Are your carpets in need of some tender loving care, because you can’t bear looking at the stains left from spilled soda, coffee, or pet mess? Well, then you’re probably thinking you have to get a seam cleaner to deal with the disaster.
But what about the person who rented it before? Can you get bed bugs from renting a carpet cleaner?
Steam cleaners should operate at a temperature where bed bugs can’t survive. But if it’s not operating properly, it’s possible bed bugs could be spread to your home from a carpet cleaner.
Let’s dig into it below.
Can You Get Bed Bugs From Renting a Carpet Cleaner?
The last thing you want if you rent a carpet cleaner for cleaning your carpet is also having to deal with bed bugs. Bed bugs are extremely resilient, and will set up shop in your mattress, walls, and furniture. They come out at night and drink your blood like vampires.
Your household items, including your mattresses, will either need intensive cleaning or disposing of altogether.
Living with a bed bug infestation can be an absolute nightmare because they love darkness and wood. They can hide in baseboards and closets and can even infest your clothing. They can survive for up to 18 months, and can live in vacuum-sealed bags.
They are very difficult to get rid of.
You’ll be pleased to hear, though, that if you rent a carpet cleaner, it is unlikely that you will bring bed bugs into your own home. This is because bed bugs don’t like heat, and won’t live in temperatures above 118 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you rent a carpet cleaner, it is unlikely that you will bring bed bugs into your own home. This is because bed bugs don’t like heat, and won’t live in temperatures above 118 degrees Fahrenheit.
The key thing to make sure of is that the carpet cleaning device that you rent has a heating apparatus that creates steam at 118 degrees or above. This will ensure that bringing bed bugs into your house from a rented carpet cleaner isn’t a possibility.
That’s because steam cleaners produce a blast of vaporized water that is soaked into carpets to clean them. The combination of the vaporized water and heat above 118 degrees means bed bugs will be unable to survive in the cleaner.
That is, as long as it’s working properly.
The Fine Print
Of course, nothing is guaranteed, especially if the person who rented the carpet cleaner before you did so to get rid of their bed bug infestation. And this is something that many people worry about when renting household appliances.
This would be a possibility if you rent a low-quality carpet cleaner that doesn’t produce high-temperature steam, or you got one that is malfunctioning. If your cleaner doesn’t get up to the required temperature, bed bugs could hide away in the machine and even lay eggs, which would become a nightmare for the next user.
If your cleaner doesn’t get up to the required temperature, bed bugs could hide away in the machine and even lay eggs, which would become a nightmare for the next user.
However, because steam carpet cleaners work differently, it is highly unlikely that bed bugs will survive the heat that they produce. And they will die off, because of the continuous exposure to the heat, including the larvae.
Bugged out
So, can you get bed bugs from renting a carpet cleaner? If it’s working properly and is a powerful cleaner, you should have no risk of getting or spreading bed bugs. But before you pull out your credit card to pay for your rental, make sure that it’s a heat-generating cleaner that produces steam to at least 118 degrees.
That way, you don’t have to worry about bringing any bed bugs into your home.
If you’re still unsure about what to do, you could consider buying your machine. This would give you complete peace of mind as well as help you keep your carpets cleaner for longer.
