Posts

housecleaning after head lice infestation

How to Get Rid of Lice in Your Home

/0 Comments/in , /by

The only thing more daunting than treating your family for a head lice infestation is the thought of sanitizing your entire home. Fortunately, the main way head lice is spread is from direct head-to-head contact and you aren’t very likely to catch it from household items. Still, you might want to clean some items in your home once your family has been successfully treated for lice.

The Life Span of Head Lice

Head lice can’t survive more than 24-48 hours when they aren’t on a human host. This is an important fact to keep in mind. It means you’ll only need to clean what an infested person has been in contact within the past couple days.

What to Clean During a Head Lice Infestation

Fortunately, you won’t need to clean every single item in your house. But there are some important items you’ll want to be sure to take care of. Here’s a list of what should be sanitized after a head lice infestation and the best way to do it.

1. Brushes, Combs and Hair Accessories. Round up any hair care items such as brushes, combs, barrettes, and headbands that have been used in the last 24-48 hours. Place them in a sealed plastic bag. Then place the bag in the freezer for 24 hours to kill any lice and eggs. Alternatively, you can place the items in hot water—at least 130 degrees—for about 10 minutes to eliminate lice.

2. You’ll want to clean any clothing that has been worn in the last 24-48 hours, including any clothes that were worn during treatment. Wash them in hot water and then put them in the dryer. The heat from the washer and dryer will effectively kill lice and nits. Throw any hats, scarves or accessories you’ve worn in the last 48 hours into the dryer for at least 30 minutes.

3. Stuffed Animals. Since your child’s favorite stuffed animals have likely come in contact with his or her head. The easiest way to do this is to place them in the hot dryer for at least 30 minutes. The dry air will dehydrate any lice that have been left behind.

4. It’s best to wash any bedding that has been slept on in the last 24-48 hours. Wash all pillowcases, sheets, and duvets in hot water. Finish them off by drying on the high heat setting until thoroughly dry.

5. Furniture, Carpets, and Household Items. For larger items and things that can’t be placed in the washer and dryer, vacuuming or bagging is best. Vacuum upholstered chairs and sofas that may have come in contact with head lice in the last two days. Vacuum floors and carpets thoroughly. Sealed for 48 hours, any large pillows and cushions can also be placed in garbage bags.

How to Treat a Head Lice Infestation

The first step to tackling a head lice infestation is finding an effective treatment for the family. For safe, nontoxic treatment that works, call the pros at Fresh Heads Lice Treatment Centers. Our technicians are expertly trained to remove head lice using our signature AirAllé treatment. Within locations at Jacksonville, Orlando, and Savannah. This revolutionary, FDA-cleared treatment uses heated air to dehydrate and kill head lice and their eggs. It’s quick, convenient and safe for the whole family. Schedule an appointment at one of our locations today.

head lice treatment checklist

5 Steps to Take When You Discover Head Lice

/in /by

Have you discovered a case of head lice in your home and you don’t know where to begin? Your first inclination may be to panic and go on a deep-cleaning frenzy! Try to keep calm. There are some fairly straightforward steps you can take towards an effective head lice treatment that lasts and keep your sanity while you’re at it.

1. Don’t panic. While they are most certainly a nuisance and can be a bit uncomfortable, head lice do not cause harm or carry any diseases.

2. Check everyone’s head in your household. Comb through each person’s hair carefully. If one person has head lice, chances are others in the family do too. And it’s much more sensible to treat everyone at the same time. Lice spread most commonly from head to head contact and by shared objects such as hats, brushes, pillows, and blankets.

3. Decide on a treatment plan. There are many options on the market. For quick and effective head lice treatment in Jacksonville or Orlando, you can contact a treatment center such as Fresh Heads. Aside from traditional comb-outs, they offer an FDA-approved heated air treatment called AirAllé and a line of non-toxic DIY products if you prefer to go it alone.

4. Do some housecleaning. It doesn’t take a monumental effort like you may have feared. Most importantly, you’ll want to clean all clothing and bedding that’s been used in the last 48-hours with hot water and throw it in the dryer at high heat. The same goes for any stuffed animals or other fabric items. Vacuuming sofas, mattresses, and carpets that have been recently used by those infested is also a good idea. Soak combs, brushes and other hair items in hot water overnight.

