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Lab Coat Rental Program

The Office of Laboratory and Field Safety, in cooperation with the Laboratory Safety Committee, offers a lab coat program for lab workers at CMU.  Cintas provides lab coats and laundering services. If you are a researcher at CMU and would like to enroll in the lab coat program, please email the Office of Lab & Field Safety at labfieldsafety@cmich.edu for more information.

How it works

  • Complete the Lab Coat Rental Form and email to labfieldsafety@cmich.edu.
  • Each user will be issued a set of three matching coats to ensure researchers always have a clean lab coat to wear. 
  • Lab coats are owned by Cintas and rented by the user. Users are responsible for returning all three lab coats prior to exiting the rental program.
  • Cintas picks up lab coats every Tuesday for laundering, returning the cleaned coat the following week.
  • Cintas monitors the number of washes and the conditions of the lab coats, replacing coats with new ones when prescribed. 
  • Subscriptions can be added, removed, or modified at any time. Notify OLFS for all status changes, including order cancellation. 
  • Read about the Cintas lab coat rental program
  • Be careful to keep track of all coats issued in your name. All coats must be returned to the vendor if no longer needed. Contact OLFS to terminate your order before leaving your research lab or CMU.

Lab coat types 

A variety of lab coat materials are available to suit diverse laboratory environments. See the program overview or contact OLFS to learn more about selecting the right lab coat. 

  • Standard white lab coats are available in an 80% polyester/20% cotton blend.
  • Liquid barrier coat - features a fluid-resistant polyester front, poly/cotton blend back, and knitted cuffs for aqueous-based liquid protection.
  • Flame Resistant (FR) Nomex brand coat - prevents clothing ignition during short-duration thermal incidents and emergency exposure to flame. See the Workrite Technical Brief below for more information.
  • Flame Resistant/Chemical Protectant (FR/CP) Nomex coat with Westex ShieldCXP  - Offers the same fire resistance as the FR coat, combined with a chemical splash resistant coating. The ShieldCXP coating is generally effective against aqueous chemicals and mixtures and polar organic solvents. The coating does not protect against non-polar organic solvents. Users should check the properties of their specific liquid hazard chemicals to ensure compatibility. See the Workrite Technical Brief for more information.

Pickup and drop off locations

Dow Science Building (Brooks Hall labs use this location):

  • Clean coat pickup location: Next to the second-floor Chemistry stockroom (Room 241)
  • Dirty coat drop-off location: Northwest corner of the first-floor hallway between rooms 150 and 151.

Biosciences Building: 

  • Clean coat pickup location: At your lab.
  • Dirty coat drop-off location: First floor in the southeast stairwell. Located near the loading dock and freight elevator. 

Health Professions Building:

  • Clean coat pickup location: First floor of the northeast wing, by the elevator and the loading dock.
  • Dirty coat drop-off location: Same as the clean pickup location.

Rowe Hall:

  • Clean coat pickup location: Second floor between Room 226 and 227.
  • Dirty coat drop-off location: Same as the clean pickup location. 

Important program information

  • Cintas lab coat rental program - Includes a brief description of the service provided by Cintas, the available lab coat types, and a flowchart to aid with coat selection.
  • Workrite FRCP Technical Brief- Product information for Flame Resistant (FR) and Flame Resistant/Chemical Protectant (FR/CP) lab coats. Includes technical information detailing the capabilities, limitations, and chemical compatibility of FR and FR/CP lab coats.
  • Flame Resistant Lab Coat Training - Required for individuals who wear flame resistant lab coats​.