Laundry Service for Lab Coats
Periodically, lab coats used to protect against routine contamination from hazardous biological and chemical materials should be cleaned. Lab coats should not be taken home to be cleaned in a domestic washer, nor should they be taken to a laundry service that is not equipped to handle contaminated items. If you must take your lab coat home and it is not overtly contaminated, then it must be transported in a water-soluble bag and cleaned with detergent and liquid bleach in the recommended amounts. If there is obvious contamination on the lab coat, you must use a laundry service specialized to clean these contaminates or dispose of the lab coat as waste.
If radioactive materials are used in your laboratory, additional precautions must be taken. Since a lab coat could become contaminated with beta/gamma-emitting radioisotopes, it must be surveyed with an appropriate survey instrument and found to contain less than 200 dpm (disintegrations per minute) per 100 cm2 before it can leave the authorized area of use. If you can determine the contamination is below this level, then the coat may leave the radioactive materials area. If the contamination is above 200 dpm per 100 cm2, then the coat may not leave the area and you should contact the Radiation Safety section of EHS at 471-3511 for advice or put the contaminated coat in the radioactive material waste bin.
If you are concerned about chemical, biological, or radioactive material contamination on your lab coats, then use disposable lab coats and put the contaminated coat in the appropriate waste container.
If you have questions about disposal procedures, call EHS at 471-3511 for information
These are laundry services that can clean contaminated lab coats, and are already used by some UT labs. They are not necessarily EHS approved companies.
The Laundry Room
2919 Manchaca Rd.
Austin, TX 78704-4824
512-441-5481
Blood-contaminated items only. The Laundry Room will provide labeled bags for the laundry. The contaminated laundry must be placed in these bags for pick-up. The Laundry Room will pick-up the laundry, clean it, then deliver it to your designated location. There is a minimum charge of $20 per trip for this service.
Unifirst
6000 Bolm Road
Austin, TX. 78721-3631
512-385-3320
No blood or bodily fluids. Lab groups, departments, or buildings can arrange for weekly service. Unifirst will pick up dirty lab coats and deliver clean lab coats. Unifirst provides or rents lab coats.
