subject: Hospital Bed Sheets - What They Say About Healthcare Facilities [print this page] Hospital bed sheets are used by any and every healthcare facility. They are standard bed sheets that come in two sizes. The largest sheets are used for actual hospital beds. The smaller sheets may be used for other parts of the hospital, such as examination tables. All bed sheets should be changed daily, or every time they are soiled. They should not have any major stains on them. Hospitals have laundry facilities that can usually get most stains out, even if they are required to wash the sheets two or three times. A visibly, overly stained bed sheet is a sign of a facility that does not care about its patients.
Is it safe to make that assumption? Yes. Think about it. You have guests coming over to stay in your house. Would you put them in a filthy room with dirty bed sheets that haven't been properly cared for? No. You would give them the best, because you care about them and you want their stay to be enjoyable. A stay in a hospital is no different. While you may not personally know the medical staff, they are there to take care of you for as long as you need it. This means they should give you the best healthcare that they can. This healthcare includes clean hospital bed sheets.
Cleanliness is a very important part of the recovery process in a healthcare facility. If you have dirty hospital bed sheets, you may start to wonder what else in your room is dirty. Don't panic, but most healthcare facilities that cut corners in one way, usually cut corners in other subtle ways. It's a common sense rule. If they can get away with dirty bed sheets, they can get away with other things too.
If you purchase hospital bed sheets for health care in your own home, you should be informed on how to handle them. All new bed sheets should be washed and dried before use. This is just a safety precaution, especially if the patient has sensitive skin. Hospital laundry facilities typically use chemicals to keep their bed sheets clean. However, they do have a method of cleaning them that does not use chemicals. You can ask for sheets that haven't been cleaned in chemicals. At home, you can keep the sheets clean by using a very mild detergent, such as the kind used for baby's clothes. Or you can just use plain water and baking soda.
