Residents' own clothes matter. When a care home or supported accommodation service sends incontinence laundry out, the hardest part is often not the washing but making sure every resident gets their own garments back, on time, in a state they are happy to wear. This guide covers labelling, bag discipline, buffer stock and return checks for regular collections.
In brief: label garments before the first collection, bag by resident or room using a non-clinical reference, keep a clean buffer of essentials for each resident, and check returns against your own record.
Label before the first collection
Use durable name or room labels sewn or ironed into garments, following your home's policy. Unlabelled items are the most likely to be delayed or mismatched. Photograph distinctive items that cannot easily be labelled.
Bag discipline
- One bag per resident or room where volume allows, closed and labelled with an agreed reference.
- A separate, clearly marked bag for anything that needs assessment: wool, delicate or dry-clean-only items.
- Never mix ordinary household laundry into a specialist incontinence bag.
- Keep a simple record of bag count and contents at the site.
Buffer stock
Base the clean reserve of nightwear, underwear and bedding on each resident's actual needs and the return timing you have agreed, not an assumed next-day return. Review it when needs change.
Checking returns
Check returned bags against your record on arrival and raise discrepancies quickly. A short, regular review with the service helps fix recurring labelling problems.
How MyLaundress supports regular collections
We manage incontinence laundry contracts worth millions of pounds, serving care homes and supported accommodation. That describes our incontinence contracts overall; it is not annual turnover or the value of any single contract. Each specialist load is kept separate, washed and dried as its fabric allows, and inspected before return.
Specialist laundry is available in London and across the rest of the United Kingdom, subject to postcode, textile suitability and agreed collection arrangements. Ordinary laundry and everyday dry cleaning remain London services, and London urgent-collection wording is not a national response promise.
Common questions
Do you supply garment tags?
Ask when requesting a quote. We do not promise a particular tagging system; many homes use their own labels.
- Request a care or housing provider quote
- Incontinence laundry service and prices
- Incontinence laundry workflow for care homes
- Incontinence laundry for adult social care
Published 2026-10-31 by MyLaundress team. Request a regular laundry quote