How to Wash Permethrin Treated Clothing

Caring for your permethrin-treated clothing might be easier than you think. With just a few simple steps, you can keep your gear clean while ensuring it retains its protective properties. Clothing treated with permethrin offers long-lasting insect protection for both adults and children, making it an essential part of any outdoor wardrobe. Whether you're gearing up for an adventure or just freshening up your clothing, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about washing permethrin-treated garments.

Key Takeaways

Normal home laundering is recommended
Do not dry clean
Avoid the use of fabric softeners
Safe to machine dry or air dry in the shade
Permethrin-treated clothing can be ironed

Understanding Permethrin and Its Uses

Before you learn how to wash clothes with permethrin, it’s helpful to learn more about this compound. What is permethrin, and how was it discovered?

Decades ago, researchers noticed that the chrysanthemum plant worked as a natural insect repellent. Unfortunately, not all regions are hospitable to this plant, and its natural effects don’t last for long.

Using the chrysanthemum as a reference, scientists developed a synthetic chemical compound that shares the same properties that the plant uses to defend against insect attacks. The name of this synthetic compound is permethrin, and it’s more effective and longer-lasting than the plant’s natural defenses.

Permethrin repels everything from mosquitoes and ticks to ants, flies, chiggers, and midges. Since many of these pests can spread diseases to humans, this synthetic insecticide offers valuable protection. Clothing and gear treated with permethrin can reduce the risk of bug bites, including insects that may carry illnesses such as Zika virus, Lyme disease, malaria, dengue fever, and West Nile virus.

Insect Shield permethrin-treated clothing and gear delivers long-lasting protection against pests. That’s because the synthetic compound is tightly bonded to fabric fibers.

Even after multiple washings, treated clothes maintain their repellent properties.

Washing Permethrin-Treated Clothing

Since permethrin bonds with clothing fibers, it won’t wash away in hot or cold water. This means washing permethrin-treated clothing doesn’t require anything special. You can clean it in your home washing machine without losing its insect-repelling benefits. However, avoid using fabric softeners when washing your treated clothing.

When researching how to wash permethrin-treated clothing, you’ll find that most guides advise against dry cleaning. That’s because dry cleaning involves the use of chemicals that may adversely interact with permethrin. If these are applied, the apparel will lose its insect-repelling traits and the items won’t give you the protection you expect.

Drying Permethrin-Treated Clothing

After washing your permethrin-treated clothing, you can toss it in your home dryer and dry it as usual—no special care needed. If you prefer to air dry, hanging your clothes in a shaded spot is a good idea. While drying in the sun works too, just keep in mind that direct sunlight over time can gradually break down the permethrin, so a little shade helps keep its insect-repelling power strong.

Ironing Permethrin-Treated Clothing

Ironing permethrin-treated clothing is both safe and straightforward. The active ingredient, permethrin, can handle the hottest settings on most irons, around 400°F on the cotton setting. Just select the appropriate setting for your fabric and iron as usual. The only thing to watch out for is leaving the iron in one spot for too long, which could damage the fabric and the permethrin's insect-repelling qualities.

Frequency of Washing

You can wash Insect Shield clothing and gear as often as you need. The repellency lasts the expected lifetime of the item.

Additionally, even when you don’t wear your insect-repellent clothing, the items keep their effectiveness in repelling insects. After 10 years in storage, the apparel has been shown to retain the full strength of the permethrin’s effects.

Safety Considerations

Is permethrin-treated clothing safe? In fact, the insect-repelling apparel from Insect Shield has received the EPA’s highest safety rating: Category IV.

Products in this category have been determined “most favorable” by the EPA. This means that your family can benefit from pest-repellent clothing without worrying about harmful side effects.

Permethrin-treated apparel is suitable for people with allergies as well. After extensive testing, researchers at Hohenstein Laboratories found no potential for allergic reactions. Skin sensitivity testing resulted in a “hypoallergenic” qualification for insect-repellent clothing that uses permethrin.

Advantages of Using Insect Shield Products

Now that you know how to wash permethrin-treated clothes, you’re prepared to provide full protection for yourself and your loved ones.

Insect Shield offers permethrin-treated clothing for men, women, boys, and girls. You can also buy insect-repellent clothing to keep your pets comfortable.

We offer additional gear and accessories with permethrin protection, including socks, hats, and bandanas. When you’re spending time camping far from home, an insect-repellent tent will provide shelter that keeps pests away while you sleep. And you can protect outdoor gathering areas with an insect-repellent mosquito net.

If you work outdoors, warding off insects becomes a critical concern. Work free from distractions and pest attacks with permethrin-treated workwear. Coveralls, vests, shirts, and pants will help you stay safe and pest-free outdoors.

Send your apparel to Insect Shield for thorough permethrin treatment. We’ll use the same treatment process that we use with our full line of insect-repellent clothing and gear. When you get your items back, you can rely on them to offer long-lasting bug protection.

Insect Shield products are perfect for everyday wear, whether you're camping, hiking, attending outdoor concerts, or enjoying any activity where insects might be a concern.

Permethrin: An Investment in Health and Safety

Insect Shield permethrin-treated clothing is durable, effective, and easy to maintain. As you experience the benefits of permethrin firsthand, you’ll see why apparel treated with this insecticide offers the best protection.

Help keep your entire family safe from insects and the dangerous diseases they may carry when you use Insect Shield’s permethrin-treated clothing as your first line of defense.