Course Access
Hi Michelle
Soluble Alginate bags ‘Water-soluble bags’ are
(1) bags that dissolve or break apart when processed in a washing machine
and/or
(2) impermeable bags with a water- soluble seam or tie.
They are available from some suppliers in red, purple and yellow colours.
We use alginate bags with a tie for personal linen that is heavily soiled with body substances or other fluids that have a potential to leak.
Personal linen items are placed into an alginate bag are sealed by tying and securing around the neck of the bag before being placed into the usual fabric linen bag at point of use to prevent puncture or tearing and transported to our onsite laundry.
Cytotoxic Linen is placed in purple coloured alginate bags with a tie and then placed into a linen bag following the same process.
Manufacturer’s guidelines state the temperature the bag or tie will dissolve – as personal items are soiled, they are always put through a hot wash cycle regardless.
During the initial cold flush cycle, the bag opens allowing contact with the linen by the wash water.
At the end of the cycle the red plastic bag is removed from the drum at the end of the wash before going in to the dryer – the plastic is disinfected during the hot wash cycle
The issue laundry staff have raised are:
1. if the personal items in the alginate bags include woolens or other garments that can’t go into a hot wash cycle these aren’t separated as the personal linen in an alginate bag is not opened and sorted. This can result in shrinkage of these types of garments/clothing.
2. Care staff sometimes use a knot to seal the bag instead of using the alginate bag tie – the bag will not empty and remains closed if tied in a knot to seal
3. If items placed in the alginate bag are very wet, the break apart bags/or tie starts dissolving and leaking into the fabric linen bag. This result is in laundry staff being exposed to heavily soiled linen/body substances/fluids. To mitigate this if there is a delay in laundering very wet /soiled linen care staff can wrap personal clothing in dry linen at the point of care before placing into the alginate bag and into the fabric line bag.