting the label allows, then press while the coat is still slightly warm.
For coats washed at home, SHEA expert guidance on clinical attire recommends a hot wash, ideally with bleach, followed by a cycle in the dryer. The authors note that higher wash temperatures, along with tumble drying or ironing, have been linked to getting rid of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
Lab coat stains and how to treat them
A white lab coat shows stains early. Most come out if you treat them before hot water reaches the fabric, so the order of steps matters more than the product.
Ink is the classic white coat stain. Blot it, then dab rubbing alcohol on the back of the fabric with a paper towel underneath. Rinse, rub in liquid detergent, and wash. Gel pens and permanent markers can take several rounds.
With blood, cold water comes first, because it’s a protein stain. Rinse it from the back of the fabric under cold running water, then work in an enzyme detergent before washing. On white cotton, a little hydrogen peroxide can lift a faint leftover mark.
Rub liquid detergent or a degreasing pre-treatment into a grimy collar or cuff, and let it sit before the wash. That gray band is mostly skin oil and dirt.
Makeup rubs onto collars when a coat goes over the head or brushes a cheek. Foundation and concealer are oil based, so treat them like collar grime. Lipstick may need a stain remover first.
Yellowing comes from body oils that a cool or short wash leaves behind. A hot wash with a full dose of detergent removes them before high dryer heat bakes them in.
For the employer laundering rules around scrubs, see this guide on how clinics should handle washing scrubs. Coats with blood or body fluids on them belong in the practice’s soiled linen process, and this staff guide to handling soiled linen walks through each step.
How often should you wash your lab coat?
At least once a week for most clinicians. SHEA’s experts recommend laundering white coats no less than weekly, and any time the coat looks soiled. Ideally, they say, anything that touches the patient or the area around the patient would be laundered after each day’s use. They add that coats worn by staff who see very few patients may need washing less often than coats worn by staff with more patient contact.
The same guidance says anyone in direct patient care, students included, should have two or more white coats. It also calls for convenient, affordable laundering, such as an on-site service the institution provides. For a practice, that can mean a lab coat laundry service and a spare coat on a hook in every office.
How OrangeBag handles lab coats for practices
OrangeBag runs laundry programs for medical and dental offices. Lab coats ride the same route as scrubs, patient gowns, exam linens, and towels, and provider and staff apparel comes back laundered and pressed.
Soiled items are separated and treated on their own, and anything that comes back short of standard gets rewashed. Each practice gets dedicated loads, and its textiles never mix with another practice’s. Routes run up to six days a week, so a heavy week doesn’t leave anyone without a clean coat.
Practices in the capital region can read this look at choosing a practice laundry vendor in Washington DC. You can start with a trial, and agreement terms stay under three years.
FAQ
Can you wash a lab coat with other clothes?
Only with white towels or other white work garments. Dark clothes shed dye and lint onto a white coat, and household loads rarely get hot enough. Coats with blood or body fluids on them belong in the practice’s soiled linen process, kept apart from household laundry.
What temperature should you use to wash your lab coat?
Hot, if the label allows it. Most white cotton and poly-cotton coats can take warm or hot water, and SHEA’s guidance favors a hot cycle for home washing. Embroidered names and colored piping may call for warm water. Blood needs a cold rinse first.
Can you wash a chemistry lab coat at home?
Check with your lab first, because research labs set their own rules. William & Mary’s environmental health and safety office runs a laundering service for its research labs, and its policy says lab coats can’t be taken home. Follow your own lab’s safety office.
Can you put a lab coat in the dryer or air dry it?
Most cotton and poly-cotton coats can go in the dryer, but check the care label first. Dry the coat fully, because a damp coat hung in a locker can sour. If you air dry it, use a wide hanger so the shoulders keep their shape. Then iron the collar and front panels.
Ready to take lab coats off your staff’s to-do list?
Lab coats can ride the same route as the rest of your practice linens and come back pressed. OrangeBag will look at your coats, patient volume, and schedule, then put the program and its pricing in writing.
