Does Washing Bedding and Clothing in High Heat Kill Bed Bugs?

Washing your linen in high temperatures is an effective method of killing bed bugs. Although this might not be the final solution to your bed bug problem, it will undoubtedly reduce the number of bed bugs in your home. Here are the steps to getting bed bugs out of your sheets and clothing:

1. Strip all of the sheets off of your bed and sort them with any clothes you want to wash.
2. Put items to be washed into plastic bags. Use the bags to transport everything to the washing machine.
3. Use a standard amount of your detergent of choice.
4. Wash your clothes and sheets at at least 140°F for 90 minutes or longer.
5. Quickly move washed clothes to the dryer and dry on high heat for 30 minutes or longer.

Cleaning Protocol for Bed Bugs in Santa Fe NM

Once you’ve found bed bugs in your home, one of your top priorities should be to wash your bedding, clothes, and any other infested items in hot water. Sort your clothes and place each pile into its own plastic bag. You should seal these bags and use them to transport clothes directly into the washing machine to avoid spreading bed bugs to other rooms.

Tip the plastic bag into the washing machine, then dispose of that bag by placing it directly into another and sealing it. Wash and dry all clothes and sheets at the highest heat that you can. After cleaning, fold your laundry and place them in new sealable bags to keep them safe from other bed bugs in the home.

Can Bed Bugs Survive Going Through the Washing Machine?

Bed bugs are not resistant to extreme temperatures. Washing your sheets and clothing at a high heat should eliminate any active bed bugs and bed bug eggs in the material. Make sure you’re careful when moving infested linens from room to room—bed bugs can easily spread if given an opening!

Does Washing Bed-Bug Infested Linens Always Work?

While washing and drying your infested materials in high temperatures does help to control bed bugs, it won’t account for bed bugs that live in other areas of your home besides your sheets and clothes. Controlling an infestation requires treatment of the whole home.