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Cleaning Your Home

It is important to wash the clothing and bedding of the infested person at the time he or she is initially treated. Head lice will be killed if infested articles are washed in hot water (at least 140°F) and dried in a hot dryer. If an article can't be washed, have it dry cleaned. Another alternative that works well for headgear such as earphones and bike helmets is to place them in a plastic bag and put them in a freezer. If the freezer is 5°F or lower, all lice and eggs should be dead within 10 hours. Also clean other personal items such as stuffed animals, car seats—any object that might have come in contact with the infested person's head. Vacuuming carpets and upholstery will effectively remove hair containing nits in these areas. While it is important to clean objects that come in contact with the head, in general lice stay on the head. Therefore it is not necessary to go into a frenzy of house cleaning and it is especially not necessary to use any insecticide to spray rooms or objects. Time and effort are much better spent combing nits and lice from the hair.

13 years ago. Rating: 6
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