MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAMINATION MONITORING IN LAUNDRIES – MODERN TRENDS AND BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINATION CONTROL SYSTEMS

Microorganisms inhabiting textile products during use and originating from the environment or human skin can be a source of microbiological contamination in production, services and household practice. To ensure that the appropriate level of microbiological quality is achieved for textiles used in industries like medical, beauty products/cosmetic and food processing, textiles are processed at commercial laundries, where the effectiveness of the cleaning process is monitored for soil removal and biocidal effectiveness against microorganisms. The RKI guidelines, mandatory for hospital-use textiles, RAL-GZ 992 or a RABC system focused on analysing the risk of microbiological contamination of laundered products at all stages of laundry processing, are helpful in assessing the biological contamination of laundered products.