Having spent my entire career in Flame Retardant Clothing, I learned that improper laundering could render the PPE useless, maybe even hazardous to wear. In my time, we always had a contractor launder and maintain our FRC. It was not cheap, but it was necessary to ensure the PPE worked as intended when we needed it most. Today, we see a lot of “cost-saving” trends involving the use, care, and maintenance of FRC. I wrote earlier about the defects/damages that would fail an FRC garment in the user’s inspection. Now, I want to discuss the concerns around users taking their FRC home to launder and make their repairs, especially when there is no formal procedure and training.
Coming out of the Petro-Chem and Semiconductor industries, we got our uniforms dirty, and you would have been checked into an insane asylum for even asking if you could take your FRC or work boots home, especially to clean them at home. Cross-contamination with the family was a real concern, so taking home garments or boots was strictly forbidden.
| The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends leaving clothing soiled with hazardous chemicals at work to be laundered by the employer or, if such clothing is washed at home, to launder separately from the family wash. |
Today, it seems to be becoming the norm, which should concern us all. For those businesses considering the idea of allowing workers to launder their PPE at home, especially when that PPE is FRC, they need to formally adopt …