Bed bugs hiding in your clothes and linens can quickly turn a minor problem into a full-scale infestation. Whether you’ve discovered bed bugs in your bedroom or you’re taking precautions after travel, knowing how to properly launder infested items can stop these pests from spreading throughout your home.
This guide explains exactly how washing and drying kill bed bugs at every life stage, what temperatures and methods work, and how to handle heavily infested items safely. You’ll learn the specific steps that eliminate these pests from your fabrics without expensive professional treatments.
Can You Kill Bed Bugs by Washing Clothes?
Washing clothes can kill bed bugs, but only when combined with high-heat drying. The washing process itself drowns some bugs and removes many from fabric, but bed bugs can survive the wash cycle alone. The dryer’s sustained high heat is what reliably kills bed bugs, their eggs, and nymphs when maintained at at least 120°F for 30 minutes or longer.
Why Heat Is Essential for Killing Bed Bugs
Bed bugs die when their body temperature reaches a lethal threshold. Research shows that temperatures of 118°F sustained for 20 minutes will kill all bed bug life stages, including eggs, which are the most heat-resistant.
Standard washing alone, even with hot water, doesn’t maintain a high enough temperature long enough to guarantee elimination. Most residential water heaters are set between 120°F and 140°F, and the water cools as it mixes and circulates during the wash cycle.
The dryer provides the consistent, prolonged heat exposure needed. A dryer set to high heat typically reaches between 130°F and 140°F and maintains that temperature throughout the cycle, ensuring bed bugs cannot survive.
The Complete Washing and Drying Process
Follow these steps carefully to eliminate bed bugs from washable fabrics without spreading them to other areas of your home.
Before You Wash
Sort infested laundry directly into sealed plastic bags at the location where you found the bed bugs. Do not carry loose clothing through your home, as bugs can drop off and establish new hiding spots.
Use heavy-duty trash bags or sealable plastic storage bags. Label bags clearly so you know which items have been treated and which still need attention.
Transport bagged items directly to your washing machine. If you must use a laundromat, keep items sealed until you’re ready to load the washer, and dispose of the bags immediately in an outdoor trash receptacle.
Washing Instructions
Empty bagged items directly into the washing machine without sorting or handling them more than necessary. Dispose of the plastic bag in a sealed outdoor trash can immediately.
Wash items on the hottest water setting the fabric can tolerate safely. Check care labels, but prioritize bed bug elimination over preserving delicate items when dealing with an active infestation.
Use your regular laundry detergent. Special soaps or additives are not necessary for killing bed bugs, though some people add a half-cup of white vinegar or rubbing alcohol to help dislodge bugs from fabric fibers.
Drying Is the Critical Step
Transfer washed items to the dryer immediately. Set the dryer to the highest heat setting and run it for at least 30 minutes, even if the clothes dry sooner.
For heavily infested items or thicker fabrics like comforters and heavy jeans, extend the drying time to 60 to 90 minutes. The goal is sustained heat penetration throughout every fold and layer.
Do not overload the dryer. Items need space to tumble freely so hot air circulates evenly around all surfaces.
After Drying
Remove items from the dryer and immediately place them in clean, sealed plastic bags or bins. Do not set treated items down in the area where you found bed bugs, as they could become re-infested.
Store treated clothing and linens in sealed containers until you’ve confirmed the bed bug problem is fully resolved. This prevents re-contamination and helps you isolate which items are safe.
What About Dry-Clean-Only Items?
Fabrics labeled dry-clean-only can still be heat-treated to kill bed bugs. Tell your dry cleaner about the bed bug issue so they can take appropriate precautions and use their commercial dryers, which reach higher sustained temperatures than home units.
Alternatively, you can place dry-clean-only items in a dryer on high heat without washing them first. The heat alone will kill bed bugs as long as you run the dryer for at least 30 minutes.
For extremely delicate fabrics that cannot withstand any heat, freezing is an option. Seal items in plastic bags and place them in a freezer set to 0°F or below for at least four days.
Temperature Guidelines That Work
Understanding the specific temperatures that kill bed bugs helps you use your washer and dryer effectively. Not all heat settings are equal when it comes to eliminating these pests.
Lethal Heat Thresholds
- 118°F for 20 minutes: Kills adult bed bugs and nymphs
- 118°F for 90 minutes: Kills bed bug eggs, which are more heat-resistant
- 140°F for 10 minutes: Kills all life stages quickly
Most home dryers on high heat easily exceed these temperatures. The challenge is ensuring the heat penetrates thick or layered items thoroughly.
Cold Treatment as an Alternative
Freezing kills bed bugs but requires colder temperatures and longer exposure than most people expect. The items must reach 0°F or lower and stay at that temperature for at least four consecutive days.
