Standard laundry detergent does not kill bed bugs. Neither do most products marketed specifically as “bed bug detergent.” What actually kills bed bugs in the laundry is heat, and the dryer matters far more than whatever you put in the washing machine. Clothes exposed to temperatures at or above 122°F die within one minute at every life stage, including eggs. That’s a medium-high dryer setting for most machines.
Why Detergent Alone Won’t Work
Bed bugs can survive submersion in water and exposure to surfactants (the active cleaning agents in detergent). Rutgers University researchers found that most bed bug control products based on detergents or plant-derived materials are simply ineffective. Washing your clothes in soapy water, even hot soapy water, is not reliable on its own. The soap cleans your fabric, but it’s the sustained high temperature that does the killing.
This is an important distinction because many people assume that adding extra detergent, switching to a “stronger” brand, or buying a specialty bed bug laundry additive will solve the problem. Some commercial laundry additives claim 100% kill rates using plant-based enzymes, and a few cite independent lab testing. These products exist as an extra layer of assurance, but no university extension service lists them as a necessary step. Heat alone, applied correctly, achieves complete mortality.
The Temperatures That Actually Kill Bed Bugs
Bed bugs have a precise thermal death point, and it varies slightly by life stage. Adult bed bugs and nymphs die at 118°F. Eggs are tougher and require 122°F. At 122°F, death is essentially instant for all stages. Below that threshold, you need longer exposure: two minutes at 118°F kills adults, but eggs need a full 90 minutes at that same temperature. Drop to 113°F and adults take 90 minutes while eggs require eight hours.
The practical takeaway: aim for 125°F or higher to build in a safety margin. At that temperature, everything dies quickly and you don’t need to worry about whether every fold of fabric reached the exact threshold.
The Dryer Is Your Best Tool
A household dryer on medium-high or high typically exceeds 125°F, making it the most reliable bed bug killer in your laundry room. Run infested items for at least 30 minutes on the hottest setting the fabric can tolerate. The University of Minnesota Extension recommends this as a standalone approach: clothes dried at temperatures above 122°F for 20 minutes will kill all stages of bed bugs.
For items that are already dry (pillowcases, stuffed animals, throw blankets), you can skip the washer entirely and go straight to the dryer. This is actually preferable for delicate items that can handle heat but not aggressive washing. Thirty minutes on high is enough.
If you do wash first, use the hottest water setting your fabric allows. Hot water cycles on most machines reach 130°F or higher, which helps. But the wash cycle alone isn’t guaranteed to maintain lethal temperatures throughout, especially in energy-efficient machines that use less water. The dryer cycle is your insurance policy.
How to Handle Infested Laundry Safely
The biggest risk with bed bug laundry isn’t the wash itself. It’s spreading bugs between your bedroom and the laundry room (or laundromat). Bed bugs can crawl out of a laundry basket and colonize new areas in minutes. A careful bagging process prevents this.
Sort infested clothing and linens directly into sealed plastic bags at the source. Use trash bags tied tightly or large zip-seal bags. Carry them to the machine, open the bag right at the washer or dryer opening, and dump the contents in without shaking them out. Immediately discard the bag in an outdoor trash bin, since it may still have bugs or eggs clinging to it.
After drying, transfer clean items into fresh sealed bags before carrying them back to your room. Don’t put treated clothes back into drawers or closets that haven’t been inspected or treated, or you’ll reinfest clean laundry within days. Keep items sealed until your living space has been professionally treated or confirmed clear.
What About Dry-Clean-Only and Delicates
Items labeled dry-clean-only should be sealed in plastic bags and taken to a dry cleaner. Let them know the items may be infested so they can handle them appropriately and avoid spreading bugs to other customers’ clothing. This isn’t unusual for dry cleaners in urban areas.
For items that can’t be washed or dried on high heat, freezing is an alternative. Place them in sealed plastic bags and leave them in a household freezer for four days. This works for leather goods, certain shoes, and structured garments that would be damaged by heat. After treatment by any method, keep items in sealed bags until you’re confident the infestation is resolved.
What Your Laundry Routine Can and Can’t Do
Laundering kills bed bugs on fabric items. It does not solve an infestation. Bed bugs live in mattress seams, behind baseboards, inside furniture joints, and in wall crevices. Washing every piece of clothing and bedding in your home eliminates the bugs hitching a ride on those items, but the colony in your bed frame will keep producing new ones.
Think of laundry as one part of a larger treatment plan. It’s critical for clearing soft goods and preventing reinfestation of clean items, but it works alongside mattress encasements, targeted treatments, and thorough inspection. The good news: you don’t need any special detergent to do it right. Your regular detergent, the hottest water setting, and 30 minutes in a hot dryer will handle everything on the laundry side.