Bed bugs, although they are often found mostly in and around the bed, are also found on both bed linen and any clothing that has been on or near a bed infested with bed bugs. One method to kill bed bugs that have infested linen and clothing is to wash and dry them.
It must be stressed that a standard warm wash will not kill bed bugs, or damage their eggs, and so more extreme conditions must be applied to the items in question. Firstly, the items must be washed on the hottest setting possible. For most US domestic washing machines this is likely to be 120°F, in Europe domestic washing machines traditionally also have much higher temperature settings of up to 200°F and so may be more effective.
Once the clothes and linen have been washed, then they must be dried in a tumble drier on the hottest temperature setting. To get the most out of this stage of the process, the clothing and linen must be in the drier for at least 30 minutes. It is also advisable not to fill the drier to the normal capacity so that the hot air has maximum penetration, especially into any seams present. In this way it is possible to carry out bed bug control, especially if the infestation is not a serious one.
It should be noted that this method does have its limitations as a ways to get rid of bed bugs. It only addresses the items that are placed on the bed, and does not remove any remaining bed bugs from the bed and surrounding areas, such as the carpet. Therefore, for this method to be effective for eradication, then it must be combined with at least one additional technique, such as vacuuming or steaming the affected areas.
It must be stressed that a standard warm wash will not kill bed bugs, or damage their eggs, and so more extreme conditions must be applied to the items in question. Firstly, the items must be washed on the hottest setting possible. For most US domestic washing machines this is likely to be 120°F, in Europe domestic washing machines traditionally also have much higher temperature settings of up to 200°F and so may be more effective.
Once the clothes and linen have been washed, then they must be dried in a tumble drier on the hottest temperature setting. To get the most out of this stage of the process, the clothing and linen must be in the drier for at least 30 minutes. It is also advisable not to fill the drier to the normal capacity so that the hot air has maximum penetration, especially into any seams present. In this way it is possible to carry out bed bug control, especially if the infestation is not a serious one.
It should be noted that this method does have its limitations as a ways to get rid of bed bugs. It only addresses the items that are placed on the bed, and does not remove any remaining bed bugs from the bed and surrounding areas, such as the carpet. Therefore, for this method to be effective for eradication, then it must be combined with at least one additional technique, such as vacuuming or steaming the affected areas.
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