anyone actually tried putting books/papers in the dryer?

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anyone actually tried putting books/papers in the dryer?

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durham-nc

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Dec 2 2009 22:19:27
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someone told me that you can put books in the drier to kill the bb's, but i've read several cautions against it on the board.

but has anyone actually tried it? (i'm not recommending it, just asking.)

i'm a grad student and i have lots and lots of books, many from the school library. my freezer won't hold very many at all. i also have a ton of papers i can't throw out.

i was thinking of putting papers in one of those mesh bags for delicates and running them through as well, rather than carefully inspecting every crease.

has anyone tried this? did your stuff combust?
durham-nc

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Dec 2 2009 22:28:20
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ok, wikipedia gives the autoignition temperature of paper as 218–246 °C (424–475 °F) -- i guess the book wasn't called farenheit 451 for nothing! the citation is from the journal of australian firefighters.

"Factors which may cause variation include partial pressure of oxygen, altitude, humidity, and amount of time required for ignition." -- I guess that last point is relevant here...
hathead

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Posted 3 years ago
Wed Dec 2 2009 22:37:12
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yep
i did that
put my big algebra notebook in a mesh bag
spun it in the dryer for 40 minutes
it worked just fine
a little hard on the notebook though
you know - kinda rough tumbling around like that

but i have no idea what your dryer's temp might reach
probably it reaches higher than a packtite will
anyway, i'm a librarian
and books have glue in them and probably won't like the process too much

i suggest you buy a packtite and put the books in there
a little more control on the temp and less tumbling about
buggyinsocal

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 11:27:49
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Some people (before the Packtite) talked about getting those shelves that some dryers come with that allow you to put items in the dryer and expose them to heat without also subjecting the items to being tumbled around in the dryer. But they were talking about items like shoes and purses.

In addition, if like me, you must rely on laundromats, that won't work because you can only get shelves for dryers that you own and that have them.

I think for me the bigger question is why you'd try to use a dryer when the Packtite exists?

In the days before Packtite, books and papers were a major hassle. (I know; I'm a lecturer at the local university, and I have stacks and stacks of books and paper that I have to hold onto for years if they are related to classes I taught.)

Packtite allows you to relatively easily treat books and papers in a way that dramatically reduces the risk of fire and that will assure that your books and papers come out unscathed. Compared to the options before, the Packtite is the best plan for treating those items. Putting them in the dryer sounds like a really risky plan--1. the weight is not what a dryer is meant to take and may damage the dryer 2. the papers for sure would get pretty mangled in the process 3. the dryer may get too hot, damaging books in a way that the Packtite won't 4. the temp will be much harder to measure in the dryer.

For all those reasons, although the Packtite represents an upfront investment in cash, I know for sure that I would have spent much more on dry cleaning alone than buying a Packtite. Since dry cleaning only debugs my belongings once, and the Packtite does that over and over again, I would absolutely buy a Packtite instead of dry cleaning all my dry cleanables and/or trying to invent a Rube Goldbergesque dryer treatment for books and papers.
Louise

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 12:38:29
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buggyinsocal - 1 hour ago »

I think for me the bigger question is why you'd try to use a dryer when the Packtite exists?

Sigh.

Because even though it exists, it isn't available in Canada.

I have a shoe rack for the dryer, and so I have used the dryer (with rack) for shoes and various other items - and even for the occasional book (with a great deal of hesitation) - but I agree that the fire risk is not insignificant (I would never heat books or papers in the dryer without using the shoe rack) and without a thermometer, it's impossible to know if the items being heated are getting hot enough.

If the Packtite were an option in this country, I'd buy one in a second.

Louise
Nobugsonme

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 15:59:08
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Hi Louise,

David James from Packtite is working on making Canada availability possible.
kitep

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 16:29:36
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Like you said, you need to get up to 451 F to ignite paper. I guess it could happen, but I really don't see it. More likely, you'd damage the papers/books by all the banging around.

I've never even heard of the mesh bags mentioned, so they may work for you. Personally, I've thought of using the oven, where you can get the temp w/o the banging around, and even started a thread on it. Of course, you'd have to use caution (and I of course take no responsibility for anything that happens if you try it).

Good luck!
buggyinsocal

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 16:48:40
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Sigh.

Because even though it exists, it isn't available in Canada.

That's true for you, but the original poster's name suggests that he or she is in Durham, NC, which last time I checked wasn't in Canada.
Louise

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 18:54:23
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Nobugsonme - 2 hours ago »
Hi Louise,
David James from Packtite is working on making Canada availability possible.

Now THAT is exciting news! Thank you!

I'll keep my fingers crossed and my ears open to any further developments...

Louise
Louise

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 18:59:35
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buggyinsocal - 2 hours ago »

Sigh.
Because even though it exists, it isn't available in Canada.

That's true for you, but the original poster's name suggests that he or she is in Durham, NC, which last time I checked wasn't in Canada.

(*blush*)

Sorry.

I'm a little obsessed with the idea of owning a Packtite, and sometimes I just can't help blurting out what's on my mind...

