Laundry


meet those criteria, commercial laundry systems do, as they are purpose-built for healthcare settings, offering sluice cycles, WRAS Category 5 approval, and the precision to deliver proven disinfection results every time. For care home operators, WRAS


compliance extends beyond being a technical detail – it is a legal obligation, as well as a moral one. The safety of residents and the integrity of the water supply depend on it.


The real-world engineering behind compliance Beyond WRAS and infection control, the physical installation of laundry equipment carries complex electrical and gas compliance requirements. These are easy to overlook but critical for safety, performance and regulatory adherence. Forbes’ technical service manager Mark


Ashton explains: “Gas installations carry significant compliance requirements, which is why we conduct thorough site surveys to ensure every regulation is met. For example, gas appliances must be positioned with strict safety clearances and have the gas installation volume confirmed to be up to the task. Fresh air supply must be calculated and be sufficient to replace spent, extracted air. Ducting must be terminated at least two metres from any fresh air opening into the laundry room; including windows, doors and vents. This is essential to remove the risk of products of combustion being cycled back into the laundry room. These details are essential when specifying laundry equipment. Our role is to remove that compliance burden and give clients complete confidence in their decisions.”


In addition:


n LPG appliances must not be installed in basements. LPG is heavier than air, so any leak will sink to the lowest point. A basement installation creates a dangerous accumulation risk and it is against the law to have an LPG installation in such an environment.


n Natural gas appliances may be installed in basements, but only with correctly calculated free air and ducting systems, which may include the need for in-line fans, solenoid valves and air proving devices.


These are not small details – they determine what equipment can be safely and legally installed. Our field service manager Simon Wells


emphasises the need for proper assessment: “Many care homes operate on a single-phase electrical supply, which naturally limits them to machines of around 10kg capacity. Part of our role is to assess these types of constraints carefully and ensure that every recommendation is both safe and electrically


viable for the given infrastructure.” Electrical considerations such as


distribution board capacity, loading and balancing, and correct breaker specification are essential. Without expert evaluation, operators risk under-sizing equipment, overloading circuits or installing machines that cannot run at their intended performance. Plumbing, electrical, and gas constraints


all directly affect machine selection, laundry layout, and operational efficiency.


Building a safe, efficient laundry workflow Compliance does not end with the machine. In a care environment, laundry must follow a structured, hygienic workflow from start to finish. The first principle is segregation. Clearly,


soiled laundry should never come into contact with clean items. Many operators use red bags for heavily contaminated materials and white bags for general laundry, ensuring clear separation throughout the process. The laundry room itself should be physically divided into ‘dirty’ and ‘clean’ zones, with staff following clear signage and wearing the correct protective equipment. Loading machines correctly also matters.


Overloading prevents heat and water from circulating effectively, while underloading wastes energy. Staff should always use validated programmes – a sluice pre-wash followed by a disinfection cycle, for example – to ensure optimal cleaning. Once the washing is done, proper drying


Laundry sits at the heart of infection control and compliance


and finishing complete the cycle. Damp laundry can harbour residual microbes, so drying to the correct residual moisture content is critical. And, crucially, documentation underpins


it all. The CQC expects operators to maintain records of maintenance, machine cycles, and staff training. A well-run laundry


April 2026 www.thecarehomeenvironment.com 41


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