A Home Away From Home Liz Smith-Mills, member of the P&G Professional Expert Advisory CounciL, discusses the


importance of delivering a care home cleaning and laundry service which parallels that of a luxury hotel and explains how this can be achieved.


I’ve worked in the hospitality industry for more than 35 years - primarily in housekeeping roles - and have assisted with new openings in prestigious properties including The Hyatt Grand Hotel in Dubai and Coworth Park (part of the Dorchester collection). I have always thought the standards experienced by the guests in prestigious 4 and 5 star hotels should be replicated in a care home environment.


The two most important things are cleanliness and comfort. It’s the role of the hospitality industry to take care of people and create a ‘home away from home’ experience, and the same ethos can be applied to care homes.


First impressions are critical in both types of establishment; in care facilities, it’s a top priority in making residents feel at home, whilst reassuring their friends and family that their loved ones will be cared for.


The most important things are anticipative service from friendly staff; clean, tidy and fresh smelling public and private areas and ensuring laundry is in pristine condition; soſt, fluffy and stain free. However, there’s a fine line between cleaning to meet health standards and the type of cleaning that creates a sterile environment which doesn’t give residents that home away from home feeling.


There are four main areas of focus care home operators should consider in their laundry operations:


1. Soſtness of linens and residents’ personal clothing: this is key for the comfort of residents and can help reduce the chance of bedsores.


2. Pleasant smelling sheets and towels: bad smelling linens can impact on residents’ mental and emotional wellbeing; avoid using products that smell strongly of bleach.


3. Stain removal: care homes have to deal with removing challenging stains; products need to effectively remove stains whilst maintaining the whiteness of linens.


4. Disinfection: there’s a difference between ‘cleaning’ and ‘disinfection’; clean bed linen and clothing is crucial in care homes where residents can be more susceptible to illnesses and infections.


Properly cleaned laundry undoubtedly creates a better environment for residents and their families, but effective cleaning in one wash can also benefit care homes in a number of other ways, such as helping to save on labour and utilities, preventing the need for re-washing and reduced wear and tear on linens.


However, cleaning linens will simply remove ‘soil’ or dirt from items, but won’t kill all micro-organisms. Failing to remove bacteria can cause disease and spoilage, so combining cleaning and disinfection creates a much safer environment for residents. Care homes must ensure the


4 | CLEANING & INFECTION SUPPLEMENT


laundry detergents they use meet health industry standards and kill bacteria including MRSA and E.Coli.


There are a number of steps care homes can take to make their laundry facilities cleaner, safer places. Firstly, ensure laundry is handled correctly: transport, sort and store soiled laundry separately from clean laundry and use colour coded bags for different types of linen. Ensure wet laundry is dried quickly, as bacteria can multiply rapidly in humid, warm conditions.


Personal hygiene is also extremely important in maintaining the cleanliness of laundries and linens. Staff should ensure they wash their hands before and aſter handling laundry, wear clean gloves if there is a risk of touching body fluids, cover all cuts or wounds with waterproof plasters, and it goes without saying that you should never eat or smoke in the laundry area!


Proper dispensing of cleaning chemicals in laundry facilities and detergents with disinfection formulas can assist with infection control and help meet standards. Products like Ariel Professional 1 Wash Clean contain deep cleaning technology and formulas to meet the cleaning needs of care homes. The beauty of working with a supplier like P&G Professional is the support you’ll receive. They’ll set up systems with the correct dosages and wash cycles for different types of materials and soils, so staff don’t have to worry about programming.


A big step in keeping your laundry facilities safe and ensuring residents live in a clean and comfortable environment – the sort they’d create at home – is choosing the right products. A lot of trust is placed in the people and suppliers that provide care homes with systems and detergents, and when the health of residents hangs in the balance it’s not worth leaving things to chance.


www.pgpro.co.uk www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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