Lab Coat Laundry

ASU Environmental Health and Safety provides a free laboratory coat laundering service to ASU students, faculty and staff in coordination with ASU Mail Services and Mission Linen.

Submit your lab coat through your department’s designated laundry bin or U.S. Mail. Watch the informational video to learn more about the lab coat laundry service, drop-off locations and what types of coats are accepted. 

Do not take lab coats to public laundries or home for cleaning.

Lab coats contaminated* with the following materials are not allowed in the drop-off when laundry bins or mail:

• Biological.
• Chemical.
• Radiological.

*Review the contaminated lab coats procedure when submitting lab coats. All radiation labs must contact the Office of Radiation Safety before submitting lab coats for laundering.

Pre-laundry treatment guidelines for contaminated lab coats: Lab coats with hazardous contaminants may need to be disposed of via chemical waste.

1. Do not send radioactive isotope-contaminated lab coats to the laundry. Radiation labs must contact  Radiation Safety for verification before lab coats may be submitted for laundering.
2. If the chemical spilled on the lab coat is safe for sewage disposal, rinse the lab coat with water.
3. Solvents spilled on lab coats require evaporation in the fume hood.
4. Lab coats with hazardous contaminants may need to be disposed of via chemical waste.
5. Use an autoclave for biological contaminants on lab coats. Do not autoclave lab coats contaminated with chemicals.

Before sending lab coats to the laundry:

• Check coat pockets and remove any items.
• Ensure the lab coat is free from contaminants.
• Contact Environmental Health and Safety for disposal instructions if the lab coat cannot be safely decontaminated or made safe for laundry.

Environmental Health and Safety can provide a loaner lab coat to ASU students, faculty and staff while lab coats are being laundered. Email Environmental Health and Safety or call 480-965-1823 for assistance.    

Launder your non-contaminated lab coat:

• Place it and a completed form in any sealable plastic bag. You will not have to complete this form again after your lab coat is labeled.
• Put the bag in your department's designated laundry bin before 8 a.m. on any Tuesday. After your lab coat is labeled, you will not have to complete this form again.

Lab coats are labeled with information from the completed form and returned to the dropped-off location the next Wednesday at 4 p.m. Please pick up your cleaned lab coat no later than the following Friday. 

Drop-off and pick-up locations are located in the table below.

Mailing instructions for lab coats are included on this form.

You will not have to complete this form again after your lab coat is labeled with this information.

Lab coats will be returned to your mail station.

Principal Investigators must ensure their staff and students wear lab coats when necessary. EHS recommends that lab personnel wear lab coats in laboratories at all times.

Lab coats used in the laboratory must not be removed.

Proper lab coat use and storage guidelines

• Do not access pant pockets via side slits.
• Hang lab coats on hooks or hangars in designated areas.
• If you need to transport your lab coat to another location, verify it is not contaminated and carry it to the next location in a bag or backpack.
• Lab coats should fit properly and be completely buttoned.
• Remove lab coat before leaving the laboratory.
• Sleeves must extend beyond the wrist.
• Store clean lab coats separately from used ones.

Pre-laundry treatment for contaminated lab coats guidelines

• Do not send radioactive isotope-contaminated lab coats to the laundry. Radiation labs must contact Radiation Safety for verification before lab coats may be submitted for launder.
• If the chemical spilled on the lab coat is safe for sewage disposal, rinse the lab coat with water.
• Lab coats with hazardous contaminants may need to be disposed of via chemical waste.
• Solvents spilled on lab coats require evaporation in the fume hood.
• Use an autoclave for biological contaminants on lab coats. Do not autoclave lab coats contaminated with chemicals.

Email EHS for guidance about contaminated lab coats.