How Long To Dry Clothes To Kill Bed Bugs

Set the dryer to run for at least 30 minutes on the highest possible heat cycle that will not damage the fabric.

How long to dry clothes to kill bed bugs.

Some experts suggest maintaining the heat for at least 20 minutes while others recommend continuing high temperatures for an hour. Stick with this short and informative article to know its answer with some bed bugs prevention and elimination tips. Tip each bag into a washer or the dryer for dry clean only. Then dispose of both bags to avoid spreading any bed bugs.

In that amount of time bed bugs that are on your clothes will likely be killed. Wash and dry the. Once sorted load your clothing into the washing machine making sure not to do so in a rough manner so bed bugs don t fly off a piece or clothing and onto the floor and place it on the highest heat setting for at least an hour. Using the cool setting on a dryer for an extended time did not kill any bed bugs at all.

Dry your duds carefully and quickly switch your laundry from the washing machine to the dryer. A female bed bug can yield up to 200 250 eggs in her lifespan. At an optimal temperature of around 120 to 135 degrees fahrenheit a bed bug will take 2 minutes to die in a dry cloth. If your dryer reaches 120 degrees it can.

When each bag is emptied fold the bag opening into the center then wrap the rest of the bag around the opening. Transfer the clothes from the washing machine to the dryer. Bed bugs are tiny egg shaped insects that feast on the blood of humans and animals. This shows that it s the heat not the trauma of being tumbled that is killing the bugs.

A sustained temperature of 120 degrees fahrenheit will kill all stages of the bed bug s lifecycle. It should be noted that if possible heat should exceed 120 degrees for 30 minutes in an effort to remove bed bugs and their eggs from this clothing. Ideally the heat should exceed 120 degrees to kill both the bugs and the eggs. When items spent only 10 minutes in a dryer on high 25 of the bed bug nymphs and 15 of adult bed bugs survived.

Some machines however take longer to heat up than others. For dry clean only items set them in the dryer for 30 minutes on medium to high heat. A colony of bed bugs may take 5 to 10 minutes due to clouding that acts as an insulator. The heat of a clothes dryer is high enough to kill bedbugs in all stages of their life cycle.

To begin washing and drying set the temperature to the hottest temperature each category can safely tolerate. This temperature will kill the bugs.