Do You Wash Your High Visibility Vests At Home?

Those of you who wear high visibility vests and other work clothes that get a lot of wear and tear might want to consider no longer washing your clothing at home as this can apparently have an impact on the quality of the cloth - thus putting your safety at risk.

Research from workwear laundry service Berendsen has found that 77 per cent of workers clean and maintain their work clothes themselves,which can actually result in premature deterioriation of material. Where high-vis clothing is concerned, this can actually make them ineffective and also non-compliant where safety regulations are concerned, Plant Engineer reports.

Similar research conducted by the European Textile Services Association back in 2014 found that 92 per cent of workers in the UK were washing their workwear at home - which can reduce the effectiveness of fire retardancy, electrostatic ability, chemical repellence and high visibility.

UK product marketing manager for workwear at Berendsen Kiratpal Randhawa said: "Employers have a duty to provide and maintain suitable garments for their staff so perhaps it is time to look at fully managed outsourced services as a more reliable alternative to purchasing."

It's also worth bearing in mind that, depending on what industry you work in, you could be bringing nasty or dangerous chemicals and hazardous waste into the house when you wash your workwear at home. Using a laundry service may be a good idea if you're keen to avoid contaminating the rest of your wardrobe. If you can't do this for whatever reason, make sure you wash your work clothes separately to all the rest.

However, it's important to note that any clothing with high visbility branding must be discarded after it has been washed around 25 times. This is due to the reflective properties diminishing, which leaves the fabric no longer conforming to the relevant EN standards.