UAE | Health
Laundries do not spread skin diseases, says municipality
Laundry services will come under a new set of municipality rules to protect public health and safety.
- By Aftab Kazmi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:05 February 27, 2008
Al Ain: Laundry services will come under a new set of municipality rules to protect public health and safety.
The proposal has been sent to Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and will be enforced after its approval, said Mubarak Saif Al Shamsi, Director of the Public Health Department at Al Ain Municipality.
"We are waiting for its approval," he said, adding that the new set of regulations would offer complete guidelines on laundry operations.
Not contaminated
Speaking to Gulf News, Al Shamsi denied that laundries are responsible for the spread of skin problems and other communicable diseases among their clients.
"Some people are under the impression that laundries are operating in an unhygienic environment. It is also believed that [laundries] mix up the laundry, which may possibly pass germs from the contaminated clothes to others."
He said people in Europe and America have been using public Laundromats, a self-service coin-operated commercial laundry, to wash their clothes for many years.
These machines are not sterilised after every wash as the detergents normally kill the germs, he said.
"Laundries here also use strong cleaning chemicals that are capable of killing the germs," he said, adding that the only area of concern is the transportation of clothes.
Al Shamsi said using a trough for washing clothes inside zareebahs (agricultural farms) and hanging clothes in open areas are not allowed.
People should refrain from these practices since they are violations and punishable under the law, he said.
Abdul Naseer Khan, a resident of Al Ain, said he had some doubts about the cleanliness, but is now satisfied since they use washing soda and other strong chemicals.
"In my view, laundries are not instrumental in spreading skin problems or other diseases among the people using laundry services," he said.
Khurshid Ahmad, another resident, said washed clothes that are kept and transported in a safe environment pose no threat to the public safety. "I would rather suggest authorities to do something for the safety of people handling unwashed laundry at their shops," he said.
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