But be cautious in this regard. There is often a misunderstanding of good hospital laundering procedures that condition linens in order to have excellent patient care such as the removal of residual chemistry, adjusting pH to the comfort ranges of the skin and the addition of a fabric softener for patient comfort. The request for "hypoallergenic" linens will remove the final textile conditioning and this may not always be good for most patients. Most hospital laundries have procedures for complying with a request for hypoallergenic linens for individuals who have reactions to dyes, perfumes and other chemicals.

19: Our business is selling bed and bath linen to the hospitality market, specifically to hotels and condo management companies who have OPL. The majority of the products that we provide for these customers are T-180 white percale bed linen and white 86/14 blended cam border terry. One question that we are often asked is "how many washings should we expect to get out of the products that we purchase?"

Although we have on numerous occasions asked the manufacturers of the products that we sell for this information, they seem reluctant to say how long their products will (or should) last. My guess is that their reluctance is due to the fact that there are so many factors that could affect the life of the product, they are hesitant to make such a statement. However, I feel sure that someone out there has some idea of what would be "industry averages." If so, I would appreciate someone sharing those numbers with me, so that I could share them with my customers.
Mike Saulters, msaulters@gulftel.com