QuestionsQuestions (DOH)
They apply to all public laundries, including commercial laundries (e.g., laundromat, dry cleaning, linen-supply, diaper-supply) and community laundry areas, as well as institutional establishments with laundry equipment and facilities such as hotels, motels, massage parlors, dormitories, hospitals, health-related institutions, and similar establishments operated by individuals, corporations, partnerships, or government entities.
“Public laundry” is a laundry established and operated for and open to the public and/or exclusive clientele. “Commercial laundry” is a fee-charged service utilizing mechanized equipment, specialized facilities, and trained personnel, including diaper-supply, dry cleaning, laundromat, and linen-supply types.
A new sanitary permit is required for any extension or additional construction or alteration in the establishment before it can operate.
Application/renewal is filed using EHS Form No. 110 with the local health office having jurisdiction. The permit is issued upon compliance to at least a satisfactory rating using the sanitary inspection of public places establishment form (EHS Form No. 103-B).
Fees are paid to the local government office upon application, renewal, and noting of the sanitary permit, and the amount of fees is set through local ordinance.
Within fourteen (14) working days after any change in ownership or occupancy, the new operator must apply with the local health office to have the change noted in the records and permit certificate and pay the corresponding fee.
It is valid from the day of issuance until the last day of December of the same year, and must be renewed every beginning of the year thereafter.
Upon recommendation of the local health officer, the local health authority may suspend or revoke it upon violation of any sanitary rules and regulations.
The permit must be posted in a conspicuous place for public information and be available for inspection. The local health office must keep records showing operator and address, location, nature/kind of business, dates of first issuance and renewal, changes in occupation/management, sanitary conditions under which permit was issued, and revocation, and make the record available for inspection.
Employees intending to work must secure a health certificate (EHS Forms 102-A or 102-B) from the local health officer, renew at least once a year or as required by local ordinance, clip it visibly on the uniform (or make it available for inspection), and note that health certificates are non-transferable.
Employees must observe good personal hygiene (clean appropriate working garments/PPE as required; wash hands with soap and water before/after working and after relevant activities like using the toilet, smoking, coughing/sneezing into hands, etc.). They must also follow safety practices such as: no smoking, no alcoholic drinks, no spitting/blowing nose, no littering, and report communicable/contagious disease symptoms; personnel with open wounds/broken skin on exposed areas must not be allowed to work or contact linens until healed.
Drinking water sources must be potable and meet minimum daily water demand of forty (40) liters per capita per day with adequate pressure (20 psi). For laundering, suggested minimum demand is 37–50 liters per kilogram of clothes/linens for complete washing, and 13–17 liters per kilogram for steam laundry.
Sewage must be discharged to a public sewer system or otherwise comply with sewage collection/disposal and drainage rules. Effluent quality must meet DENR and other regulatory minimum standards. The establishment must be provided with an approved efficient wastewater treatment process including primary and secondary treatment, with plans and location approved by the local health officer upon recommendation of the sanitary engineer.
Segregation, storage, collection, transport, and disposal must follow P.D. 856 rules and local ordinances. Establishments must run awareness/campaign including color coding; use appropriately thick trash bags; use containers with lids vermin-proof and easy to clean; empty containers daily or as necessary; thoroughly clean/disinfect after emptying; have separate storage for dry and wet refuse; store refuse inaccessible to vermin; enforce anti-littering; and ensure proper disposal of contaminated linens/biomedical waste and refuse contaminated by hazardous/chemical/nuclear substances under relevant laws.
Areas must be properly lighted (natural and/or artificial) with specified minimum illumination standards (e.g., locker rooms/toilets/bathrooms 10 foot-candles; working areas vary up to 100 foot-candles). Ventilation must be efficient (natural and/or mechanical) to prevent excessive temperature/moisture/odors/fumes; in non-air-conditioned or windowless areas, mechanical ventilation must maintain temperature 25–28°C and relative humidity 40–60% and meet specific exhaust-fan requirements for soiled-linen sorting, washing/drying, clean-linen storage, ironing/mending, and chemical storage, including special bathroom exhaust rules.
Walls/partitions must not have open spaces/cracks for vermin harborage; interior sanitary/laundry facility walls must be smooth and impervious (e.g., glazed tiles) at least 2 meters high; toilet/bathroom partition between water closets must be at least 2 meters and end 30 cm above the floor. Floors must be concrete or impervious, easily cleaned non-toxic materials; laundry wet areas must be sloped (at least 2%) with drain strainers/metal covers; prohibition of floor coverings like vinyl tiles/wood parquet/linoleum/carpets in frequently wet laundry areas. Toilets must be separate for male and female, properly located lighted and ventilated, maintained regularly, and have supplied fixtures (soap, towels, toilet paper, etc.), with minimum floor area and fixture count table based on number of personnel/customers.
A community laundry must be at least 500 square meters and located where zoning laws allow; must not be in flood-prone areas; must provide adequate stalls where total stall area is not more than 40% of total area; each stall minimum area is 2 sq m with no dimension less than 1.3 m; stalls must have partitions at least 1.0 m high and sufficient air clearance; each stall must have two laundry trays/sinks with stoppers; trays tops must be at least 0.9 m from the floor; each stall must have a trench drain connected to an approved wastewater disposal system; no toilet/bathroom may open directly toward any laundry stall; aisles must be at least 1.5 m wide and be 0.1 m higher than stall floors.
The establishment must use a coding/marking system (color codes/labels/tags/printed bags) for sorting, washing, storage, and delivery; personnel must be trained to implement it; sorting must prevent cross-contamination and losses and be based on soilage degree, colorfastness, fabric type, specified wash time, and degree/type of contamination. Soiled linens must be handled with minimum agitation/shaking and must not contact other surfaces except the soiled linen bag or washer.
Reusable soiled-linen bags/containers must be cleaned and sterilized after every use; linen carts must be exclusive (one type for soiled linen, one for clean linen), made of impervious easily cleaned rustproof non-toxic material, enclosed with tight lids kept closed except when placing/retrieving bags, and carts cleaned/sterilized regularly (soiled carts after each day's operation; clean carts at least three times a week). Laundry vehicles must be enclosed with tight doors; interior storage for washable goods must be impervious, non-toxic, rust-proof, smooth, leak-proof and easily cleaned; separate vehicles must be used to transport soiled linen from clean linen with isolation from driver/passenger seats; vehicles must be maintained and disinfected on schedules.
Hospitals must adopt coding for sorting/handling and handle soiled linen to prevent microbial contamination, including separating linen from high-risk areas (ER, OR, isolation wards, communicable disease wards, etc.). Soiled linen must be collected in-situ in marked/coded impervious leak-proof containers, kept tightly closed with minimal agitation, and transport must follow routes away from critical nursing/food service/uncontaminated areas. Isolation/contaminated linens should be placed first in a water-soluble bag and then washed separately using hot water for at least 25 minutes, with sterilization/disinfection effective for the microorganisms. Contractors servicing hospitals must handle hospital linens separately from other sources and clean/sterilize equipment/transport surfaces before processing non-hospital linens.