Washing bedding in hot water (at least 130°F) and running it through a high-heat dryer cycle is the most effective way to kill lice and their eggs on fabric. The good news: you only need to treat items used in the two days before starting head treatment, because lice die within about two days once they’re off a human head. This makes the job far more manageable than most people expect.
Why Bedding Treatment Is Simpler Than You Think
Head lice survive by feeding on blood from the scalp. Once they fall off, they can only survive about two days without a meal. Nits (lice eggs) need the warmth of a human scalp to develop, and they typically die within a week without it. This biology works in your favor: you don’t need to deep-clean your entire house or treat every piece of fabric you own. Focus on bedding and fabric items that touched the infested person’s head in the 48 hours before treatment began.
How to Wash Sheets, Pillowcases, and Blankets
Strip the bed completely: sheets, pillowcases, blankets, and any removable pillow or duvet covers. Wash everything in hot water set to at least 130°F. Most home water heaters are set to 120°F by default, so you may need to check yours or use the hottest setting your machine offers. After washing, dry on the highest heat setting your dryer allows. Research shows lice and eggs desiccate in as little as five minutes at temperatures between 122°F and 131°F, but running a full high-heat cycle gives you a comfortable margin of safety.
If your machine has a sanitize or extra-hot cycle, use it. Normal warm-wash cycles may not reach the temperatures needed to reliably kill nits.
Handling Pillows, Comforters, and Heavy Items
Thick items like pillows, comforters, and stuffed animals that were on the bed pose a challenge because they may not fit in your washer or may not heat through evenly. You have two options:
- Dryer only: If the item fits in your dryer, run it on high heat for at least 20 minutes. This is often enough for pillows and smaller comforters even without washing first.
- Seal in a plastic bag: For oversized items that won’t fit in any machine, place them in a sealed plastic bag and leave them for a minimum of 10 days. This ensures any adult lice starve and any nits die without the warmth of a scalp. Two weeks is an even safer window.
Dry cleaning also kills lice if you have items that require professional cleaning, though this is rarely necessary for everyday bedding.
What Not to Do
Do not spray your bedding, mattress, pillows, or bedroom with pesticide sprays, “lice bombs,” or flea foggers. These products do little or nothing to control lice and expose your family to unnecessary chemicals. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is blunt on this point: pesticide sprays are ineffective against lice, and spraying your home creates health risks without solving the problem.
If you’re worried about your mattress itself, simply vacuuming it thoroughly is sufficient. Lice that have fallen onto a mattress surface are already cut off from their food source and will die within 48 hours.
Brushes, Hair Accessories, and Headbands
Anything that touches hair should also be cleaned. Soak brushes, combs, hair ties, headbands, and clips in hot, soapy water (at least 130°F) for five to ten minutes. Again, do not spray these with pesticides.
How Often to Repeat
Most lice treatments involve a second application about 7 to 10 days after the first, targeting any newly hatched nymphs that survived the initial treatment. On each treatment day, wash the bedding again using the same hot water and high-heat drying method. Between treatments, there’s no need to wash bedding daily. A reasonable approach is to change pillowcases every couple of days during the treatment window and launder them on high heat.
After the second treatment, if no live lice are found, a final bedding wash wraps up the process. The sealed-bag items can come out after 10 to 14 days and be used normally.
A Quick Checklist
- Sheets and pillowcases: Hot wash (130°F minimum), high-heat dryer
- Blankets and washable comforters: Same hot wash and dry cycle
- Pillows and stuffed animals: High-heat dryer for 20+ minutes, or seal in a bag for 10 to 14 days
- Oversized comforters or duvets: Seal in a plastic bag for 10 to 14 days if they won’t fit in machines
- Mattress: Vacuum thoroughly, no sprays needed
- Hair tools and accessories: Soak in hot soapy water (130°F) for 5 to 10 minutes
- Repeat: Wash bedding again on the day of your second lice treatment
The entire process is less overwhelming than it seems at first. Lice are human parasites that need scalp contact to survive, so treating the person’s head is the real priority. Bedding treatment is a supporting step, and focusing on items from the last 48 hours keeps the workload manageable.