Does Washing Clothes Kill Bed Bugs?

Issues surrounding bed bugs are becoming a hot topic in many parts of the world, most especially in North America, and these conversations are not just for the experts any longer. They’ve become an issue for everybody. It concerns us all. A lot of us may want to know what actually works and what doesn’t work as relating to eliminating bed bugs from our homes. True to character, we don’t just want what works; we want what works rapidly and stress-free too. Washing has been suggested as one way of getting rid of bed bugs, but does washing clothes kill bed bugs?

Practically speaking, these bugs aren’t going to latch onto that favorite shirt of yours you’re putting on and take up residence there. They’re more likely to be domiciled in those clothing items that you’ve neatly folded in your suitcases, those dirty clothes clustered away in one huge pile in the corner of the room, on cupboards carpets, picture frames and other secret hiding places.

Laundering our clothes will keep them looking neat and fresh, but it would also go a long way in removing some of the bugs from our clothing items. This method, unfortunately, is not effective in getting rid of our bug infestations. Meanwhile, it may help in reducing the bed bug’s population to a large extent, while you consider other treatment modalities.

Preparing To Wash Your Bed Bug-Infested Clothing Items

Start By Sorting Them Out: Inspect your wardrobe and suitcases properly. If you identify bed bugs or any sign of their presence in your clothes, sort these clothes out and place them in plastic bags, sealing them up tightly.

Transfer To A Washing Machine

Carefully remove your infested clothes and transfer to the washing machine, ensuring that no bug is allowed to escape during this process. Dispose of the plastic bags into clean, new bags. Then wash your items on the highest temperature allowed by the manufacturer. Contrary to information gaining grounds among homeowners, no detergent is best suited for killing bed bugs. Do well to use your everyday detergent, even when washing bug-infested clothes.

Transfer To The Dryer

This method should effectively kill any leftover bug from the washing process. While washing will kill some of the bed bugs, it is the heat that does the final job of killing any remaining bed bugs. Turn on the heat to exceed 120° Fahrenheit. This temperature range should be kept on for about 30 minutes. Heat, as you should know by now, effectively kills bed bugs and their eggs.

Store Your Clothing Items

It is advisable you properly treat your suitcase or wardrobe before bringing in your clean clothes into them. If those places are yet to be treated, place your clothing into a sealed plastic bag, pending when treatment is applied to those areas.

Many laundry companies offer laundry services for bed bug-infested clothing items. So, if you don’t own a washing machine or dryer, you can call up their services, and they will help you out. They will launder your clothes, dry it and ensure that all laundry is clean and bug-free before returning them back to you.

The above tips we’ve outlined for you don’t work only for clothing items. Apply them to your bedding, draperies, pillows, cushions, and rugs. Just make sure that the heat applied reaches all later of the items you’re laundering.

Finally, does washing clothes kill bed bugs? It is possible to eliminate bed bugs from your laundered clothes, but it takes heat to achieve this. Moreover, this process will only get rid of the bugs In your infested clothes only, and not the entire infestation per se. Do not get your hopes so high. Therefore, follow the laundry method with other treatment methods to get rid of the entire bug infestation.