Simply placing items outside in winter or in a standard freezer set to typical settings will not work reliably. Many freezers cycle on and off, allowing temperatures to fluctuate, and bed bugs can survive brief cold exposure.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Washing and drying seem straightforward, but small errors can allow bed bugs to survive or spread. Watch out for these common missteps.
Not Using Enough Heat
Running the dryer on low or medium heat, or removing clothes as soon as they feel dry, doesn’t provide the sustained temperature needed. Always use high heat and extend the cycle beyond the point of dryness.
Overloading the Washer or Dryer
Cramming too many items into one load prevents hot air and water from reaching all surfaces. Wash and dry smaller loads to ensure thorough treatment.
Transporting Items Carelessly
Carrying infested clothing through your home in an open laundry basket can drop bed bugs along the way. Always use sealed bags and move items directly from the infestation site to the washing machine.
Returning Items to an Untreated Space
Placing clean, treated clothes back into a bedroom that still has bed bugs defeats the purpose. Store laundered items in sealed containers in a separate area until the infestation is fully eliminated.
What Washing and Drying Won’t Do
While laundering kills bed bugs in fabrics, it’s only one part of a complete treatment plan. Bed bugs also hide in mattress seams, bed frames, baseboards, electrical outlets, and furniture.
You cannot wash your mattress, box spring, or upholstered furniture. These items require vacuuming, steam treatment, encasements, or professional pest control.
Washing clothes will not prevent re-infestation if bed bugs remain in your home. Combine laundering with thorough vacuuming, steam cleaning, mattress encasements, and possibly professional treatment for a complete solution.
Handling Heavily Infested Items
If clothing or linens are severely infested with visible bugs, eggs, or fecal stains, you may need to decide whether to treat or discard them. Washing and drying will kill the bugs, but heavily soiled items may not come clean.
For items with sentimental or high monetary value, try the full wash-and-dry process first. For inexpensive or heavily damaged items, seal them in plastic bags and dispose of them in outdoor trash immediately.
Mark discarded bags clearly as infested to prevent others from taking items. Some people also cut or damage discarded items to make them unusable before disposal.
Using Laundromats Safely
If you don’t have a washer and dryer at home, you can still use heat treatment at a laundromat. Transport all items in sealed plastic bags and load them directly into the machines.
Dispose of transport bags in an outdoor trash can immediately. Do not leave bags sitting near the machines where bugs could escape.
Wipe down laundry carts and folding tables with disinfecting wipes before using them, and fold clean items directly into fresh bags. Avoid setting anything on the floor.
Protecting Your Washing Machine and Dryer
Bed bugs that fall off during the wash cycle typically drown or are flushed out with the drain water. Any survivors are killed in the dryer heat.
After washing infested loads, run an empty hot water cycle or wipe down the washer drum with a damp cloth. Bed bugs do not infest washing machines, but this removes any debris.
Clean the dryer lint trap thoroughly after treating infested items. Discard the lint in a sealed bag in an outdoor trash can.
How to Confirm Treatment Worked
After laundering, inspect items carefully under bright light before storing them. Look for live bugs, shed skins, or tiny dark fecal spots that indicate bugs survived.
Store treated items in clear plastic bins or bags so you can monitor them visually. If you see any signs of bed bugs after treatment, repeat the wash-and-dry process with extended drying time.
Keep treated items sealed and separate from untreated areas for at least two weeks. This isolation period helps confirm no bugs survived and prevents cross-contamination.
When to Call a Professional
Washing and drying handle fabrics effectively, but bed bug infestations often require professional treatment for non-washable items and hidden harborage areas. If you continue seeing bed bugs after laundering all fabric items, contact a licensed pest control professional.
Professionals use heat treatments, chemical applications, or a combination of methods to treat entire rooms or homes. They can also inspect for hidden infestations that you might miss.
Do not attempt to use pesticides labeled for outdoor use inside your home, and never apply bed bug sprays to mattresses or furniture without confirming the product is labeled for that specific use. Misuse of chemicals can create health hazards without eliminating the infestation.
Prevention After Treatment
Once you’ve eliminated bed bugs from your clothing and linens, take steps to prevent re-infestation. Inspect secondhand furniture carefully before bringing it home, and examine luggage and clothing after travel.
Use mattress and box spring encasements designed to trap and contain bed bugs. These covers prevent bugs from entering or escaping and make future inspections easier.
Reduce clutter in bedrooms, especially around and under beds. Bed bugs thrive in cluttered environments that offer many hiding spots and make detection difficult.
Washing and drying remain your most effective and affordable tools for eliminating bed bugs from fabrics. When you combine high-heat laundering with thorough home inspection and treatment of non-washable items, you can regain control of your space without relying solely on expensive professional services. Start by bagging and treating all clothing, bedding, and curtains from affected rooms, then work systematically through the rest of your home to ensure complete elimination.
For more helpful advice on keeping your home clean, comfortable, and pest-free, explore our other Home and Garden articles covering everything from routine maintenance to tackling tough household challenges.