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Cold-wash-only clothing
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Half the clothes I own are delicate, which means I only wash them in cold water and then hang them to dry. How do I de-bedbug this stuff? It seems like putting it in the freezer isn't good enough, judging from some of the posts on here. Will dry cleaning do it? And even if it does, who the hell takes bras to the dry cleaner?
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TorontoBugged
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Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 147
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Sep 9 2007 12:48:51
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I washed and dried all my clothes in hot anyway. The tight fitting look is in :p
And I'm buying stuff oversized now if I know that it's cotton and will shrink. Dry cleaning is so expensive but if you do, you check to see what chemicals they're using. Some of them are suspected carcinogens.
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buggeroff
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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Sep 10 2007 9:05:17
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You don't want to wash delicates in hot water every day, but most will stand up to one or two hot washes, including the bras. You still can't put some stuff in the dryer because it melts, but the hot wash is worth something. Line drying outdoors might be helpful. Since you can't hot wash this stuff on a regular basis, consider washing once and bagging, say, 90% of your stuff for storage. Keep the other 10% out to wear. You may end up destroying 10% of your clothes, but, well, 10% is better than 100% and it's better than bedbugs.
If you have a car and it's still hot where you are, bagging delicates and baking them in the car might be helpful, though you wouldn't want to rely on that method unless there was no alternative.
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jstplntired
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Joined: Jul '07
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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Sep 10 2007 9:10:16
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I recently returned to working outside the home (yes, in the midst of our infestation) and had to tackle this issue bc of office wear.
What I came up with, which seems to have worked well thus far, was to wash and dry my delicates according to label instructions. Then I put them into a dryer and ran them on high for a cycle, 20-30 min, less if I was worried. They came out nice and hot, but no real damage. Sometimes I would run them through with a damp clean washcloth, to add some steam to the mix.
Hope this helps, good luck with your clothes.
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nightshirt
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Joined: Mar '07
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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Sep 10 2007 16:13:39
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maybe the answer is dry cleaning.
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bugwrassler
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Joined: Sep '07
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Posted 2 years ago
Mon Sep 10 2007 23:49:43
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My boyfriend and I have a $900 dry cleaning bill. It seemed like the only option for all of our sweaters, my nicer dresses, dress shirts, etc.
I have purged so much clothing, it feels good.
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we have a faq on this: if things can only be dry cleaned, then washing and drying is bad.
But in many cases, a hot dryer on a DRY item for 10 minutes is ok. Michael Potter killed bed bugs /eggs on a dry sock in 5 minutes on a hot dryer. He also recommends this for shoes and other items (but more than 5 minutes may be needed for thicker items.) We cannot make any guarantees, but frankly, many of us are concerned dry cleaning is not a great idea. If you're going to spend a fortune on dry cleaning, why not try drying a few dry items to see if they're ok, first?
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Would spraying delicate clothing with 91% alcohol cause damage to the clothing?
There are a number of substances that will kill bed bugs on contact that could be applied at room temp. I am speculating here, but I am wondering if adding Borax to a cold water wash would be sufficient to keep those hand washed items bug free.
I think we need to be careful when we discuss dry cleaning. Traditional dry cleaning uses perchloroethylene or "Perc" instead of water. Dry cleaning used to mean a wet cleaning method that does not use water.
Some newer "environmentally friendly dry cleaning" methods utilize water in the process to eliminate the health issues that are associated with exposure to Perc. These methods are essentially a mechanical method using a cold water delicate wash approach. I don't know if the "No Perc" methods will actually kill bed bugs.
I have read that some clothing that is marked dry clean only can actually be washed in water without damage. The dry clean only label doesn't always mean that water will damage the garment. Sometimes the issue is heat or mechanical agitation. Some items may be safe to treat with steam.
I look forward to hearing from people with more knowledge on this subject.
Doug Summers MS
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Blue_Ox
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Joined: May '07
Posts: 136
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Sep 11 2007 9:16:16
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A related question:
if someone who does not currently have bedbugs goes to a laundromat with cold-wash clothes and runs them through the washer on cold with the intention of not putting them in the dryer at all (line-drying), does that person run the risk of getting bedbugs from the washer in the laundromat?I don't currently have an infestation but I know there have recently been bedbugs (or still are bedbugs) in another unit in my building. I have to assume the person with bedbugs is using the same washers and dryers I'm using (there are only three washers and dryers in our laundry room).
I am doing everything I can to prevent an infestation.
thanks.
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TorontoBugged
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Joined: Aug '07
Posts: 147
Posted 2 years ago
Tue Sep 11 2007 11:20:25
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For what it's worth, we went to a laundromat to use the industrial type washers. Afterwards, we presented with bites 1 week - 2 weeks after the trip to the laundromat.
This came after about a year of being free of bed bugs and we are now dealing with infestation #2. Could be coincidence however because the bugs could have come back through the original source. Not sure. But I would think that any potentially exposed areas are suspect. When people take their laundry out, the BB could fall out on the laundry room floor or even the top of the washer. And if people sit in the room for an hour or so waiting for the laundry to be done, the bugs would I think come looking for a meal.
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I think laundromats are more "dangerous" in terms of picking up bed bugs on a folding table, or having one crawl on you on a chair.
Read the link above and click on to Michael Potter's article--he actually thinks cold washes are pretty likely to get rid of bed bugs. I think it's the eggs that are the issue warranting either a hot wash or cold wash AND hot dry.
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sssour
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Joined: Sep '07
Posts: 2
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Sep 12 2007 22:56:52
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Just wanted to say thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. Very helpful, and of course good to know I'm not alone.
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QIbHom
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Joined: Sep '07
Posts: 2
Posted 2 years ago
Sun Sep 16 2007 19:42:04
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Would adding salt to the water help? If it dissolved, it might dessicate the eggs.
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torontobedbugger
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Joined: Sep '07
Posts: 33
Posted 2 years ago
Wed Sep 26 2007 8:06:31
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hi guys,
see, that's the problem. in europe, "hot water" actually means "hot" - 90C. here, the temperature is around 40C and nothing really gets washed. i think that the lack of hot water in this continent is one of the reasons for spreading bed bugs and allergies and honestly, i am so much looking forward returning to europe.
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jstpintired,
FYI--steam is likely to help the bed bugs survive longer. I'd do a bit less time without the wet washcloth if I were you. :-)
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