Which chemical is used in hospitals to clean blood stains from bed sheets?

Question

few days back i went to the hospital to meet my relative and i saw many blood soaked bed sheets and I wondered which chemical is used in hospitals to clean blood stains from bed sheets?

I googled it but could not find a answer (besides hydrogen peroxide)

Answer 1

Here is a link to the CDC guidelines on laundry in health care facilities. I hope this helps

https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/environmental/background/laundry.html

The key points are:

• contamination from dirty laundry is very rare
• dealing with getting the dirty linens to the place where they are washed is more important than the actual washing process
• a pre-rinse, plenty of soap, ordinary bleach, and a good rinse, often an acid one, is all that is needed. Hot water (160 F) also helps.

Items that are not sheets (eg surgical gowns) may also be autoclaved.

Note: this article is concerned with the issue of contamination and not with how patients and their families might feel if they saw a stained sheet.