Can nurses wash uniforms at home? NHS rules vs US practice

Short answer

• In the UK, home washing of ordinary used uniform is allowed under NHS England and NHS Scotland guidance, unless your employer says otherwise.
• Uniform contaminated with blood or body fluids should never go home; NHS Scotland sends it to the facility laundry in a water-soluble bag.
• NHS England says change at work or cover your uniform when traveling, mainly because of public perception.
• In the US, CDC says experts disagree on whether OSHA's home-laundering ban covers uncontaminated scrubs, and facility policies vary.
• Your employer's policy decides. Check it before taking any uniform home.

In this guide (10 sections)

1. Can nurses wash uniforms at home in England?
2. What does NHS Scotland say about washing uniforms at home?
3. When should a uniform never go home?
4. Can nurses wear uniform outside the hospital?
5. Can nurses wash scrubs at home in the US?
6. NHS England, NHS Scotland and CDC side by side
7. What does the evidence say about home vs hospital laundry?
8. How many nurses follow the guidance?
9. A worked example: one shift, two systems
10. What to check before you act

In the UK, most nurses can wash ordinary used uniform at home: NHS England's 2020 guidance and NHS Scotland's national policy both allow it, with conditions. The firm exception is uniform contaminated with blood or body fluids, which NHS Scotland says must go to the facility laundry and never home. In the US there is no single rule; the CDC says experts disagree about how OSHA's ban applies to scrubs, so your hospital's policy decides.

This guide covers who allows what, when home washing is ruled out, the "change at work" question, and what the evidence actually shows. For temperatures, detergent and loading, see our companion guide on how to wash scrubs.

Can nurses wash uniforms at home in England?

Yes, in most cases. NHS England's "Uniforms and workwear: guidance for NHS employers" was published on 2 April 2020. It revised the 2007 guidance, and each NHS organization sets its own local policy on top of it.

On home washing, the guidance says:

• There is little effective difference between domestic and commercial laundering in removing micro-organisms.
• Wash at the hottest temperature the fabric allows. A 10-minute wash at 60°C removes almost all micro-organisms.
• A 30°C wash with detergent removes most Gram-positive bacteria, including MRSA.
• Don't overload the machine, and wash heavily soiled uniform separately.
• Employers should provide enough uniforms for a clean set every shift, so staff don't need to wash daily.
• Change immediately if your uniform becomes visibly soiled or contaminated.

So the English guidance treats home laundry as acceptable for ordinary used uniform. It leaves the detail, including whether a trust provides laundry, to each employer.

What does NHS Scotland say about washing uniforms at home?

NHS Scotland's national policy is DL(2018)4. It is stricter in structure than the English guidance:

• Home washing is for when hospital laundry facilities are not available.
• The policy says there is no evidence that home laundering is less effective for used uniform.
• Wash at the highest temperature suitable for the fabric, as per the care label.
• Do not add bleach to the wash or use it for whitening.
• It states plainly that uniform must never be considered PPE.

The key difference is the contaminated-uniform rule, below.

When should a uniform never go home?

NHS Scotland's policy says hospital or facility laundries must be used for contaminated uniform. Staff should change out of uniform visibly contaminated with blood or body fluids straight away. The uniform goes directly into a water-soluble (alginate) bag, inside a second bag that is tagged and then laundered or disposed of.

NHS England's guidance also says to change immediately if a uniform is visibly soiled or contaminated, without setting out the bagging process. Most trusts have their own procedure for this. Ask where the bags are kept before you need them.

Can nurses wear uniform outside the hospital?

NHS England says staff should change into and out of uniform at work, or cover it completely when traveling. It also lists wearing uniform for shopping or other non-work activities as poor practice.

The guidance is candid about why. It says there is no evidence that traveling in uniform adds infection risk, but many people see it as unhygienic. NHS Scotland makes the same point: it calls the risk perception unsubstantiated but still asks staff to avoid public activities in uniform unless they are part of the job, and to change at work where facilities exist.

Can nurses wash scrubs at home in the US?

The answer depends on your employer. The CDC's Laundry and Bedding page (last reviewed 8 January 2024, drawing on its 2003 environmental infection control guideline) sets out the position:

• OSHA prohibits home laundering of personal protective apparel, such as lab coats.
• Experts disagree on whether that extends to uniforms and scrubs not contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious material.
• Facility policies on home laundering vary.
• A facility that requires uniforms should either launder them or give staff infection control and cleaning information.
• Infections linked to home laundering of such apparel have been rare.

The CDC also describes the overall risk of disease transmission from health-care laundry as "likely is negligible", while noting that contaminated fabric that is handled badly has occasionally been linked to transmission.

