Nursing scrubs are part of the required uniform in the medical field. Through everyday wear and tear, scrubs can wear out, especially when you’re putting in double shifts. With help from Blain’s Farm & Fleet, you can keep your nursing scrubs in great shape.
Before wearing a new set of scrubs for the first time, you need to pre-treat them. You should disinfect scrubs after every time you wear them. With so much washing, they’re bound to fade. By pre-treating your scrubs, you can set the color and prevent fading.
To pre-treat your scrubs, wash them in cold water with half a cup of vinegar. The vinegar will disinfect the scrubs, as well as prevent fading.
While it may be easier to throw on your scrubs and head out the door for work, you’ll make them last longer by only wearing them at work.
Take your scrubs with you to work, and change into them. If you can, keep clean scrubs in a locker or cubby at work. When you’re done working for the day, put the dirty scrubs in a separate plastic bag.
You need to disinfect your scrubs regularly. To clean and disinfect them, you need to put them through two wash cycles.
For the first wash cycle, use cold water and regular laundry detergent. If your scrubs have any stains, treat them with color-safe stain remover before starting the first wash cycle. Turn your scrubs inside out (this helps prevent pilling) and set your washer to a regular cycle.
When the wash cycle is done, check your scrubs for any stains. If there are still stains, use the stain remover again and repeat before moving onto the second wash cycle.
For the second wash cycle, use hot water and color-safe bleach. If there are any stains left on your scrubs, the hot water in the second cycle will make them harder to get out.
When you’re ready for the second cycle, add 3/4 cup of color-safe bleach to your washer’s bleach dispenser. Then, wash the scrubs with hot water. If the washing machine doesn’t have a built-in bleach dispenser, just mix the bleach into the water before you start the cycle.
The color-safe bleach disinfects your scrubs, and they will still keep their color.
You need to wash your scrubs and regular clothes separately. Scrubs need to be disinfected more than your normal laundry does.
To counteract this, we recommend having multiple pairs of scrubs. That way, come laundry day, you’ll have a full load of only scrubs to wash. Plus, it will save you from having to do laundry several times throughout the week.
At Blain’s Farm & Fleet, we understand healthcare professionals work hard. And we know you expect your scrubs to do the same. That’s why we offer women’s and men’s scrub clothing from tough brands like Carhartt and Dickies. Choose from a wide variety of scrub pants and scrub tops, perfect for your job in the medical field.
For more tips on scrubs and workwear, visit our Clothing Blog.