Louise
durham-nc

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 19:30:53
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thanks, all! i'm not completely ready to invest in a packtite, because i haven't found any bugs yet -- just lots and lots of bites and paranoia -- and i don't know where in my apartment, if anywhere, the Bbs are. but i still want to start treating and bagging stuff before the possible infestation spreads.

i experimented with a paperback book and some papers in a preheated drier (no rack, no mesh bag -- which, by the way kitep, are meant for lingerie and can be found in the laundry bag section of target-like stores). the book was beat up but intact; some magazines fell apart completely, and loose paper seemed fine. i'm more concerned about hardbacks or plastinated paper in art books, that kind of thing -- anything melty could be a concern for the oven as well.
buggyinsocal

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 19:31:53
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Louise,

No worries. I know that it can be frustrating--regardless of where people live--when a tool or treatment that you want to use isn't available.

Vikane isn't available in Canada. Packtite is sort of available if you work around the whole not accessible thing. But as frustrating as that is, it's not just a problem with Canada. Plenty of people would like to use thermal but don't have access to it.

I would love to see many more countries approve useful products and techniques. I would love to see many more good PCOs with expertise offering a variety of treatments.

And I try very hard not to suggest to people tools that aren't available where they are.

However, I was pretty sure that with a username like that, I'd be okay suggesting a Packtite to the person in question.
Emmm

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Posted 3 years ago
Thu Dec 3 2009 21:36:45
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I imagine some people might not have the money for a packtite, especially with all the other money that goes into fighting the bugs. I understand packtites are a very excellent and simple-seeming solution, but especially in a recession the response of "just get a packtite" seems kinda flippant. The gentle reminder is nothing ill-willed, but, you know, bed bug sufferers are already fairly frustrated to begin with.

Nobugsonme - 5 hours ago »
Hi Louise,
David James from Packtite is working on making Canada availability possible.

He's been working on it awhile. I wouldn't hold my breath anytime soon. I have no idea if I'm aiming my rudeness at him or our government standards holding it up, though I'd bet on the latter. A manager at Orkin says they've been working on getting more products in the country and I don't think they've gotten very far. Considering they're a larger corporation with more resources, I hold out little hope for bed bug products to change up here.
Louise

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Posted 3 years ago
Fri Dec 4 2009 14:56:54
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Emmm - 17 hours ago »

He's been working on it awhile. I wouldn't hold my breath anytime soon. I have no idea if I'm aiming my rudeness at him or our government standards holding it up, though I'd bet on the latter. A manager at Orkin says they've been working on getting more products in the country and I don't think they've gotten very far. Considering they're a larger corporation with more resources, I hold out little hope for bed bug products to change up here.

Oh.

Rats.

Well, that bursts my bubble of hopefulness.

Sigh.

I think I'll go write a letter to my member of parliament now...

Louise
delorac

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Posted 3 years ago
Fri Dec 4 2009 18:19:13
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Louise - 3 hours ago »

Emmm - 17 hours ago »
He's been working on it awhile. I wouldn't hold my breath anytime soon. I have no idea if I'm aiming my rudeness at him or our government standards holding it up, though I'd bet on the latter. A manager at Orkin says they've been working on getting more products in the country and I don't think they've gotten very far. Considering they're a larger corporation with more resources, I hold out little hope for bed bug products to change up here.

Oh.
Rats.
Well, that bursts my bubble of hopefulness.
Sigh.
I think I'll go write a letter to my member of parliament now...
Louise

Just curious - I keep seeing comments about the Packtite not being available in Canada. Why is that? Are there actually laws keeping it out? If so, what is the government's reasoning behind the ban? (Not that there has to be a logical, sensible reason, of course....)

If not, could a friend or relative in the US buy one and mail it to their friend/family in Canada?

It's such a wonderful product that it's just sad that it's not available to whoever needs it, wherever they are.
buggyinsocal

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Posted 3 years ago
Fri Dec 4 2009 18:34:40
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Here's the thing. I know that a Packtite is a pretty big investment up front.

But taking three items to my local dry cleaners results in a $30 bill. I have way more than 10 dry cleanable items in my house.

If I had to debug all my dry cleanable items, the Packtite seems to be (where available) a positively wallet conscious solution when compared with having to dry clean everything dry cleanable.

It has the added bonus of working multiple times (as opposed to dry cleaning) and working on items that can't be dry cleaned or that cost substantially more to be dry cleaned (like leather shoes or jackets or purses or bags.)

If the options are, as the OP suggested, buying a rack for a dryer (which presumes the person in question has a dryer in his or her home that would accommodate a rack--which often people who live in apartments do not) and trying to heat books and papers that way--esp. if the person is a grad student with the sheer volume of books and papers that come with that gig vs. buying a Packtite which would allow the person to heat treat all those other items as well, I still think it's the more effective solution and the one that--if you look at the whole picture--is the most cost effective solution.

Now maybe dry cleaning prices here are higher than elsewhere, and maybe my local laundromat charges more, but since I only get 7 minutes per quarter in the dryers at my local laundromat, and since a three or four item batch at my dry cleaner can run $30, when I do the math, it doesn't seem flippant to suggest a Packtite; it seems like the most cost effective strategy when put in context.

Add in that it's safer and less likely to destroy the books--which depending on the field can be $200 bucks each and would need to be replaced if damaged--and it seems to me that the Packtite looks like an even better bargain.

Again--I don't have a Packtite. I don't make any money from suggesting people get them. I get that $300 is a lot to shell out at once. But when I do the math for the whole scenario, it seems like the most effective and most pound wise option.