Healthcare Linen

The Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) sets voluntary infection-control standards for commercial laundries processing healthcare linen¹. HLAC-accredited laundries meet specs for plant design, separation of clean/soiled, thermal and chemical disinfection, and quality-control sampling.

Procurement specs for linens feeding into HLAC processors must tolerate: 165°F minimum wash temperature, 150 ppm chlorine bleach (or equivalent peroxide), and 10+ minutes total thermal dwell. Hospital bed linen and bath towels see 200-300 cycles at this load before retirement.

Patient-room bath towels run 400-500 GSM in cotton/poly 86/14 blend. The poly content is critical: it prevents hem unraveling under sodium-hypochlorite bleach and extends life to 200+ cycles vs. 100-130 for pure cotton at the same bleach load.

Standard size is 22"×44" (compact patient towel) or 24"×50" (premium / maternity / rehab floors). Hand towels 16"×27". Washcloths 12"×12" — smaller than hospitality because patient bed bath kits need more absorbent-per-area ratio than guest shower kits.

Color: white is dominant (visibility of biohazard). Some systems spec pastel blue for rehab or maternity. Avoid dark colors — they hide blood and contamination.

Huck towels are the workhorse of procedure rooms and surgical suites. Spec: 16"×27", 100% combed cotton, dobby or herringbone weave, lint-free. "Lint-free" is non-negotiable — cotton lint in a surgical field is a sterility breach.

Traditional color is surgical green (aka "OR green") to reduce eye strain under OR lighting. Also available in blue and white. Hucks run smaller par than patient linen because surgical volume is predictable per OR.

Quality huck: no loose threads at cut edges, blanket-stitch hem (not rolled-hem which collects tissue). Budget $1.25-2.50 per huck wholesale.

Bath blankets are the lightweight thermal-weave blankets used for patient warmth during bed baths, transport, and post-op recovery. Spec: 70"×90", 300 GSM cellular (thermal) weave, cotton/poly blend.

Cellular (also called "leno" or "thermal waffle") weave creates air pockets that trap body heat without adding weight. Traditional color is bleached white for sanitation visibility. Bath blankets rotate at 2-3× census because they're high-turnover.

Healthcare linen must survive 150 ppm chlorine bleach at 165°F in every wash cycle. Most bed linen programs run two bleach cycles per week for infection control. Pure cotton loses tensile strength 15-20% per 50 cycles under this load; cotton/poly 86/14 loses 8-12%.

Colorfastness (for non-white linens) tested to AATCC 61-3A — more aggressive than hospitality grade. Grade 4+ required after 50 cycles.

Hospital par level: 3-4× daily census for patient linen (bath towels, washcloths, bath blankets). One set in use, one in soiled utility, one in laundry, one clean buffer. Critical care and ED run higher par (5-6×) due to frequent changes.

Most US hospitals contract COG (cooperative) or commercial linen rental rather than in-house laundry — shared par spread across the service pool reduces capital tied up in inventory. Procurement specs still apply: the linen service buys to your spec and rotates accordingly.

Landed wholesale pricing for healthcare linen (per unit, case quantity):

• Patient bath towel 22"×44" 450 GSM cotton/poly: $3.50–$5.25
• Huck surgical towel 16"×27" combed cotton: $1.25–$2.50
• Bath blanket 70"×90" thermal: $8.00–$14.00
• Patient washcloth 12"×12": $0.45–$0.75

Towel Depot supplies hospitals, surgery centers, long-term care, dialysis clinics, and physical therapy groups. Net 30 terms, GPO contract pricing available, HLAC-aligned product specs.