Soiled linen should be carried away from your body, rolled up carefully to contain the soiled surfaces inside, and placed directly into a bag or container at the point where it was used. The single most important rule is to handle it with minimal agitation: no shaking, no tossing, no sorting at the bedside. Every unnecessary movement can release bacteria, viruses, fungi, and even parasites into the air through tiny lint particles.
Why Minimal Handling Matters
Shaking or roughly handling soiled linen generates airborne lint that can carry infectious organisms. Disease transmission linked to healthcare laundry has been specifically traced to the shaking of soiled linens. Bacteria like Salmonella, viruses including hepatitis B, fungi, and ectoparasites like scabies have all been transmitted to workers through direct contact with contaminated textiles or by breathing in contaminated lint aerosols created during sorting and handling.
This is why “minimum agitation” appears in both CDC guidance and federal workplace safety regulations. It’s not just a best practice. OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard legally requires that contaminated laundry be handled as little as possible with minimal agitation.
How to Roll and Contain Soiled Linen
When removing linen from a bed or surface, carefully roll the soiled or contaminated side inward so it’s enclosed within the bundle. This keeps fluids and debris contained and reduces the chance of contaminating your clothing, the air, or nearby surfaces. Hold the rolled bundle away from your body and clothing as you move it to the collection bag or hamper.
Never set soiled linen on the floor, a chair, a bedside table, or any other surface while you look for a bag. The linen should go directly from the point of use into its designated container. Placing it on furniture or flooring creates a contamination trail that then requires additional cleaning and puts other people at risk.
Bagging at the Point of Use
Soiled linen must be bagged or placed in a container right where it was used. Do not carry it loose through hallways to a collection point, and do not sort or rinse it at the bedside. Sorting happens later, at the laundry facility, by staff with appropriate protections.
For linen contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious materials, OSHA requires that bags or containers be labeled or color-coded so every worker who encounters them knows to use universal precautions. Many facilities use red bags or bags marked with a biohazard symbol for this purpose, though any system that clearly communicates the contents to all staff is acceptable under the regulation.
When soiled linen is wet enough that fluids could soak through or leak from a standard bag, it needs to go into a leak-proof bag or container that prevents any fluid from reaching the exterior. This is particularly relevant for linen heavily soiled with blood, wound drainage, or other body fluids.
Protective Equipment for Handling
Gloves are the baseline for any contact with soiled linen. If there’s a risk of splashing or if the linen is heavily saturated, a gown protects your clothing and skin. Wash your hands thoroughly after removing gloves, even if the gloves appeared intact. Pathogens can transfer through micro-tears you can’t see, and glove removal itself can contaminate your hands.
Hand hygiene should happen immediately after you finish handling soiled linen and remove your gloves. If you touch your face, another surface, or clean supplies before washing, you’ve potentially spread whatever was on that linen.
Transporting Soiled Linen Through a Facility
Once bagged, soiled linen typically moves to the laundry area on dedicated carts. These carts should be cleaned and disinfected regularly using either a manual or automated process, not just when they look dirty. In at least one documented outbreak, exchange carts that were only cleaned when visibly soiled contributed to the spread of infection.
Some carts have drainage holes in the bottom designed for washing. If those same carts are ever used to carry clean linen back, an impervious liner must separate the clean textiles from any residual contamination on the cart surface. Ideally, facilities use entirely separate carts for soiled and clean linen to avoid cross-contamination.
For facilities that use laundry chutes, the same principle of minimal agitation applies. Bags should be securely closed before going down the chute so they don’t burst open and release contaminated lint into the air column.
Quick Reference for Proper Handling
- Roll, don’t shake. Fold the soiled surface inward and roll the linen into a contained bundle.
- Hold away from your body. Keep the bundle at arm’s length, away from your uniform or clothing.
- Bag immediately. Place linen into the designated bag or hamper right where it was used.
- Never place on surfaces. Don’t set soiled linen on floors, chairs, tables, or countertops.
- Don’t sort or rinse at the bedside. All sorting happens at the laundry facility.
- Use leak-proof bags for wet linen. If fluid could soak through a standard bag, upgrade the container.
- Label or color-code. Bags containing blood-contaminated linen must be clearly identifiable.
- Wear gloves, then wash hands. Gloves are the minimum; hand hygiene follows immediately after removal.