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This sounds like a small thing until it isn’t.
Some scrubs swish with every step. If you’re sensitive to sound, that noise follows you around for twelve hours and it’s genuinely hard to tune out. And if you work nights, that same swish is what wakes a patient who finally got to sleep.
Here’s what makes noise, what doesn’t, and how to quiet down a set you already own.
Nylon is the loud one
If a pair of scrubs swishes, look at the tag for nylon.
That’s the fabric responsible for the sound, and the reference point most people know is the 1990s windbreaker — that slick, papery rustle with every movement. Nylon in scrubs does the same thing, just quieter.
Thin, crisp, tightly woven synthetics are the worst offenders. The fabric surfaces rub against each other and against themselves, and that friction is the noise.
What’s quiet
Knit fabrics. Anything with the feel of soft t-shirt material is the quietest option there is. Knits are stretchy and soft rather than crisp, so there’s no rustle when they move.
Worn-in scrubs. My Scrubstar sets are that smooth stretchy synthetic and they don’t make noise — but they’re old and have been washed a thousand times. That matters. New scrubs are stiffer and louder, and they soften with time.
Looser fit, oddly enough. Most of the noise comes from fabric rubbing against fabric, which mostly happens at the inner thighs. Baggier pants have less of that contact.
How to quiet down scrubs you already own
You don’t necessarily need new scrubs. A stiff, noisy set usually softens up:
Wash them with vinegar. Add about half a cup of white vinegar to the rinse. It strips out the detergent and manufacturing residue that makes new fabric stiff, and it noticeably softens things. This works best on brand new scrubs, which are the loudest ones.
Use fabric softener. Same idea, more conventional.
Wash them several times before you’re annoyed with them. A lot of the noise problem solves itself by the fifth or sixth wash.
PPE is louder than your scrubs
In dialysis I’m in PPE constantly, and this is where the real noise is.
The jackets are very noisy. Thicker PPE in general rustles with every movement, and there’s not much you can do about it.
Thin isolation gowns are much quieter. The lightweight yellow ones barely make a sound.
You usually don’t get to choose your PPE. But it’s worth knowing that if your day feels loud, the gown may be doing more of it than your scrubs.
Squeaky shoes, and the fix that actually works
Shoes squeaking on hospital floors is its own special misery, and it’s usually not the sole — it’s the insole rubbing against the inside of the shoe.
The fix: take the insoles out and put baby powder underneath them.
Someone told me this years ago and it genuinely worked. Pull the insole, dust a little powder into the bottom of the shoe, put it back. It removes the friction that causes the squeak.
Use a cornstarch-based powder rather than talc. Reapply when the squeak comes back, and if it keeps returning, the insole has probably worn down enough to need replacing.
The noise that isn’t your clothes
Once you start noticing this stuff, it’s everywhere:
Keys in your pockets. Rattling with every step. Keep them in your bag, or in a zip pocket where they can’t shift.
Badge reels and clips. A metal reel clicking against your badge all shift adds up. Silicone or fabric-backed reels are quieter.
Anything clipped to your scrubs. Scissors, penlights, keys on a carabiner — they all knock against each other. Pockets are quieter than clips.
The chairs at the desk. This one I can’t fix and it drives me up the wall. A loose chair that clatters every time someone sits down is the worst offender in the building, and it’s nobody’s job to deal with it.
What to buy if noise bothers you
- Knit fabric — the soft t-shirt feel. Quietest thing available.
- Check the tag for nylon. That’s your swish.
- Buy loose, not fitted.
- Wash new scrubs several times with vinegar or fabric softener before you decide they’re too loud.
- Baby powder under the insoles if your shoes squeak.
- A silicone badge reel and keys in your bag.
None of this is going to make a hospital quiet. But your own clothes shouldn’t be part of the problem, and that part you can actually fix.