Dealing with an outbreak of head lice is a common problem, particularly amongst school-aged children. In addition to being inconvenient, it can also be very hard to know how to get rid of them. For this reason, we will show you 3 easy tips for effectively washing head lice infected laundry.
Step 1 - Sorting It All Out
One of the many challenges is that the lice nits or eggs can end up getting into the materials of anything your child handled. Things like children’s clothing, headwear, coats or tops. Therefore, it is important to gather up ALL of the laundry that may have been affected. This can include:
- Clothing and coats
- Any of their hair accessories such as their headbands and hats
- Towels they may have used to from washing their hair
- Bedding, couch cushions, pillows etc…
No doubt the kids like to lay on the couch. Therefore, if you have throw pillows, these are going to need washed. In addition, any stuffed toys or other item the child came in contact with should be laundered as well.
Step 2 - Washing Head Lice
In order to avoid contaminating other laundry, place all affected items into a sealed bag. We suggest that you head to your local laundromat for this task because they have hotter water than most home washers. Sort the items into their typical laundry categories. Try to use the hottest water setting your fabric will allow. Use a good quality laundry detergent and, if possible, set the dryer on high heat as well.
For items that can not be subjected to hot water, you may want to presoak them with a good quality laundry detergent or sanitizer prior to laundering them.
Step 3 - Washing Alternatives
Unfortunately, there may be some items that you simply can’t launder at all. Place these items into a plastic bag, seal the bag tightly, and set it aside for a week. Then, when you open the bag, you need to vacuum the items thoroughly to make sure that you have removed all the dead lice, as well as their eggs.
Remember, lice are not able to live in extremely cold temperatures. If it happens to be winter time, bag the item and place them outside for about four hours. This option may be effective at killing off the lice.
One of the problems with the adult lice is that they can live on their host for up to 30 days and away from their host for 10 days. During this time, they are busy laying their eggs. After the eggs have been laid, they hatch in 10 days and mature 10 days later, starting the cycle all over again. This is what makes getting rid of lice so difficult, and why it’s vital to act fast and be thorough
