Wash with Wally: Battling Bedbugs

By Wally Makowsky | Oct 28, 2010

I have a good drop-off business, but I am concerned about the recent bedbug epidemic we’ve all been hearing about. How do I handle suspect loads of laundry? Do I use bleach?

First of all, if you think there might be a problem, keep those bundles in question segregated from the other laundry.

The best way to handle the problem is to run the garments through an initial 20-minute dryer cycle set on high heat. After the drying cycle, wash the load using detergent and chlorine bleach, if the garments are white cotton items; use non-chlorine bleach or ammonia if the load includes colored items.

Bedbugs require moderate temperatures and a moist climate to survive, so the high heat and extraction of moisture in the dryer will kill them before you even begin washing the laundry.

Another effective method for handling this problem would be to purchase some water-soluble bags. Place the affected garments in the bags, seal them and run them through a normal wash cycle. Of course, use detergent and hot water, as well as either chlorine or non-chlorine bleach or ammonia.

Occasionally, I will find small rust stains on white garments I’m laundering. Although it’s not a major problem, what can I use on a small scale to get them out when they do appear?

On a small scale, there is a product available in most supermarkets called Rust Out, and it’s very effective for non-invasive rust spots.

Another product to try is Bar Keepers Friend, which you may already have at your store to clean the stainless steel on your washers. If so, mix a tablespoon of the product with two ounces of hot water. Next, wet the stained areas and apply the mixture to the rust spot; if the stain is relatively fresh, this procedure should definitely remove it.

I recently bought toploaders for my laundry, and I’m having a problem with the rinse cycles. The water levels are not high enough, and some of my customers are starting to complain. Can you give me some advice?

The best way to handle this situation is to call the manufacturer and ask whether the wash and rinse cycles are set for water pressure or time.

Most toploading washers are set on water pressure, and most water pressure diaphragms are adjustable. Therefore, the manufacturer should be able to tell you how to adjust the pressure switch to achieve the proper water level.

On the other hand, if the machines are on a time scale, perhaps your plumbing is insufficient to deliver the proper amount of water within the proper amount of time. Again, I would simply ask the manufacturer about the water pressure and the water flow required to achieve the proper rinse level.

Do you have any suggestions for cleaning the rubber on the washers? We are seeing dark spots on the rubber flaps that cover the soap dishes on the frontloaders, and the spots don't come off with regular cleaning. Also, the rubber rings that hold the glass on the frontload washers have dark stains. Is there something we can do to clean these? Is it too late? If we install new ones, is there something we should do to prevent these stains from returning?

When those spots on the rubber get really bad, it’s typically too late because the stains have already impregnated the rubber molecules. The only suggestion I can give you to help prevent this problem in the future is to make sure, when the machines are being cleaned, that you or your attendants thoroughly wipe the rubber rings around the washers with a damp cloth. The only way you can prevent similar stains is to keep those sediments from settling on the rubber to begin with.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any solutions or solvents on the market than can effectively remove the rubber stains you’ve described.

I have been using Neutrogena sunscreen with “helioplex.” However, my shirts now have a distinct rosy stain around the neckline and down the front. All efforts to remove the stain have proven futile. Do you have a suggestion for removing the stain?  

Sunscreen stains are basically oil stains. And, once oil stains impregnate a shirt’s molecules and change the color, it’s hard to bring the original color back. But there are a couple of methods to try.

If the shirts are white and cotton, try soaking them in a chlorine bleach solution (10 parts water to 1 part chlorine bleach) for two or three hours. Then run the shirts through a normal wash cycle. If the garments are colored, soak them in non-chlorine bleach and hot water overnight, and then wash the following day.

A second method you can try might work if the stains are still relatively fresh. Add a product called Laundry Wetspo, which is an oil-removing solvent, to your wash cycle. As long as the oily residue remains, it still can be washed off. However, once the oil attaches to the molecule, it becomes a real problem, and your only hope then is to bleach it out.