Lice. Not fun. However, millions of people deal with head lice each year. Below, I share all my tips on how to clean your home after head lice… and my favorite product for treating lice.
Does your head itch just thinking about lice? I’m not one to shy away from “gross” topics, so today we’re discussing something that affects millions every year… head lice. When one of your kiddos tells you their head is itchy, your thoughts might mimic mine: “Please just be dry scalp, please just be dry scalp…” and when you see a little bug crawling around, you do your best to remain calm and not lose your lunch.
My Favorite Lice Treatment
Before we discuss how to clean your house after head lice, let’s talk about how to treat lice in the first place. Unfortunately, we have had the “pleasure” of not one, but two lice infestations in our house. The first time around I used Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser (Yes, it’s a thing… you can Google it), and while it worked, it requires multiple treatments, and it is messy. The second time around, I used Licefreee. Just spray it on the hair, allow it to thoroughly dry, and you’re done. No additional applications, and much less of a mess. Plus the active ingredient is sodium chloride (AKA salt). Now that we’ve discussed an effective treatment for lice, let’s look at how to clean after head lice… because no one wants it to return!
How to Clean Your Home After Head Lice
Here’s the good news. Lice does not live long off the scalp, so they are not infesting your home. The clean up is actually quite easy and straight forward.
How to Clean Bedding & Stuffed Animals After Lice
All you need to do is toss bedding into the dryer, on high heat, for 20 minutes. Lice cannot survive temperatures over 130°, so the heat from the dryer will kill any lice that may be on bedding. (While your cleaning the bedding, it might also be a good idea to clean the mattress.)
How to Clean Clothes & Towels After Head Lice
Any clothes sitting in the hamper can be washed when laundry day arrives. Make sure your child changes into clean clothes after the lice treatment, and does not re-wear any clothing that has been worn (without washing) in the past 48 hours. If it’s winter time when lice hits your home, toss coats and hats into the dryer, on high heat, for at least 20 minutes. Wash all towels, including those that were used during the lice treatment process.
How to Clean Combs & Brushes After Head Lice
There are a couple methods you can use to disinfect combs and brushes after having head lice. I chose to put them in boiling water for 10 minutes.
General Cleaning After Lice
Vacuum carpets and upholstered furniture to remove any lice that may have fallen off the hair. And that’s really all you need to do! Remember, lice doesn’t survive long once it is removed from the scalp.
Hoping you never need this post 🙂
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