Bed bug eradication for
garments, accessories and luggage
What are bed bugs?
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are flat, oval-shaped, nocturnal insects, smaller than a grain of rice and light to deep brown in color. After feeding on blood of humans or animals, a bed bug will swell up and turn red in color.
Young, newly hatched bed bugs (called nymphs) are about the size of a poppy seed. Bed bug eggs are translucent and barely visible.
Bed bugs are so small that the initial bites are virtually painless and unnoticeable. The bites become apparent only days later as red, itchy welts appear, similar to mosquito bites. In some cases, these welts can develop into small blisters.
Bed bug bites are often mistaken for flea bites, but bed bugs typically bite on the upper half of the body as they are drawn to the carbon dioxide in human breath. By contrast, fleas are more likely to bite on the lower body, with bites much smaller than the red welts left by bed bugs.
Bed bugs are back with a vengeance!
It seems that every few years, there's a spate of stories about bed bugs infesting hotels, short term accommodations, theaters and transit systems in major cities around the world.
Luckily, Phoenix, Arizona, does not rank on Orkin's 2023 List of the Top 50 Bed Bug Cities in the USA.
However, for many Arizonans who travel for business or pleasure and stay in hotels or other short term accommodations, attend theater performances or use public transportation (airlines, ships, subways, metros, ride shares, taxis, etc.) while away from home, the fear of bringing bed bugs into their homes is, often, in the back of their minds.
Although bed bugs are most often associated with bedding and mattresses, adult bed bugs, young bed bugs and bed bug eggs can infest garments and accessories such as handbags, purses, shoes and boots and then travel free on and in returning luggage (suitcases, duffle bags, totes, backpacks, and the like).
Typically, bed bugs tend to hide in the folds or pockets of garments, in the crevices and pouches of accessories, and in the crevices, pouches and seams of luggage.
You may have actually seen the bed bugs, suspect that you may have encountered bed bugs, or may have even been bitten by bed bugs.
So the question remains: When I return from an out-of-state trip, should I take my luggage into my house?
Unfortunately, taking bed bug infested items into your home upon your return from a trip – without proper pre-treatment and eradication – can be costly and time-consuming.
Bed bugs can live without human blood for months, so even if you are away for months on end, they can still start their colony in your bedroom once you get home.
Qualified pest control companies can treat a single room or your entire home with a combination of heat and chemicals after you've discovered a home infestation caused by bed bugs hitching a ride on or in your luggage. And because an entire room and possibly your entire house must be treated, that can be costly and time-consuming. Often involving thousands of dollars and multiple visits.
For do-it-yourselfers, the options are limited because many scientific studies have shown that bed bugs have developed resistance to most bed bug chemical insecticides available to the general public (Example: Zhu, Gujar, Gordon, et al, Bed bugs evolved unique adaptive strategy to resist pyrethoid insecticides, Science Reports, 2013).
Apart from the fact that bed bugs have developed resistance to most D-I-Y bed bug chemical insecticides, any attempt at D-I-Y bed bug elimination poses additional risks: In November 2023, it was reported that a British couple died from poisoning while on holiday at a luxury resort in Egypt after the room next to theirs was fumigated with a pesticide for a bed bug infestation.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we help travelers who are worried about bringing bed bugs into their home BEFORE they ever enter their homes with their luggage.
We can effectively and safely treat all your luggage and the contents of your luggage – such as your fine garments and accessories – so that you can confidently bring all these items into your home with peace of mind.
Call RAVE FabriCARE – before you get home – to receive instructions on how to protect your home from the unwanted impact of live bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
The conventional wisdom
The conventional wisdom for killing live bed bugs and bed bug eggs is as follows:
- For machine washable garments, the conventional wisdom says “wash in a home washer at a high temperature.”
- For machine washable and dry clean only garments, the conventional wisdom says “tumble in a home dryer at a high temperature.”
- For dry clean only garments, the conventional wisdom says “dry clean in perchorethylene solvent.”
- For accessories such as such as handbags, purses, shoes and boots, the conventional wisdom is awaiting the attention of some Helpful Heloise frantically looking for the next viral handbag or shoe hack they can post on their blog.
- For luggage such as suitcases, duffle bags, totes and backpacks, the conventional wisdom is currently being peer reviewed on some housekeeping blog promoted by another Helpful Heloise.
So what's the source of this conventional wisdom?
When it comes to fine garments, accessories and luggage, it turns out that the conventional wisdom about killing live bed bugs and bed bug eggs embedded in garments, accessories and luggage is nothing more than a collection of anecdotes, observations, superstitions, folklore and misunderstandings.
The important consideration when it comes to conventional wisdom is this:
Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.
This is particularly important when it comes to fine garments, accessories and luggage embedded or potentially embedded with bed bugs.
Debunking the conventional wisdom
Let's start by debunking the conventional wisdom.
1. The conventional wisdom tells you to wash your machine washable garments in a home washer at a high temperature.
In order to kill live bed bugs by washing, you need to wash your garments at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes (Naylor and Boase, Practical solutions for treating laundry infested with Cimex lectularius, Journal of Economic Entomology, 2010).
A number of other scientific studies have found that live bed bugs will die if exposed to:
- a constant temperature of 113 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes, or
- a constant temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
Bed bug eggs will die if exposed to a constant temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we specialize in:
- bespoke, made-to-measure, designer, high fashion, specialty, couture garments, and casual wear
- fine household textiles like bed and table linens, bedspreads, comforters, coverlets, drapes, and sofa and armchair slip covers and cushion covers, and
- fine accessories such as handbags and footwear.
If you have a significant investment in your fine garments, machine washing your investment-grade garments at a “high temperature” poses significant risks.
There are many risks associated with “washing” investment-grade garments in water, even if the care label says “machine washable.” And that's even before subjecting those garments to a high temperature wash.
These risks include:
- Setting of stains (particularly oil stains such as body oil, food oils, creams, lotions, etc.)
- Fading of colors (particularly in darker colors)
- Changes in dimensions (examples: stretching, shrinkage, misshaping, etc.)
- Changes in the feel or “hand” of the fabric (examples: matting of wools, stiffening of fabrics, softening/loss of “body” of fabrics, loss of pleating, etc.)
- Changes in the “look” of the fabric (examples: crocking of fabric dyes, loss of fabric “drape”, etc.)
Irrespective of the instructions provided by the manufacturer on the care label, a true quality cleaner must evaluate every garment based on a combination of fabric, color, trim, construction, stains and the like in order to determine the best way to restore your garments to as close to original condition as possible.
A true quality cleaner will use the care label as a guide only. That care label must then be evaluated in
the light of all factors (fabric, color, trim, construction, stains and the like). Finally, a true quality cleaner will determine the best process required to restore your garment to as close to original condition as possible by applying their technical skills and experience accumulated over many years.
Not withstanding the slight differences in various scientific studies as to the exact temperature and time required to kill live bed bugs and bed bug eggs, it's highly likely that the hot water in your home washer will NOT reach the minimum temperature required to kill bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
And that's because hot water heater manufacturers typically set the temperature on your hot water heater at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
Why 120 degrees?
Because temperatures over 120 degrees can cause scalding and/or severe burns in a matter of seconds. For example, water that reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit can cause third degree burns in 5 seconds.
There are other important issues relating to temperature:
- It's highly likely that the temperature in your water pipes (between your hot water heater and your home washer) is far less than the minimum temperature required to kill bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
- It’s highly likely that your home washer cannot constantly maintain the minimum temperature for the specified time required to kill bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
- It's highly likely that your home washer is not designed to run for 90 minutes if you choose to run your washer at the lowest prescribed temperature (113 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes).
- It's highly likely that some bed bugs will find pockets of cooler temperatures inside the garments in your home washer as bed bugs always look to escape heat (Ashbrook, Feder, et al, Pest Management Science, September 2021)
So much for the conventional wisdom that you can kill bed bugs and bed bug eggs in your home washer by “washing at a high temperature”.
2. The conventional wisdom tells you to tumble your machine washable and dry clean only garments in a home dryer at a high temperature.
Most modern home dryers have at least three general cycles: low heat for delicates, medium heat for permanent press and high heat for regular clothes. The temperature range is typically 125 to 135 Fahrenheit across these cycles.
The problem with the conventional wisdom is that, while home dryers can reach the “high temperatures” required to kill bed bugs and bed bug eggs, you probably don't want to tumble your investment-grade garments in a dryer for the 90 minutes required to kill all bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
Besides your garments, there many items that you'd never want to tumble in a home dryer for even a few minutes such as accessories (handbags, purses, shoes and boots). And there are some items that probably can't fit into a home dryer, let alone tumble in a home dryer such as luggage (suitcases, duffle bags, totes and backpacks).
3. The conventional wisdom tells you to “dry clean your dry clean only garments in perchorethylene solvent.”
The problem with the conventional wisdom is that perchloroethylene (aka perc), dry cleaning technology that traces it's history back to the 1940's, is a toxic, fabric aggressive, dye stripping solvent that should never be used to dry clean fine garments.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we'd never dry clean your fine garments in perc.
Instead, we dry clean all garments (other than shirt laundry) and all dry cleanable household textiles in siloxane.
Why siloxane?
Because siloxane is extremely gentle on the fine garments.
Fact is, siloxane is so gentle it's used as an ingredient in many personal care products you apply to your skin on a daily basis - products such as shampoos, antiperspirants, deodorants and moisturizing creams. Even lipsticks.
It’s so gentle you can wash your face and hands in it.
Warning: don’t try that with perc. That would be both medically dangerous and probably illegal.
There are many reasons not to dry clean your fine garments in perc, including:
- The care labels on many fine garments specifically warn against cleaning the garment in aggressive solvents such as perchloroethylene (aka perc)
- The ornamentation (beads, rhinestones, leather or suede trim, etc.) on many fine garments might get damaged by perc.
- The dyes on many fine garments will “bleed” when cleaned in perc.
4. The conventional wisdom tells you nothing about accessories such as handbags, purses, shoes and boots.
The Helpful Heloises on the internet – who opine on every possible cleaning and housekeeping hack – are noticeably absent on this topic.
But give them time. Someone will blog that they “sprayed their handbag with a mixture of 1 part ammonia, 1 part vinegar, 1 part rubbing alcohol and 1 part Febreze” and, voila, all the bed bugs on and/or in their NoBrand handbag died.
5. The conventional wisdom tells you nothing about luggage such as suitcases, duffle bags, totes and backpacks.
The Helpful Heloises on the internet – who opine on every possible cleaning and housekeeping hack – are noticeably absent on this topic.
But give them time. Someone will blog that they “aired out their duffle bag in the sun for two weeks” and, voila, all the bed bugs on and/or in their NoBrand duffle bag died.
The conventional wisdom is wrong
At RAVE FABRICARE, we specialize in bespoke, made-to-measure, designer, high fashion, specialty, couture garments, and casual wear as well as fine accessories such as handbags, purses, shoes and boots.
So we recognize that the conventional wisdom that involves (a) washing your machine washable garments in a home washer at high temperatures, (b) tumbling your machine washable or dry clean only garments in a home dryer at high temperatures, and/or (c) dry dry cleaning your dry clean only garments in perchloroethylene (aka perc) is not only wrong but potentially damaging to your fine garments.
There is a far better approach
As previously discussed, you need to wash your garments at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes (Naylor and Boase, Practical solutions for treating laundry infested with Cimex lectularius, Journal of Economic Entomology, 2010) in order to kill live bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
A number of other scientific studies have found that live bed bugs will die if exposed to:
- a constant temperature of 113 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes, or
- a constant temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes
Bed bug eggs will die if exposed to a constant temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we do NOT use “conventional” techniques – washing in a washer at high temperatures, tumbling in a dryer at high temperatures or dry cleaning in perchloroethylene (aka perc) – to kill bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
Quite frankly, our clients would literally kill us – before we killed any bed bugs – if we did.
Instead of resorting to these “conventional” techniques, we kill live bed bugs and bed bug eggs using a dry high heat process – BEFORE your fine garments ever see the inside of our wet cleaning machines (wet cleaning machines are not the same as home washers) and/or dry cleaning machines.
Our dry heat process kills live bed bugs and bed bug eggs ....with no tumbling in a machine of any type
Every living organism has a thermal death point based on temperature and time.
Louis Pasteur proved this in the 1860's when he discovered how to pasteurize food products using temperature and time. Pasteurization reduced the levels of contamination in food products, allowing for safe consumption and longer term storage. All without damaging the food product.
At RAVE FABRICARE, we use these very same principles of temperature and time to kill the live bed bugs and bed bug eggs. BEFORE the cleaning process ever takes place.
Dry heat is used to sterilize medical instruments
Dry heat has been used for decades by a variety of industries and in a variety of applications.
Take the sterilization of medical instruments, for example.
In the case of medical instruments, the goal of sterilization is to eliminate, remove or kill microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, spores, etc.
There are a number of methods used to sterilize medical instruments.
One such method is dry heat sterilization.
This process involves heating the instruments to a specific temperature for a specified period of time in order to denature (or deactivate) the proteins in these micro-organisms.
At RAVE FABRICARE, our approach to killing live bed bugs and bed bug eggs is based these same principles and is supported by the conclusions of several scientific studies.
Dry heat has been proven to be effective by scientific studies
The scientific literature relating to the eradication of bed bugs and bed bug using dry heat is extensive.
Here are some examples:
- Neven, Physiological response of insects to heat, Postharvest Biology and Technology, 2000
- Kells, Non-chemical control of bed bugs, American Entomologist, 2006
- Pereira, Koehler, et al, Lethal effects of heat and use of localized heat treatment for control of bed bug infestations, Journal of Economic Entomology, 2009
- Kells and Goblirsch, Temperature and time requirements for controlling bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) under commercial treatment conditions, Insects, 2011
- Kells, Non-chemical control, in Advances in the Biology and Management of Modern Bed Bugs, published by John Wiley and Sons, 2018
- Ashbrook, Scharf, et al, Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) exhibit limited ability to develop heat resistance, Plos One Journal, 2019
Based on the results of these and similar scientific studies, we installed a Nor-Lake Scientific laboratory-grade, three-door, constant temperature, dry high heat chamber.
The dry heat process involves:
- placing garments, accessories and luggage on grid shelves inside the Dry High Heat Chamber in such a way that there is no physical contact between any garments, accessories and luggage and in such a way that air can freely circulate around each item
- slowly increasing the ambient temperature of the air inside the Dry High Heat Chamber to the specified temperature
- holding that temperature (125 degrees) constant for a specified period of time (30 minutes)
- activating internal fans inside the chamber to move the heated air throughout the Dry High Heat Chamber to eliminate any possibility of cold spots
- monitoring the temperature inside the heat chamber at all times (the temperature in our Dry High Heat Chamber is controlled by sensors and is shown on an exterior digital temperature display)
- cooling down the air inside the Dry High Heat Chamber to it's original ambient temperature after that specified period of time has elapsed
With a capacity of 80 cubic feet, our Nor-Lake Scientific Dry High Heat Chamber can accommodate all the luggage of most returning families in a single cycle.
Dry, high heat has many advantages
Our dry heat process offers a number of distinct advantages:
- Heat is a highly effective and proven method
- Heat is non-chemical, non-toxic and non-residual
- Heat is green/environmentally friendly and cost effective
- Heat eliminates the need for hazardous pesticides
- Heat reduces odors and removes many volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Heat eliminates the risk to fine garments, accessories and luggage associated with “conventional” techniques
Dry high heat does not damage your garments, accessories or luggage
We're frequently asked whether our dry heat process will damage your garments, accessories and luggage.
The answer is no.
To kill the live bed bugs and bed bug eggs embedded on or in garments, accessories and luggage, we operate our Dry High Heat Chamber at 140 degree Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
That's just fractionally higher than your home dryer's high heat cycle for regular garments (135 degrees Fahrenheit).
And while your regular garments tumble at 135 degrees Fahrenheit in a home dryer, there is no tumbling in our Dry High Heat Chamber.
Pricing
At RAVE FabriCARE, we don't charge for our dry heat process bed bug killing process.
For over 35 years, our mission is to deliver extraordinary care for fine garments, household textiles and accessories.
When you drop off your bed bug infested garments, accessories and luggage, we'll kill the live bed bugs and bed bug eggs using the most effective and safest bed bug killing process available – dry heat.
There is no charge for this Bed Bug Killing service.
Then we'll clean and hand iron your garments, hand clean your accessories and hand clean your luggage. We do, however, charge regular rates for our cleaning service.
For example, if your luggage contains a few suits, sport coats/blazers, shirts, blouses, hand bags, shoes and the like, we'll charge you the same rates you would have paid if you had brought in those items to our fabricare facility in the regular course of maintaining your garments, accessories and luggage.
In the interests of full disclosure, please understand that we are not an ordinary cleaner.
Our pricing structure is quite different than than your regular, neighborhood cleaner.
If you are not familiar with our pricing structure, please click here.
Minimum service charge
There is a minimum charge for this service of $375.
This minimum service charge is designed to guarantee the economic viability of delivering this service.
In other words, if your order consists of a nylon gym bag containing 2 pair of cotton chinos, 4 polo shirts, some underwear and a pair of flip flops, that order will, in all probability, not equal or exceed the minimum charge and, therefore, the total charge for the service will be $375.
Returning home
We recommend that you use the following procedure if you suspect that you might have a beg bug infestation on return from a trip:
- Call RAVE FABRICARE before you get home to inform us of your suspicions.
- Do not take your luggage (suitcases, duffle bags, totes, backpacks, etc.) into your home.
- Remove any items from your luggage that do not require heat treatment and subsequent cleaning such as jewelry, watches, computer devices, communications devices, medical devices, etc.
Carefully examine those items for any evidence of bed bugs or bed bug eggs before you take them into your home. - Do not spend any time sorting your garments into any type of classification such as machine washable versus dry clean only garments.
Yes, we know. When you visit an ordinary dry cleaner, you often feel obligated to discuss the cleaning of each of your fine garments with the service representative and quiz them on how they're going to “process” them.
For over 35 years, RAVE FabriCARE has been caring for investment-grade garments and accessories. Our skilled fabricare associates and technicians know fine garments and accessories. You can trust us to make those decisions with confidence once the dry high heat treatment has been completed. - Place your suitcases in large, heavy duty garbage bags (double bag, if necessary) and tie up the open ends very securely.
- Call RAVE FABRICARE in advance of your departure from your home.
Upon your arrival at our facility, we'll direct you to a side entrance that opens directly into a room that houses our Nor-lake Scientific Dry High Heat Chamber.
If you so wish, you can inspect our Nor-Lake Scientific Dry High Heat Chamber and ask any questions related to it's operation.
At the entrance to this room, we'll load your luggage into specialized, stainless steel cabinets which are then sealed air tight. Your luggage will remain sealed in these cabinets until we are ready to load your luggage and their contents into the Dry High Heat Chamber and start the eradication process.
Why do we follow this time consuming procedure?
Because we want to ensure that there is no possible cross contamination between garments, accessories and luggage that could be infected with bed bugs or bed bug eggs and garments, accessories and luggage that we routinely clean for other clients.
All our clients need to be reassured that their possessions are protected against bed bugs and bed bug eggs at all times.
After we remove all your garments, accessories and luggage from our Dry High Heat Chamber, we'll email an inventory of your luggage and their contents to you.
In this regard, please recognize that our inventory count of the items dropped off, the descriptions of the items dropped off and our assessment/description of any pre-existing damage to the items dropped off, must be accepted as definitive.
Prior to accepting your luggage from you, we will require you to sign a statement to this effect.
We don't offer DIY advice
At RAVE FabriCARE, we often receive calls asking us whether products that might be available in the pest control section of their local hardware store can be used to eradicate bed bugs.
We regret that we cannot answer such questions. We have no knowledge of or any experience with these products or the application thereof.
We don't offer in-home service
RAVE FabriCARE is a garment, household textile and accessory care specialist.
We are not a pest control company.
If you have a bed bug infestation inside your home, please contact a pest control company specializing in the eradication of bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
We're often asked to recommend a reputable pest control company. Because we are not in the pest control business and don't understand the processes and protocols involved in pest control, we are unable to do so.
Summary
The choice is yours...
You can either take your chances either washing your fine garments in a washer at high temperatures, tumbling your fine garments in a dryer at high temperatures, or dry cleaning your fine garments in perchloroethylene (aka perc), or you can trust the scientific research.
At RAVE FABRICARE, we put our trust in the scientific research.
Instead of washing at high temperatures, tumbling at high temperatures or dry cleaning in perchloroethylene (aka perc), we use a Nor-Lake Scientific laboratory-grade, three-door, constant temperature, dry high heat chamber to kill live bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
Then we clean your fine garments, accessories and luggage using the most gentle of techniques.
We invite you to compare our bed bug eradication service to any similar service offered by any dry cleaning or pest control company in the USA.
When it comes to eradicating live bed bugs and bed bug eggs from garments, accessories and luggage, you'll find that this constant temperature, dry high heat/gentle cleaning service is only available at RAVE FabriCARE.
