how to wash scrubs without wrinkles?
Medical scrubs can come into contact with a lot of stains and bacteria, so washing them properly can help ensure that you and your family stay healthy. Check out these cleaning and care scrub tips to keep them beautiful.
Wash scrubs in warm water and add white vinegar
When you first get your scrubs home, wash them in warm water. For home washing machines, warm water is around 90 degrees F. It's a good temperature for cleaning fabrics without significant fading or shrinking. To help set the color of your scrubs and keep the fabric feeling soft, add a half-cup of white vinegar to the load.
Handle some special stains
If you encounter any difficult stains, such as ointment, blood or other bodily fluids, you'll want to pretreat these stains before cleaning your nursing scrubs, otherwise the stains might set if they don't come out completely.
Oil-based stains, such as ointments: Pretreat fabrics with oil-based stains with liquid detergent or liquid dish soap. Let it soak for 5-10 minutes and then wash in hot water.
Blood: Grab a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Apply a small amount directly to the stain and follow that up with running cold water. Reapply as needed and wash your scrubs as usual.
Liquid medication: Some medicines have dyes added to them, and you might get a few drops on your scrubs from time to time. To try to get the stain out, soak the fabric in an oxygen-based bleach and cold water for 1-8 hours, and then wash it normally.
Bodily fluids: For things such as vomit, urine and feces, treat these stains with baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and cold water. Sprinkle baking soda over the stain, and spray it liberally with a hydrogen peroxide/water solution, about a 1:4 ratio. Rinse with cold water and wash as usual.
Iodine: Use liquid dish soap, white vinegar and warm water to pretreat iodine stains. Blot the stain with a dry cloth, reapply the solution and keep blotting until it disappears. Then launder your scrubs as usual.
Turn them inside out when washing
Just like when you wash your favorite pair of jeans, turning your scrubs inside out helps prevent pilling and fading and keeps the fabric in good condition.
Remove the creases after washing! (This step is critical)
Use a blow dryer. (The most common method)
In order for a blow dryer to work, you need to dampen the clothing first. Don't douse it. Just make it a little wet, perhaps with a spray bottle. Then, turn the dryer on the lowest setting. A plastic focusing tip really helps.
Hold the dryer about two inches away from the clothing so you don't make it too hot. You don't want to burn the clothing or otherwise damage it.
You could also hang the wrinkled clothing first, and then direct the blow dryer's heat on it, again standing one or two inches away.
Roll up and flatten the garment.(The safest way)
Rolling clothes: Take the wrinkled clothing and roll it up very tightly. Make it look like a burrito. Then, place it under a mattress or something else heavy for about an hour. When you remove the clothing and unroll it, there should be fewer wrinkles.
Try putting the wrinkled clothing in the shower.(The most effective way)
Many people have found this method will remove wrinkles fast. Start the shower, and put the water on hot. Close your bathroom door so the steam can't get out.
Safety Tips:
Hanging your clothes: Make sure your shower rod is clean so it won't leave any marks on the clothing. Then, hang the clothes on the rod itself or on a hanger you put on the rod.
Seal the room: Seal the bathroom (the smaller the better) for air leaks -- shut windows, block the space under the door.
Close but still dry: Get the clothes as close to the heat and water as you can without getting them wet. Direct the shower head away from the clothing to divert the stream. It's not good enough to just hang the clothes in the bathroom a distance from the shower head — get them as close as you can!