CLEANING, HYGIENE AND INFECTION CONTROL
Smarter Hygiene Management
Ela Hedges, Business Development Manager at Miele Professional, explains that maintaining consistent hygiene in care homes, whether in kitchens or laundry rooms, requires the right equipment, strong processes, and confident, well-trained teams.
H
ygiene sits at the very centre of every decision a care home makes. Behind the scenes, teams are working continuously to reduce the risk of infections, protect residents and meet regulatory expectations, all while managing busy kitchens and the laundry room. Achieving consistency across these areas is so important, yet often it can be quite a challenge. Especially when we’re seeing staff levels fluctuate so much in recent years, or when facilities rely on equipment or processes that struggle to keep pace with demand. But how can care homes get the most out of their processes?
The role of the kitchen
In busy care home kitchens, whether it’s making a round of teas or loading up the dishwashers, hygiene and efficiency must work hand in hand. With multiple meals served to residents every day, dishwashing systems need to deliver consistently safe, hygienically clean crockery, cutlery and glassware. Domestic dishwashers, despite their lower upfront cost, can be prone to breakdowns when used at the pace required in most care settings, which ultimately creates disruption and potentially higher long-term costs. Commercial dishwashers on the other hand are designed for continuous use, and provide the
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reliability needed to maintain hygiene standards. Hightemperature programmes help remove harmful microorganisms, giving kitchen teams confidence that the equipment supports infection control measures, especially for vulnerable residents. Fast-cycle options also help staff stay on schedule, reducing manual handling and the risk of crosscontamination. With dependable performance and consistent servicing, these systems support smoother operations, allowing teams to focus more fully on the
part of the job they love, taking care of their residents.
The role of the laundry room
Laundry plays an equally important role in infection prevention. For residents with weakened immune systems, correctly disinfected linens and clothing are an absolute nonnegotiable. Keeping laundry on site rather than outsourcing gives care homes greater oversight of each stage of the process, from sorting to washing and drying. By avoiding external transportation, the risk of