Ask The Answer Person: What regulations are there to keep laundromats safe?

Mary asks: "Do laundromats in Iowa have any specific regulations or procedures they have to follow to keep their customers safe from the coronavirus?"

The Answer Person says: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has posted guidelines covering laundry room use and proper laundering etiquette.

The CDC says laundromats and other communal laundry rooms should restrict the number of people in the room at one time to ensure social distancing and "provide disposable gloves, soap for washing hands, and household cleaners and EPA-registered disinfectants for residents and staff to clean and disinfect buttons, knobs, and handles of laundry machines, laundry baskets, and shared laundry items."

For laundromat customers, the CDC posted guidelines for laundering clothing, towels, linens and other items. "Launder items according to the manufacturer's instructions. Use the warmest appropriate water setting and dry items completely. Wear disposable gloves when handling dirty laundry from a person who is sick. Dirty laundry from a person who is sick can be washed with other people's items. Do not shake dirty laundry. Clean and disinfect clothes hampers. Remove gloves, and wash hands right away."

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov.