Laundry help!

[Rocky Rose]

I recently made new quilts for my son and his children. They've been hosting some friends and just discovered that the friends have lice. How should they launder the quilts?

[LauraP]

Re: Laundry help!

really hot water but I don't know what else

[auntiemern]

Re: Laundry help!

Hot water and dry on hot...bag anything that can't be washed into lg trash bags, and do not open for 2 weeks. Anything that can be washed, do it in hot water and dry on high heat.

[grammaterry]

Re: Laundry help!

there are lice shampoos. You could put those in the washerwith the quilts.

[Hulamoon]

Re: Laundry help!

You don't have to wash them, just the dryer will work and then put them in the bags like Marilyn said. I feel for you. We went through that a few times.Yuck

I wanted to explain about using just the dryer. Water doesn't kill lice the medicine does. I don't know about your washer, but the water never gets to a boiling hot temperature. For us it was a waste of water and energy.Our energy. lol

[Simply Quilting]

Re: Laundry help!

Another option is to stick the quilts in a bag and put them in the freezer. I remember Mom doing this to items (like our electric blankets that could not go into the drier) when I was a little girl.

Also don't skimp on the RID spray use plenty. After using vacuum bags, immediately place them in a trash bag and get them out of the house.

[easyquilts]

Re: Laundry help!

I recently made new quilts for my son and his children. They've been hosting some friends and just discovered that the friends have lice. How should they launder the quilts?

Oh my! They will have to wash more than just the quults! Her water...something I NEVER use on my quults, but necessary here... Contact your local pharmacy for the best advice.... There are products that should help...

This is awful...

[JCY]

Re: Laundry help!

So sorry about the lice. I have relatives in another state who had a problem with bed bugs. Very embarrassing for them. They think a health care worker brought them in with her, maybe on her carry bag, which would have been set on the floor at every home she visited. (One of the relatives had to have home care for a while, by a nurse & physical therapist.) They went through the whole dryer routine, bagging up items, leaving their house during the treatment. Unfortunately, the bugs came back. Apparently they can survive up to a year. They have hired a different company this time & are hoping for better results. It's a very expensive treatment! Some of the hotels/motels in the Denver area had a problem with bed bugs in the past few yrs. Even our city library had a problem. (A lot of homeless people use the library, the computers, etc.) I think they finally had to discard some of the chairs & buy new ones. Hopefully your local pharmacist can advise you.

[Snip Snip]

Re: Laundry help!

Bed bugs are much worse to get rid of than head lice. Lice can't live for more than about 3 days without a host (head). Just packing up all the bedding and leaving it alone for a couple weeks is all you need to do. Even if an egg fell off an infected head, as soon as it hatches it needs to feed. And those eggs are stuck tight to the hair shaft of the host. That's what makes them so hard to get rid of.

[bakermom]

Re: Laundry help!

Yes our Dr told us the same about lice not being able to live long without a host. The problem is the eggs. All you have to do is miss one and it will hatch .starts the ordeal all over again. I ended up buying a robi-comb(?) that zapped the eggs. A bit pricey but well worth it. ended up giving it to my sister that taught preschool to give her peace of mind during outbreaks at school.

[Snip Snip]

Re: Laundry help!

My grand daughters some years battle head lice all winter long, but it is a combination of things that keep them a problem. If you actually have a lice infestation, you have them in your bedding and on the couch, the upholstery, coats and hats. If the parents don't treat the house, they will think the lice are gone, but lo and behold, in about a week the eggs hatch and they have lice again. Duh!
Don't let anybody convince you that head lice is a sign of dirty hair. Head lice love clean shiny hair.

[Snip Snip]

Re: Laundry help!

bakersmom, what's a robi-comb? Something other than the fine toothed comb you get with the lice shampoo kit?

[bakermom]

Re: Laundry help!

bakersmom, what's a robi-comb? Something other than the fine toothed comb you get with the lice shampoo kit?

Think of it as a bug-zapper for lice! It is a small comb with batteries that electrocute the eggs/lice when you comb thru hair. We had 1 lice incident when the kids were in school. 4 girls with long, thick hair, you couldn't believe how hard it was to go thru all that hair looking for eggs. I finally asked at the drug store and they recommended this. It was expensive for me at the time-20 years ago it was about $50-but I was at my wit's end. I see they are more reasonable now:

http://www.amazon.com/LiceGuard-RobiComb-Electronic-Lice-Comb/dp/B001V9V1XY

It zapped eggs I couldn't even see and we were finally rid of the buggers

[Deegles]

Re: Laundry help!

I recently made new quilts for my son and his children. They've been hosting some friends and just discovered that the friends have lice. How should they launder the quilts?

The good news is you live in HOT texas. Put them in a garbage bag and tote them around in a hot car/trunk for about 4 weeks of 100s. The life cycle of a louse is 30 days from conception to death. In the car it can get up to 150 which is enough to kill, not hurt the car or the quilts. Just in case any survive take them and wash them at the laundermat (I would not wash your quilts in hot as this may cause the fabric to bleed or turn parts of the quilt a different color). Run them through a good hot dryer for a very long time.