5. Notify friends and your child’s school. It might seem embarrassing, but don’t let it be. Head lice is an equal-opportunity pest and not a sign of uncleanliness. It’s important to notify others to reduce the chances of a re-infestation.

If you’re ready to schedule effective head lice treatment in Jacksonville for you and your family, call Fresh Heads Lice Treatment Center today. Their FDA approved AirAllé Head Lice Machine is a science-based, chemical-free, effective lice treatment that comes with a 45-day guarantee!

laundry machines for killing lice in your home

3 Steps to Killing Lice in Your Home

/in /by

In your quest to rid lice from your life, you’ve cleared the hurdle of ensuring everyone in your household’s hair is free and clear. Now you’re left wondering how to kill head lice in your home to avoid a re-infestation. The good news is that contrary to what you may have heard, you don’t have to go crazy deep-cleaning and boiling everything in sight. It may seem daunting at first, but killing lice in your home doesn’t have to require an enormous amount of time and energy.

The one comforting thing to realize is that head lice do not survive long when not on a human because they can no longer feed. That said, there are a few steps you can take around the house for killing lice in your home to reduce the chance of these annoying pests making a comeback.

  1. Machine wash and dry on high heat all clothing, bed linens, stuffed animals and other items that were used by the person infested with head lice within the 48 hours prior to their treatment. If it’s clothing or items that can’t be machine washed, you can opt to have them dry cleaned or you can seal them in a plastic bag and store for two weeks.
  1. Soak all hair care items like combs, brushes, barrettes, and clips in very hot water that is at least 130 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
  1. Thoroughly vacuum the floor and any furniture, such as mattresses and sofas, where the infested person sat or laid down on.

Since head lice can only survive one or two days off of the human body, the chances of a person becoming infested from a louse or nit that has fallen onto the floor or furniture are slim. It’s also great news that head lice will not survive on pets, so there’s no need to treat them. These basic housekeeping steps will help ensure that you kill head lice in your home, and give you peace of mind that you’ve done all you can to avoid a re-infestation.

If you’re dealing with head lice, call the experts. Fresh Heads is a science and research-based treatment center dedicated to helping you find the most effective treatment for lice!

housecleaning after head lice infestation

How to Clean Your House After a Lice Infestation

/0 Comments/in /by

Most parents who are dealing with a Head Lice Infestation are overly concerned about the house cleaning that they think they must do. At Fresh Heads Lice Removal of Jacksonville, we spend quite a bit of time educating our families, and most of the time, the families we help have done way more cleaning than they really needed to do. Here’s why:

Head Lice are a parasite, they require their host, and the host is the human head. If a louse comes off of a human head, it begins to die very quickly. In fact, after about 6 hours off of a human head, a louse will be so severely dehydrated that it would have a very difficult time crawling back onto a head, even if it had the chance. They cannot survive at all off of a head for more than 24-30 hours. Likewise, nits or lice eggs are glued to the hair shaft, typically about 1/8th of an inch from the scalp. The heat from the scalp incubates those eggs, and as soon as the baby louse hatches from the egg, it heads directly to the scalp where it belongs. If a hair that happened to have a nit glued to it fell out, that nit would quickly get cold and die. Lice are smart. They have been around for thousands of years, and they know where they belong. They are not crawling all over your house!

With that being said, the CDC estimates that of the 6-12 million cases of lice that occur in the U.S. each year, 98% of those cases are contracted via direct head-to-head contact. The remaining 2% could come from a contaminated environment, like a shared hat or hairbrush. To be extra cautious, you should follow these simple housecleaning tips:

–Wash All bed sheets and blankets in hot water
–Wash all clothes that have been worn in the last day or so, or that are lying on the floor
–Place stuffed animals, throw pillows and throw blankets in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes
–Vacuum all sofas, chairs, car seats, large pillows, carpets and area rugs
–Clean all of the hair out of your hairbrushes, place them in a ziplock baggie and freeze them overnight.
–Bag up all hair accessories for 24 hours

The truth is, when you are dealing with a head lice infestation, the hard part is on the head, not in your house. Fresh Heads Lice Removal in Jacksonville, FL is the exclusive provider of the revolutionary AirAlle head lice treatment, the lowest cost traditional comb-out anywhere in Florida, and amazing tools for the do-it-yourselfer. We are Jacksonville’s top choice for Head Lice Treatment!