Laundry operations

Scope

This regulation applies to moving parts of equipment used in laundries and to conditions peculiar to this industry, with special reference to the point of operation of laundry machines. Affected employers may include hotels, hospitals, or other operations that include laundry services. This regulation does not apply to dry-cleaning operations.

Regulatory citations

• 29 CFR 1910.264 — Laundry machinery and operations
• 29 CFR 1910.1030 — Bloodborne pathogens

Key definitions

• Contaminated laundry: Laundry which has been soiled with blood or other potentially infectious materials or may contain sharps.

Summary of requirements

For laundry operations:

• Each washing machine, drying tumbler, and double-cylinder shaker or clothes tumbler should have a means to hold open the doors or covers of inner and outer cylinders or shells while being loaded or unloaded. This requirement does not apply to shakeout or conditioning tumblers where the clothes are loaded into the open end of the revolving cylinder and are automatically discharged out of the opposite end.
• All steam pipes that are within seven feet of the floor or working platform, and with which the worker may come into contact, shall be insulated or covered with a heat-resistive material or shall be otherwise properly guarded.
• Where pressure-reducing valves are used, one or more relief or safety valves shall be provided on the low-pressure side of the reducing valve, in case the piping or equipment on the low-pressure side does not meet the requirements for full initial pressure. The relief or safety valve shall be located adjacent to, or as close as possible to, the reducing valve. Proper protection shall be provided to prevent injury or damage caused by fluid escaping from relief or safety valves if vented to the atmosphere. The vents shall be of ample size and as short and direct as possible. The combined discharge capacity of the relief valves shall be such that the pressure rating of the lower-pressure piping and equipment will not be exceeded if the reducing valve sticks or fails to open.
• Markers and others handling soiled clothes shall be warned against touching the eyes, mouth, or any part of the body on which the skin has been broken by a scratch or abrasion; and they shall be cautioned not to touch or eat food until their hands have been thoroughly washed.
• Employees shall be properly instructed as to the hazards of their work and be instructed in safe practices, by bulletins, printed rules, and verbal instructions.
• No safeguard, safety appliance, or device attached to, or forming an integral part of any machinery may be removed or made ineffective except for the purpose of making immediate repairs or adjustments. Any such safeguard, safety appliance, or device removed or made ineffective during the repair or adjustment of such machinery must be replaced immediately upon the completion of such repairs or adjustments.

For bloodborne pathogens:

• Laundry which has been soiled with blood or other potentially infectious materials or may contain sharps is considered contaminated and must be handled as little as possible with a minimum of agitation.
• Contaminated laundry shall be bagged or containerized at the location where it was used and shall not be sorted or rinsed in the location of use.
• Contaminated laundry shall be placed and transported in bags or containers labeled or color-coded in accordance with paragraph (g)(1)(i) of this standard. When a facility utilizes Universal Precautions in the handling of all soiled laundry, alternative labeling or color-coding is sufficient if it permits all employees to recognize the containers as requiring compliance with Universal Precautions.
• Whenever contaminated laundry is wet and presents a reasonable likelihood of soak-through of or leakage from the bag or container, the laundry shall be placed and transported in bags or containers which prevent soak-through and/or leakage of fluids to the exterior.
• The employer shall ensure that employees who have contact with contaminated laundry wear protective gloves and other appropriate personal protective equipment.
• When a facility ships contaminated laundry off-site to a second facility which does not utilize Universal Precautions in the handling of all laundry, the facility generating the contaminated laundry must place such laundry in bags or containers which are labeled or color-coded.