KILLING BED BUGS WITH STEAM IRON HOW TO

Here are some of the main ways to rid your clothes of germs: So it is extremely important that our clothes get just as much effort put into cleaning them as we do the surfaces in our kitchen.

Unshrink your clothes – (Yes, there is an ironing technique that can help to bring shrunk-in-the-wash clothing items back to normal size!)Ĭlothing comes into contact with all sorts throughout the day, germs from bus seats, bacteria from brushing past doorways and even particles from sneezes and coughs….

A garment steamer (or similar handheld product) can definitely do a better, safer job than an iron when it comes to these soft furnishing items! These little blighters live in mattresses and pillows and feed on your dead skin… lovely eh!?īed bugs are vulnerable to heat, so ironing would kill them instantly, but it is hard for the iron heat to penetrate deeply enough into a mattress or pillow. Outside of the spectrum of germs are those little living beasties which can cause problems for many homes across the UK – bed bugs. If you’re looking for cleaning advice relating to coronavirus, see the UK government’s official COVID-19 cleaning advice here. Washing your clothes at a higher temperature is also recommended and using soap detergent will help to break down the fats surrounding virus particles. Ironing or steaming would be a good precaution to take when trying to eliminate viruses in the home as most viruses do die when exposed to conditions above 60☌. Steaming can be an amazing way of cleaning soft furnishings anyhow and if it can kill other viruses, COVID-19 could be one of these. Right now, professionals and scientists aren’t sure if ironing or steaming clothes will get rid of the coronavirus, but it definitely doesn’t hurt to try. With the current situation at the time of writing this article, COVID-19 has taken hold on the entire world and is getting everyone thinking about viruses, how they are spread and how they can be killed. So ironing and steaming is a good way to get rid of bacteria on clothes – just make sure to check clothing labels for instructions, you don’t want to singe your favourite dress!īacteria is actually what causes smells on your clothes, so ironing and steaming garments is a great way to rid clothes of unwanted odours! Ironing is said to kill over 99% of bacteria, as they are being exposed to a temperature exceeding that of 60☌ which is the temperature at which many germs will start to die. So what about bacteria and viruses on clothes? Making sure your clothes are clean and dry when you store them away is the best way to avoid fungal spores or mould growing on your laundry. When it comes to clothes, the top 3 would be the ones to think about – bacteria, viruses and even fungi (in the form of mould) can stay on clothing for a small amount of time unless killed. When we talk about germs we’re referring to microscopic organisms which fall into these four categories:Īlthough these are all given the umbrella term germs, they are quite different and so can be killed in varying ways. In fact, many germs will actually die at 100☌ which is the perfect temperature for steam to be created – steaming clothes is a great way to get rid of germs from your clothes and even bedding! But the term germs covers a lot of different things. Your regular household iron heats up to around 180☌-220☌ which is more than hot enough to kill most known germs!

KILLING BED BUGS WITH STEAM IRON HOW TO

You would think so, but let’s look a little deeper into the world of germs, bacteria and how to best get rid of them from your laundry! If you’ve ever had the misfortune of accidentally touching the bottom of an iron, you’ll know it is HOT! So is the iron hot enough to kill germs?

Killing bed bugs with steam iron