TSA and UKHospitality release Covid-19 laundry hygiene guidelines

The TSA (Textile Service Association) has updated its Hygienically Clean Linen campaign to provide the latest advice on hygiene and Covid-19.

In association with UKHospitality, guidelines have been established to help hotels, restaurants and other sites that use a laundry service, or have an onsite laundry, to understand the latest advice and regulations.

The campaign also includes marketing materials that will help operators allay any concerns that their guests and customers may have concerning the hygiene of textiles such as bed linen and towels.

A key addition to the campaign resources is related to research undertaken by De Montfort University (DMU) and supported by TSA, which looked into Covid-19's survival rates on textiles and how the laundry process affected them. It found that Covid-19 can survive on cotton for up to 12 hours and on polyester for up to 72 hours, but that Covid-19 is killed in all washing processes above 40°C with agitation and detergent.

"If you are operating an onsite laundry, it is essential to set up segregation and cross-contamination procedures. Soiled to clean contamination is the highest risk area – it's where critical control points are vital,” explained David Stevens, chief executive of the TSA.

"TSA safety guidelines manage cross-contamination, and all commercial laundries will segregate soiled and clean linen," he added.

The Hygienically Clean campaign includes the Rest Assured Scheme, which includes marketing materials that TSA laundries can give to hospitality operators to display, verifying that their linens and towels have been hygienically processed. There are different versions of the literature for different sectors, such as hotels, restaurants and leisure facilities.

"The Hygienically Clean campaign underlines and explains the research and the procedures we have implemented," added Stevens. “In simple terms, the key message to consumers is, 'It's safe to go and enjoy the hospitality services we have all missed for so long. You can sleep well!'."

Download more from the Covid Resources section at www.tsa-uk.org