In practice, a US nurse may work under a policy that issues hospital-laundered scrubs for the operating room or isolation work and leaves home washing to staff on general wards. Ask your unit which applies to you.

NHS England, NHS Scotland and CDC side by side

Question	NHS England (2020)	NHS Scotland (DL(2018)4)	CDC (reviewed Jan 2024)
Home washing of used uniform	Acceptable; little difference from commercial	Where hospital laundry isn't available	Policies vary; experts disagree on OSHA scope
Contaminated uniform	Change immediately	Facility laundry only, water-soluble bag, never home	OSHA treats blood-soiled laundry as contaminated
Temperature	Hottest the fabric allows; 60°C for 10 min	Highest the care label allows	Healthcare laundry: at least 71°C (160°F) for 25 min commonly recommended
Bleach	Not covered in the points we read	Do not add bleach	Low-temperature cycles rely on bleach
Traveling in uniform	Change at work or cover up	Avoid public activities in uniform	Not covered
Employer's role	Provide a clean set per shift	Provide facility laundry for contaminated items	Launder required uniforms or give guidance

The 71°C figure applies to healthcare laundry processing, not to domestic machines. The point of the table is to show where each body draws its lines, not to set a home routine.

What does the evidence say about home vs hospital laundry?

The evidence is thin and mixed.

• NHS England and NHS Scotland both say there is little or no evidence that home laundering is less effective for used uniform.
• CDC calls infections linked to home laundering rare.
• A 2009 study run by Bioscience Laboratories found that home-laundered operating room scrubs carried significantly more bacteria after one day of wear than facility-laundered, third-party-laundered or single-use scrubs. It looked at 10 sets per group. It was sponsored by Mölnlycke Health Care, which sells single-use scrubs, and the published article gave no bacterial counts. Weigh it with that conflict in mind.

None of these sources shows a measured increase in patient infections from home washing.

How many nurses follow the guidance?

De Montfort University surveyed more than 1,200 nurses, healthcare workers and nursing students in England during the Covid-19 pandemic, and published the findings on 3 February 2022:

Finding	Share
Did not follow NHS uniform laundering guidance	More than 20%
Did not wash at the recommended 60°C at home	17%
Would prefer their employer to launder uniforms	More than two-thirds
Offered industrially laundered scrubs during the pandemic	12%

The researchers named a lack of on-site changing facilities as the biggest barrier. This is 2022 data collected during the pandemic, so practice may have changed since.

A worked example: one shift, two systems

These two nurses are hypothetical, built from the guidance above to show how the rules play out.

A ward nurse in England. She changes at work, wears a coat over her uniform if she has to leave the site, and takes the used set home in a separate bag. At home she checks the care label and washes at the hottest temperature it allows. If a patient's blood splashes her tunic mid-shift, she changes immediately and follows her trust's procedure for contaminated items, which may mean the hospital laundry.

A nurse at a US hospital. Suppose his unit issues hospital-laundered scrubs for procedures and he wears his own scrubs on the general floor, and his hospital's policy says personal scrubs may be washed at home unless soiled with blood or body fluids, which go in the facility's contaminated-laundry bins. Another hospital nearby may forbid home washing entirely.

Neither example is a rule. Both show why the first step is always your employer's written policy. If your care label limits the wash temperature, our guide to scrubs you can wash at 60°C explains what to look for when you next buy. And if you are wondering whether antimicrobial fabric changes any of this, see do antimicrobial scrubs work.

What to check before you act

• Read your trust's or hospital's uniform and laundry policy, including the version date.
• Find out where contaminated uniform goes and where the water-soluble bags are kept.
• Check whether your employer offers laundry or changing rooms.
• Check the care label's maximum temperature against your employer's required temperature.
• Keep enough sets that you start every shift in a clean uniform.
• If you are unsure whether an item counts as PPE, ask your infection prevention team.

Questions people ask

General information only, not medical, legal or employment advice. Your employer's uniform and laundry policy comes first, and brand specs and prices change. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Sources

1. Uniforms and workwear: guidance for NHS employers (NHS England, 2 Apr 2020)checked October 23, 2026
2. DL(2018)4: national uniform policy, dress code and laundering policy (Scottish Government)checked October 23, 2026
3. Laundry and bedding (CDC, last reviewed 8 Jan 2024)checked October 23, 2026
4. Research highlights barriers preventing healthcare workers following NHS uniform laundering guidance (De Montfort University, 3 Feb 2022)checked October 23, 2026
5. Study shows bacterial contamination associated with home-laundered surgical scrubs (Infection Control Today, 8 Jan 2010)checked October 23, 2026