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Mother has dementia, psycosis. We think her clothes might be getting thrown into the trash bin instead of a non existing laundry bin in the home. I keep rebuying her clothes (this is going on month 4) and really getting expensive. I sew in my own labels in case some things are getting picked up by laundry. But things never get returned to her room. I’ve spoken to head nurse about this but nothing turns up. We can keep buying new clothes but eventually her money will run out. Who knew THIS would become the big problem. We also buy her her depends diapers although we were told they could provide. I don’t like to complain. But gee, it’s ridiculous. Today I will take in my own laundry bin and attempt to instruct my mother to place her dirty clothes in our basket and I’ll pick up every other day and wash her laundry myself. I don’t mind at all—- I do it now for my 96 yr old MIL who still lives in her own home. Does anyone else deal with such silliness??

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Is she in a LTC facility? If so they do provide depends. They also should be putting their own tags in the clothes. At my Moms facility they are ironed in by a special machine and can only be removed by the same machine. Sewing in can easily be removed. In Moms nursing home the aides dressed her and threw the dirty clothes in a plastic bag and that bag went into a bin. No need for a bin. Wash was done daily.

You should talk to the head laundress. Her clothes may still be in the laundry if they can't be identified. Ask her the procedure. Does she have a roommate? Check her closet. Take pictures of everything you take in. For some reason Mom was always missing the same nightgown. They found it because of the picture I took.

If you decide to take Moms laundry home to need to put signs at the head of her bed and on her closet. "Family now doing wash. Please put in bin provided". I would check this often because I have found soiled clothes in Moms wash. If its soiled, it needs to be put in a plastic bag. Also, do not machine dry clothes that have been soiled. It brings the smells back up. I soaked in vinegar water before washing. Others have said there are products out there for this stuff.
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Shari49 Dec 2021
The supplied ‘diapers’ are itchy mom says and for awhile she refused to wear anything at all under her stretchy slacks and her clothes were pooped into snd then thrown away. We ended up buying dollar store ‘depends’ which she says are comfy and not itchy and badly wears them. so we will continue buying them if she will wear them!!
she often has diarrhea and anything she will wear is worth paying for.
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I suggest you stop buying "new" clothes.
Hit the resale stores. The clothes will be far less expensive.
Also check the facility for the "lost and found" bin. When my Husband was in rehab I can not tell you how many of his items I found in an empty room where all "lost" items went. In another place where he was for Respite an entire closet was filled with "abandoned" clothes. Some lost/found other from residents that had passed on or moved on.
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When my mother was in a rehab her clothes were regularly “lost”. I saw several of her bathrobes on other residents. I reported to the nurse and they were retrieved. She had other residents go in her room and take snacks, books, magazines, etc. She had a photo of my son’s family on her dresser. A nurse found it in another person’s room. I finally had her room changed to another hallway that had more bed bound residents. Great reduction in missing items.
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Bet the other residents and some staff are enjoying those new clothes. List the clothing in writing to the Manager. Suggest the facility pay you for them or find them.
You may find some magically return.
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I AM grateful it’s only clothes and have used markers and hand stitched my own labels as well as the laundry putting theirs in. I will be looking now in Goodwill for her clothing in the future. I’m very grateful her hearing aids haven’t turned up missing in 4 months. I consider THAT a Miracle and I honestly should not complain. And a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE yesterday!! My mother was accepted for Medicaid. I almost fainted. It took 4 months. She was Medicaid pending for 4 months. The utter relief was unbelievable. Missing clothes is aggravating but I can live with it if I must.
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This post has been helpful to me. At this point, I have been buying mom clothes at the local Goodwill. She was giving away clothes and I don’t know why! She said they were not coming back from the laundry but a friend of mine was there and mom gave her some clothes and said she didn’t wear them. She even gave her a pair of new shoes. My friend called me concerned. I had not considered them being in the lost n found.
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yes goodwill clothes, also place labels or mark name on outside of clothing s so that everyone can see when someone else is wearing her clothes. also if her clothes were all one color...like she only wears light blue will be noticeable.
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We had so many things hidden, taken, and lost that we now have a lock on moms closet door in memory care. I have a key and the staff has a key. It has helped quite a bit.

Other residents can walk into your moms room and pick up a sweater and walk away with it. Your mom can do the same. There is no way for the staff to keep track of everyone's clothes. I founds some pictures of a family that I don't know hidden in my moms room under a seat cushion. She probably picked them up in someones room and took them.

I had a wreath on moms door and it disappeared! I walked around and peaked in other residents rooms and there it was on someone's dresser.

Don't let her have anything of any value...not even name brand clothing. A locked closet really does help.
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Lots of good suggestions. Use a waterproof marker to label her clothes, makes it easier to locate them. Staff often too busy to really care about who is wearing whose clothes....and believe it is up to the laundry staff to put clothes away correctly...the care aides won't do a job that someone else is supposed to do....the idea of second hand items is good, as is making a detailed list and discussing with administrator. I bet things will be found once a particular person is assigned the job!
Be glad it is clothing and not dentures and eyeglasses that have gone walkabout!
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Honestly I think it’s just going to happen. One day my grandmother was wearing a turtleneck, pants, and sneakers - things I’ve never seen her wear in my whole life! We stopped bringing things, until we donated clothing there at the end. It wasn’t a battle we chose to fight.
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