Lab Coat Laundry

This service is provided at no cost to researchers via funding dedicated for laboratory safety.

The David Geffen School of Medicine funds this service for researchers in the DGSOM at locations #3 – CHS, #7 – BSRB, #8 – Jules Stein, and #9 – MRL. Researchers from the Schools of Dentistry, Nursing, and Public Health are also welcome to enroll their coats free of charge.

“Retaping” refers to the vendor’s barcoding process, which involves manual input of information to generate a barcode. This is how you enroll your coat for the first time. We stick to the vendor’s terminology because it leads to better communication between end users and the vendor when necessary.

3 weeks for newly enrolled/retape coats and 2 weeks for previously enrolled coats.

At CHS, you will receive an email. Otherwise, expect to wait 3 weeks to see a newly/retape enrolled coat and 2 weeks for any previously enrolled coats that were washed. Remember, the vendor visits on Fridays.

Please do not alter the barcode yourself. Instead, please follow the retape instructions.

Below are examples of worn out barcodes:

Any UCLA personnel are welcome to utilize this program.

Clinicians are welcome to use the service, but should be aware that this is a laundry and not a dry cleaning service. The coats will not be pressed and may not offer the ideal presentation for patient interaction.

If you do not find your coat more than 4 weeks after dropping it off, please email our vendor. Feel free to copy and paste the following information to use as a template in your email. Please CC somsafety@mednet.ucla.edu.

Vendor email: jshiffer@missionlinen.com MichaelSimmons@missionlinen.com

CC: somsafety@mednet.ucla.edu

Subject: Missing Coat [add original date you discovered your coat is missing]

Hi Mission Linen, I'm looking for my lab coat. I dropped this coat off at [LCL location] on [date].

    Owner name and email-
    PI First and Last Name-
    Lab Coat Laundry location-
    Mission Linen Barcode Number (unless new/retape coat)-
    Unique Coat information-
    Include photograph of coat if you have one

Await instructions from Mission Linen on how to proceed. 

For CHS A2-071 and Jules Stein, the pick-up and drop-off locations are the same. Please note that for CHS A2-071, you will receive an email from SOM safety once your coats are available for pick-up. 

For MRL, the drop-off location is the building’s loading dock and the pick-up location is on the 5th floor. For BSRB, the drop-off location is the building’s loading dock and the pick-up location is on the 3rd floor.

If the Mission Linen barcode on your lab coat has a black “T”, this means that the coat is damaged and therefore, should NOT be sent for laundry service again. If this coat is sent through the laundering service again, it will likely be damaged and/or torn beyond repair. 

We recommend that if your coat is marked with a black “T” on the barcode, you dispose of the coat and obtain a new coat through the EH&S PPE Lab Coat Distribution Program.

Yes, however, if your coat has already been tagged/barcoded by a laundering company other than Mission Linen, you must follow the retape instructions before submitting it for laundering at the UCLA DGSOM Lab Coat Laundry locations.