In the past few years increasing attention has been paid to the problems of cleansing and sterilising hospital blankets which have come to be considered as actual or potential sources of cross infection, and in consequence many hospitals have decided to launder blankets more frequently than was the case in the past. The principal object of the report is to collate and classify some of the information that is already available in such a way as to stimulate further criticism and investigation, and it is hoped that the presentation of the report in this way will be of use to hospitals and others interested in these problems.