Big laundries do not run like the washing machine in your kitchen. A hospital or university laundry can wash thousands of sheets, towels, gowns and uniforms every single day. To get all that linen properly clean and safe, many of these laundries rely on something called clean steam. This blog looks at why clean steam pipework matters so much in these settings, what can go wrong if it is not looked after, and how clean steam pipework specialists like RDS Pipeline keep these systems running without shutting the laundry down.
What is clean steam, and why does it matter?
Clean steam is steam made from purified water. Unlike ordinary steam, it does not carry rust, chemicals or other bits picked up from old pipework. That purity is the whole point. In a hospital laundry, clean steam is used to heat wash water to the high temperatures needed to kill bacteria and other germs on linen. In a university, the same principle applies in halls of residence laundries, catering facilities and any on site healthcare or sports medicine departments.
If the steam itself is not clean, or the pipework carrying it is not properly maintained, the linen coming out the other end might look clean but is not actually sterile. That is a serious problem in places where linen is used around patients, students in shared accommodation, or food preparation areas.
Why hospitals and universities cannot risk a poor steam supply
Hospitals follow strict national guidance on how linen must be decontaminated. NHS England’s Health Technical Memorandum on linen decontamination sets out best practice for anyone providing care or managing laundry and linen services, and it is a document that laundry managers and estates teams take seriously. A properly working clean steam pipework system is a big part of meeting that standard.
Universities may not always face the same formal healthcare rules, but they often run laundries at a similar scale, and many have medical centres, sports science departments or research labs where sterile conditions matter just as much.
In both settings, the pressure is the same: the laundry cannot afford to stop. Wards need clean bedding every day. Student accommodation cannot go a week without working machines. That is why any pipework problem needs to be sorted quickly, and ideally without switching the whole system off.
What can go wrong with clean steam pipework
Steam pipework works hard, day in and day out, often for years without a break. Over time, a few common issues tend to show up:
| Problem | What causes it | What it leads to |
|---|---|---|
| Corrosion inside the pipe | Years of heat, moisture and mineral content in the water | Rust particles contaminating the “clean” steam |
| Scale build up | Minerals in the water settling on pipe walls | Reduced flow, higher energy use, blockages |
| Leaking joints | Wear and tear, thermal stress, ageing seals | Steam loss, pressure drops, higher running costs |
| Damaged valves | Constant use over a long service life | Uneven steam delivery, harder to control temperature |
| Pipework laid out badly | Older buildings extended or altered over time | Cold spots, inconsistent sterilisation across the system |
Left unchecked, any of these can mean linen is not reaching the temperature it needs to be properly sterilised, even if everything looks fine on the surface.
How RDS Pipeline keeps laundries running
This is where specialist mechanical pipework expertise comes in. RDS Pipeline works on clean steam systems in demanding environments, including healthcare and food related sectors, so the team understands how important it is to keep purity and safety front and centre.
A few ways this looks in practice:
- Inspecting and repairing pipework to catch corrosion, scale or damage before it causes a bigger failure.
- Carrying out onsite welding to fix or replace sections of pipe securely, without needing to rebuild the whole run.
- Working around live systems wherever possible, so the laundry does not need to stop for hours or days at a time.
- Using the right materials for clean steam work, so the finished pipework does not introduce new contamination.
The aim is always the same: a laundry that keeps running, and linen that comes out properly sterilised every time.
Get in touch
If your hospital or university laundry relies on clean steam pipework, regular checks and fast repairs are worth the investment. A small leak or a patch of scale today can turn into a shut down laundry tomorrow. Contact RDS Pipeline to talk through your system and how it can be kept running safely, whatever the scale of your site.
