Clothing labels are valuable aids for both staff and residents in the care home environment. With residents typically splitting their time between their individual bedrooms and communal spaces, clothing and other personal items can easily get left behind. Similarly, communal laundry facilities can also make it difficult to keep track of what belongs to who.
Clothing labels for care home residents help users cut through the confusion, and quickly and easily determine the item’s rightful owner. But, for them to be effective in a busy care home environment, they need to be clear, durable and dependable. Here, we share important considerations for picking care home name labels to suit your residents and explore the various options on the market.
Custom name labels for elderly: What to look for
- Clarity – Opt for large, readable fonts and simple designs. Some easy to read name labels for seniors offer further personalisation with different colours so residents can choose their favourite, or care teams can introduce a colour-coding system to simplify sorting processes.
- Durability – Elderly clothing name tags should be waterproof, tear-resistant and long-lasting. Care home laundry often requires thermal or chemical disinfection, so name labels must be able to withstand these harsh commercial laundry processes again and again, without fading or becoming damaged.
- Comfort – Durable name tags for seniors must also be smooth and comfortable against skin, ideally so they’re barely noticeable to the wearer. Our skin becomes more sensitive and more prone to irritation as we get older, so it’s important that labelling solutions don’t cause itching or discomfort.
Which labelling solutions work best for care homes?
There are a number of different types of labels on the market, each with their own pros and cons:
- Name buttons – Smooth, clear, discreet naming buttons, like Fixxon, serve as effective, comfortable and waterproof labels for the elderly that simplify processes and stand the test of time.
- Sew in name tags for the elderly – Sew in labels can be incredibly time consuming to apply – especially when you consider the number of clothing items each resident typically has, and multiply that by the number of residents in the home! Not only is application fiddly and time consuming, but sew-in and other fabric name labels for the elderly’s clothing can also be itchy and irritating on the skin.
- Stick-on labels – While stick-on options are quick and easy to apply, the adhesive used on name stickers quickly becomes less effective when regularly exposed to harsh commercial laundry processes, causing them labels to peel.
- Fabric markers – Another seemingly quick and easy method that typically falls short as a long-term solution in the care environment. Marker pens can fade quickly and become difficult to decipher, and often feel a little juvenile and undignified for elderly residents.
- Iron on labels for elderly – Using heat to melt the adhesive and pressure to apply the label to clothing, iron-on solutions are suitable for a wide range of materials. However, they can often be bulky and noticeable in clothing, while the usually-synthetic material can be abrasive and uncomfortable against sensitive skin.
Want to learn more about the different options on the market? In this blog, we explore the different name labelling methods in more detail, and look at their pros and cons in the care home environment.
Why choose Fixxon for elderly residents?
Fixxon buttons are effective, easy to read name labels for seniors, used in care environments across the UK to quickly and efficiently identify clothes. Benefits include:
- Personalised name tags for the elderly – Fixxon buttons can be personalised with name, room number, or both, and can come in six different colours.
- Ease of application and reapplication – With our simple tool, the buttons can be quickly attached and reattached, causing minimal damage to clothing. Buttons can be relocated and repurposed, bringing cost efficiencies.
- Discreet – Our care and nursing home clothing labels are smooth and barely noticeable against skin, offering a more dignified and comfortable solution for residents. They also sit discreetly in smaller items like socks and underwear.
- Laundry-proof name labels – Tested with over 1,000 commercial washes and tumble dries, Fixxon buttons never fade or fall off in the wash.
- Fewer mix-ups and lost items – Staff spend less time looking for misplaced items, reducing stress, confusion, complaints and replacement garment costs.
- Time saving – Fixxon streamlines processes and saves valuable time for busy care staff, allowing them to spend more time with residents.
Switch to smarter labelling solutions
Whether you’re introducing a labelling solution for the first time, or you’re looking to change an old, inefficient method, long-lasting name tags for care homes like Fixxon bring numerous benefits for staff and residents alike.
Learn about the incredible changes our clients have made with Fixxon, or arrange a meeting with our expert team to find out how we can help you.
