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How can I adequately clean everything without ruining? And I left . . .
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anxiousandworried
newbite
Joined: Jul '12
Posts: 1offline
Posted 11 months ago
Thu Jul 5 2012 22:34:07
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I woke up one day in March covered in bug bites (or hives of some kind) and immediately found and killed a bug marching across my bed spread. I bagged it and called in a company, who immediately IDed it as a BB, but could not find additional proof of infestation. Post way through the discussions regarding treatment I realized the building had to handle it, so the managing agent brought in a canine inspection, which came up empty. The guy said for the amount of bites I had, if it were a BB infestation, the dig would have found SOMETHING.
Fast forward two weeks or so, I wake up and spot a bug in the real opposite my bed by the ceiling. While I wait for the next step, I find one crawling on me shortly after spending time in the bedroom/bathroom area of the apartment. At this point i suspect that a neighboring apartment is the source of the problem. I also had no bites. The canine inspection (over a week later) comes up empty. Again.
Fast forward to now - I have bites and have seen bugs, all in my entryway and living room. I am pretty convinced there is a problem, building is scheduling an inspection. Knowing how emotionally and mentally difficult the past two times were, I decide I can't live like this again, I have no idea when this will be taken care of and I hate putting my life on hold. Again. So I pack up clothes in giant Ziploc bags, bring the dog to get a thorough bath and go to my parent's house in the suburbs. Once here, I literally strip in the garage and bag my clothes immediately, bring my toiletries to the shower, where I time them in hot water just in case and take a shower. I even have my sister drop off my clean dog so the dog doesn't get back in my car, just in case.
Of course as I search for tips on cleaning clothes and shoes adequately without ruining everything, I see all the instructions about not leaving. Have I screwed myself here? I told the super, who has dealt with this before, that I was leaving. And how do hotels do it - if there are no guests does it also affect the extermination? I literally don't think I can go back without losing my mind. My therapist is good, but I'd prefer not to see her daily.
And my original questions - how have people successfully cleaned clothes that may not last in hot water and hot dryer? Regular wash and dry followed by 20 minutes in a hot dryer? What about hand wash only items? And shoes? Expensive shoes or flip flops even?
Also, do I need to worry about other stuff - purse, wallet, electronics, medication boxes orbottles, glasses case, money, watch with a leather band, individually wrapped feminine products, etc.
My super mentioned sticking things in the freezer overnight, sites that work? Clearly I am kind of neurotic without BB in the picture, so I apologize, and appreciate any wisdom.
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