How to label clothes for entry to enter long term care?

My mother’s nursing home advised using a Sharpie. They had experienced iron on labels coming off

My mother's nursing home had ironed on name tags. They seemed to work, but unfortunately she was not there long. I would make sure the Sharpie, if you use it, doesn't run and is water-proof.

My parents’ NH has a new clothes bin. Before any clothes go up to the room they need to be labeled. They provide a form to be filled out with name and room number and the number of and color of each item. The plastic bag containing the items is placed in the bin. They then iron on the labels.

the system has worked well so far.

I used sharpie pens on labels but I think iron on is good too.

In mom’s NH for rehab, they still lost her clothes. I was taking her clothes home to wash.

The NH placed a huge sign saying that family members were washing clothes at home. They took Mom’s clothes to the laundry area and lost them.

I looked for them in the laundry room and got lucky. Guess what? When I returned to Mom’s room. Someone else’s clothes were hanging in her closet!

These things are going to happen from time to time. I told laundry staff to try to find the rightful owner of the clothes.

We had a poster who said that they took photos of their mom’s clothes. I love that idea!

My Moms LTC put in her labels and only the machine that put them on, could take them off.

I used a simple sharpie.
That isn't to say there isn't, on amazon, a whole host of ways to mark with "clothing markers" of "clothing labels" typed in. Some actually can be printed out and sewn in.

My brother did not live much more than a year and one half in care; his clothing did hold up very well and was never lost, but I do believe it was done not in large commercial machines but in smaller machines and personally by the aid and on rotating basis.

Might ask around the care facility because I bet they will be helpful.
Good luck.

I found iron ons fall off. Permanent markers fade. Wash in these places is not treated gently. Probably use the hottest water they can. Ask the facility if they put on the labels. They do where I live and they are very nice.

My mother’s nursing home did the labeling for the residents. Ask them first.

I custom ordered labels for mom and ironed them on every single item she had....they did not stay on. The industrial washes in these places are huge and they have tons of clothes in there at one time and the heat is always high. Normal tags don't stand a chance. The facility has tags that have a super strong glue. I would ask them to tag her clothes.

Beware...even tagged clothes come up missing. They end up in the wrong persons closet or they are stolen...It has been a struggle for us.

I ordered preprinted labels from Amazon and ironed them on. They were very sturdy and stayed on for the 6 months that my husband was in MC. After he died, I found it hard to get those labels off!

At my uncles facility, they label items and keep an inventory of clothing that they have labeled. Items still go MIA. If you give the item description and it matches the item in inventory they miraculously locate ot 80% of time.

I ordered clothing labels on Amazon. I had moms name and room number printed on them. I then had to put them on every article of clothing. Kind of tedious but 3 months in they are still sticking. I just ordered more to have extra. Put it on her eyeglasses her tv remote. Literally everything in her room that can accidentally be removed or misplaced by mom. There have been times that some things have gone missing or some articles of clothing that weren't hers were mixed up with other residents, but staff quickly resolved the issue when it happens..they are small to work with but fit perfectly on back of clothing labels , inside shoes etc. Working great so far. Have patience..they're a pain to peel lol.

I used a permanent Sharpie marker. But the nursing home still sometimes mixed clothes up. I once bought my husband a T-shirt with the mascot of our college alma mater on the front. We live in an area with another state university and I saw someone wearing his T-shirt. I knew that guy didn't graduate from there! I complained and a nursing aide took him to his room and changed his shirt. For things that could "really" grow legs, like his coats, I just brought one to him when we were leaving the facility and he needed it because of cold or rain.

A good, old-fashioned Sharpie marker. Write the person's name on the inside collar of their tops and on the waistband of their pants and underwear (if they are still using regular underwear). With socks write the name on the band or the front of the foot. With shoes, write on the back part of the sole. Of course it will fade after several washes and you may need to label an item again.

My husband had dementia. I fretted over this for a bit. Used permanent markers and also bought stick-on washable labels. Clothes do get mixed up in the laundry. Eventually I decided since most of the men wore T-shirts and lounge pants, I wasn’t going to be concerned if he showed up wearing someone else’s clothes roughly the correct size. I marked his shoe soles with his name so they would be identifiable when he kicked them off somewhere in the place! A few special t-shirts I bought him on holiday were distinctive enough that the staff knew they were his and those never got mixed up. If you have any special items (hat, sweater, jacket etc) bring them in for special events and take them home after.

You can sew in or iron on a little strip of tape on the inside of the clothes and write on them with a fabric (all my DH's dress shirts have a tag on them that keeps the dry cleaners keeping track of his shirts.

Another thing you can do is design and have made labels that are pre-printed with the name and room number of your LO on them. Then these are either sewn into place or ironed on.

I do a LOT of sewing for grands, and they love the 'personalized' tags that I sew into any garment I make for them.

Just google 'iron on name tags' or something similar. You'll find a lot of options.

You can ask the facility if they have a preference for labels (iron on or Sharpies) or even if they will do the labeling for you. Just be aware that laundry is going to get lost no matter what you do. There is usually one staff member in the laundry room fighting to do sheets and towels and then moving onto the next batch which is personal laundry. They use commercial machines for everything so even "delicate" is not delicate. there is the folding and hanging of items. Even when the staff gets the items back to the correct room, don't be surprised if another resident doesn't visit and do a little "shopping" in the closets. Buy inexpensive clothes to leave at the facility. Anything expensive, bring when it is needed and then take it back home with you.

Yes, A sharpie works will for most clothes. Although the black ink will not show well on darker color clothes, you can find white sharpies, or metallic colors like silver, bronze, gold.

In the past I have tried using bright colored fabric paints, but it is hard to write small enough and neatly enough with the tip. Then you have to let them dry.

Don't forget to label socks and underwear. You can write right on the bottoms of socks, which is sometimes easier than along the elastic leg band.

I have found that Sharpie marker washes out too quickly so I switched to a "paint" marker. "Sharpie" paint pens/markers are available in a variety of colors and the white/light colors will show up on dark colored fabrics. They are also available in an "oil" paint which is not as easy to clean up as the "acrylic" paint ones that will clean up with soap and water but once they are dry on the fabric, they are just as permanent as an oil paint. They are not as cheap as a plain Sharpie marker but the effectiveness is worth the higher price for the paint pens. Hope that helps a bit...

AL4554: Use an indelible marker.

A lot of facilities will do this for you. The facility where my dad is, labeled his clothes with a label maker but when he was in rehab several months ago, I used a Sharpie marker.

Usually with a last name and room number, labelled with a permanent marker or paint marker.