Care Guide
How to Wash Scrubs So They Last: A Straight Answer, Then the Detail
The short answer: wash scrubs in cold water, inside out, with a normal detergent and no fabric softener. Tumble dry on low, or hang dry. Wash new dark or saturated colours separately for the first two or three cycles. Do not iron on high if the fabric contains elastane.
That is the whole routine, and it will get you years out of a set. The rest of this explains why each step is there, because once you know what actually degrades a garment you can make sensible exceptions.
One boundary before we start: this is a guide to making garments last. It is not guidance on decontamination or infection control. If your role involves exposure requiring specific laundering protocols, your facility's policy governs that, and it overrides anything on this page. We make uniforms; we are not the right source for that decision.
Why cold water
Hot water does three things you do not want. It accelerates dye release, so colours fade faster. It relaxes and can distort synthetic fibres, which is how a fitted top slowly stops being fitted. And it shortens the life of elastane, the fibre doing the stretching.
Modern detergents are formulated to work at low temperatures, so you are not trading cleanliness for longevity in normal use. Cold is simply the correct default.
Why inside out
Abrasion happens on whatever surface faces outward in the drum. Turning a garment inside out means the abrasion lands on the inside, where you will not see it. This is most of what "faded" actually is on a dark garment — not dye loss but surface fibre damage scattering light differently.
It costs you nothing and it is the single most underrated step here, particularly for black and other deep colours.
Why no fabric softener — this is the important one
Fabric softener works by depositing a thin waxy coating on the fibres. That coating does three things to performance fabric, all bad:
- It blocks moisture-wicking. Wicking depends on fibres moving moisture along their surface. Coat them and the mechanism stops working. This is the most common reason someone says their scrubs "stopped breathing."
- It degrades elastane over time, which reduces the recovery that keeps knees and seat from bagging out.
- It dulls colour, because the coating scatters light.
If you want softness, use less detergent rather than adding softener. Over-dosing detergent leaves residue that stiffens fabric, and most people use roughly twice what they need.
The same applies to dryer sheets, which deposit the same coating by a different route.
Why low heat drying
Heat is the main enemy of elastane. High dryer heat is harsher on stretch fabric than washing is, and the damage is cumulative and invisible until the garment stops recovering its shape.
Low heat, or hang drying, will noticeably extend the life of anything with stretch in it. If you have a wrinkle-resistant fabric, taking it out of the dryer promptly and hanging it immediately does most of the work an iron would.
Washing new colours separately
Saturated and dark dyes release more in the first few cycles. Two or three separate washes for a new deep colour — reds especially, along with navy and black — will save you a ruined light-coloured load.
After that they are stable and can go in with everything else.
What actually destroys scrubs, ranked
- High dryer heat. More damage than any other single factor.
- Fabric softener. Kills wicking, degrades stretch.
- Hot washing. Fades colour, relaxes fibres.
- Letting stains sit. Nearly everything comes out same-day and very little comes out after a weekend in a locker.
- Over-dosing detergent. Residue stiffens fabric and traps odour.
Notice that ordinary wearing is not on the list. Garments are usually destroyed in the laundry, not on the floor.
Common questions
Can you wash scrubs in hot water?
You can, but it shortens the life of the garment — hot water fades dye, relaxes synthetic fibres and degrades elastane. Cold washing with a modern detergent is effective for normal soiling. If your role requires a specific laundering temperature, follow your facility's protocol rather than a garment-care guide.
Why do my scrubs smell even after washing?
Usually detergent residue or fabric softener build-up trapping odour in the fibres, or a washing machine that needs cleaning. Try a wash with no detergent at all, or a cup of white vinegar in the rinse, then go back to using about half the detergent you were using.
Should you wash scrubs separately from other clothes?
For garment-care purposes, only for the first few cycles with new saturated colours. Beyond that it makes no difference to the fabric. If you are asking for infection-control reasons, that is a question for your facility's policy, not for us.
How often should you wash scrubs?
After each shift is standard practice, and it is also better for the garment — fresh soiling washes out easily, while anything left to set becomes a stain-removal problem instead of a laundry one.
Can you put scrubs in the dryer?
Yes, on low heat. High heat is the fastest way to ruin stretch fabric. Take them out while very slightly damp and hang immediately, and a wrinkle-resistant fabric will finish smooth without ironing.
About the author
Hedy Nie is COO at Eadflie and Eipnare, where she runs brand, product copy, customer research and the blog. She led the nurse interview programme — 60 nurses, October 2025 to January 2026 — that shapes how these uniforms get designed. Hedy is not a nurse, and neither is anyone on the team: anything that crosses into clinical practice is co-signed by a registered nurse. She answers her own LinkedIn messages.