Solutions for Missing Laundry in MC?

ARIL · October 19

Compared to many other challenges, this one is minor, but I am hoping someone has a workable solution.

My father has been in MC for more than a year. I visit many times a week and would rather focus on being with him than on constantly surveilling for missing items. To date we have lost four sets of sheets, one unique bedspread, dozens of undershirts and socks, and, most recently, multiple shirts and pairs of pants. Everything was labeled with his name.

I have checked the laundry room. I have asked the staff on the floor, who respond sympathetically and help to search. I have consulted the management. I try to be patient; I see that the caregivers who also have to do the laundry have way too much to do, and laundry isn’t a priority. I understand this. I take items belonging to other people—usually bedding that has been stored in my dad’s closet—to the staff.

But my reporting things missing also feels pointless. Nothing is ever found. The director too often seems to blame residents (“Well, you know how people are in memory care”)—but come on! It is not a resident who removes sheets from a bed, remakes the bed with clean sheets, and then takes the old sheets out of the room, never to be seen again. The director has also said, “We aren’t experts on laundry. We are experts on care”—without seeming to realize that keeping clean clothes available and in the right room is one part of care.

This is an expensive facility (which in general is pretty good), and we are cranking through my dad’s savings at a rapid clip. Since I try to snag his shirts and pants to launder them myself, losing these latest things just felt defeating. I had to be out of town for work for three days; on my next visit, the six sets of clothes I had left him had become two. We can’t afford to consider all clothes as disposable.

Any advice?

towhee · October 19

If there is a laundry hamper in his room is it labeled "Family does Laundry"? Doing the laundry yourself with really big name tags is the only way I found to keep things straight. You might also put his name on his closet doors, that might cut down on "shopping" a little. I sometimes suspected staff of "borrowing" items for other residents on an emergency basis, although that did not happen often. Some families just do not keep enough clothing available. I gave up on keeping my own sheets even though I put name, room #, and even facility name on the sheets. The facility did not put sheets and bedspreads in the clothes hamper. They were taken out of the room entirely when they were changed or soiled, and were sent outside to a professional laundry. You were lucky if they were sent back to the same facility, let alone the same room. I could not make the identifying info big enough that they would take the time to read it.

I would talk to some of the other residents family members and see if they are also having problems. There is strength in numbers. If enough of the family members agreed you might be able to come up with some kind of lost list that the facility could post somewhere. They will not want to, it would make them look bad but losing that many items when you have to replace them gets expensive.

Pmmommie · October 19

I have a problem with the flip side of this coin. My Father is boardline ready for MC. He is currently in AL. He needs to feel useful and his facility understands and allows him to have "jobs". He vacuums his hallway and keeps it clean. He spends a cou[le of hours detailing it every day. He also helps clean up the dining room. His biggest "job" is laundry. He goes from door to door and collects the residents' laundry one by one. He has also discovered the MC also has their own as well as each floor. He always does the resident's laundry on their floor. He washes and dries and then returns outside their room in their baskets. Here comes my end of this problem.

He often ends up with clothes hanging in his closet that he thinks are his but aren't. I go in to his closet at least once a week and sort thru when he is at a meal or one of his aides takes him to feed the birds. I then return any extra clothes to the front desk and they piece them together. Each shirt he owns has either a Military logo of some sort or hsi italian goup logo. Any solid shirts, I mark without his knowledge. It is becoming a real issue. I hate to take this "job" away from him. He just hates how the staff does laundry.

harshedbuzz · October 19

@ARIL

DIY can cut down on some, but not all of this problem.

There are a number of ways things can disappear— the hunter-gatherers are one problem. Incontinence might play into this. If dad's not quite fully there, he may be tossing wet or soiled clothing. Sometimes things that have been badly soiled are discarded rather than dealt with in house.

One thing a friend did was to find a decent charity thrift store and buy clothing for her dad there. One benefit was that most things were already broken in and comfortable.

HB

JJ401 · October 20

I have no memory care solution. I need an at home solution.

I try to find things that DH can still do. One of them is carrying the laundry from the washroom upstairs. He’s been folding towels and putting away his clothing. Where he puts things is not always obvious. Usually I can find them, but a few items can not be found. They are here somewhere. They will turn up eventually. But, right now it’s frustrating.

SDianeL · October 20

this is a common occurrence in memory care. I bought shirts on sale and at the thrift store. I doubt there is a solution.

Solutions for Missing Laundry in MC?

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