How to Maintain a Pest-Free Laundry Room

As we travel further in our series on the most efficient ways to maintain a pest-free home, we are starting to get into the rooms and areas that are easily forgotten when it comes to pest prevention. The laundry room — or the area of your garage with the washer and dryer — is a subjectively boring part of the home, but is still an essential one. In this space, we clean our clothes and bedsheets, treat stained fabrics, iron or steam wrinkled items, and store holiday decorations that we can’t fit into the storage containers out in the garage. Believe it or not, the laundry room can actually have quite a few different kinds of pest problems if pests make their way inside. Piles of dirty clothes and excessive moisture are two major attractants for pests, which is why it’s important to keep an eye out for any pest activity, even in a smaller space such as this. Let’s discuss four pests that are commonly found in the laundry room before we dive into the most effective ways to prevent them from making a mess of this purposeful space.

Common Laundry Room Pests

Depending on where the laundry room is located in the home, certain pests will be more common in here than others. For instance, a laundry room that is just off the kitchen may see more ants than a laundry room next to a bedroom. But there are multiple factors in any laundry room that tend to attract the same types of pests regardless of the region. The large appliances, humidity, moisture, and potential clutter can all attract pests who are either already in the home or find a new entry point in the house’s exterior. Whatever the case, these four pests definitely seem to have an affinity for the laundry room more than other creepy-crawlies.

• Mice: Yes, it’s unfortunately true that one of the most vile pests in existence is also one of the most common laundry room pests. Mice typically invade either through dime-sized holes in the exterior walls or through the outdoor dryer vent. They love idle piles of dirty clothes because they have a plethora of nesting materials and food sources in there. If you find small black droppings or hear random scratching and squeaking sounds in the laundry room, there’s a good chance that mice are nesting nearby. 
• Roaches: A filled laundry room can be a roach’s paradise if they find their way inside. These disgusting pests love dark and damp spaces, so they can hide behind the appliances while they feed on any stains and food remnants on the clothing. Roaches will produce eggs in hidden areas of the room and may try to invade the kitchen for even more food sources, if they can find that room. But they cause enough problems in the laundry room due to the fact that they can chew holes through clothes and stain fabrics with their droppings. 
• Ants: Unfortunately, our food-filled kitchens are not the only places that ants like to be once they get inside our homes. They can enter a laundry room near the plumbing, through the vent, or from a different room. Ants love the humidity and water content of this room, and they are interestingly drawn to the sweet smells of the laundry detergent. If there are food-stained clothes sitting out in this room, ants will quickly make use of them by bringing the crumbs back to their colony.
• Bed Bugs: Bed bugs aren’t only found in a bed, contrary to what their name suggests. They travel from place to place by hitching a ride on clothing, bags, or blankets, so they could easily hide in the pile of dirty laundry that hasn’t been moved in a while. They can also hide behind baseboards, electrical outlets, and the dryer. Bed bugs can survive without food for over a year, but they would prefer to feed every night in order to produce eggs. Check your laundry for any bed bugs and their droppings (especially if you’ve been traveling), and dry anything with evidence of bed bugs on high heat to efficiently kill them.

Just because the laundry room is smaller and less homey doesn’t mean that preventing pests in here is impossible. By staying on top of the laundry and keeping the room from becoming too cluttered, you can efficiently eliminate some of the main attractions for various pests. While doing these preventative tasks is not a guarantee that pests will stay out of the laundry room forever, these methods certainly lessen the appeal that these critters strangely find in this productive space. 

Do the Laundry Regularly

We know this is easier said than done. Children grow up and fashion trends change, but the laundry pile stays the same. We live in a constant state of need when it comes to washing our worn clothes and slept-on bedsheets, which is why it’s easy to let that dirty laundry pile up when nothing in there needs to be washed immediately. An idle pile or basket of dirty clothes is potentially the main attractant for pests that find themselves near the room. You don’t have to do the laundry every day to prevent pests, and there’s no point in using the washer to only wash a random pair of pants and your college sweatshirt. At the very least, we recommend never letting the pile of dirty laundry sit idle for weeks at a time. There are many different ways you can ensure that the laundry is getting done soon enough to prevent pests from nesting in it, but not too often to the point of stressing yourself out or wasting laundry products. You can try implementing a laundry routine if you don’t have one already (i.e. Friday is laundry day), or placing a personal limit on how full you’ll allow the hamper or basket to get before doing some laundry to bring it down.

Keep Dirty Laundry Contained

Speaking of dirty laundry storage, we highly recommend having some sort of system in place for holding the worn clothes, rather than leaving them strewn everywhere until you wash them. Dirty clothes, especially ones with food stains, provide multiple resources for various pests. Smaller pests can find food sources and a cozy nesting place within discarded clothing, and some of them (carpet beetles, crickets, roaches) can even chew holes in clothing when they’re devouring the fibers and food remnants. There are all kinds of hampers and baskets available on the market today, so it’s all a matter of personal preference. If you don’t do a load of laundry multiple times a week, we suggest using a receptacle that has some type of lid. This just adds another barrier between dirty clothes and hungry pests, as well as minimizes any odors that might be emanating from the worn clothing (you’ll thank us later when your children’s used sports uniforms start piling up in the hamper).

Fix Any Washer Problems ASAP

This may seem like an obvious tip, but we still wanted to include it to stress its importance. Any kind of stagnant water in an house, whether it’s from a leaking appliance or excess water from the bathtub, is very appealing to pests. Silverfish, roaches, and earwigs are notorious for invading rooms with an unfixed leak since they need excessive moisture to survive. The water lines and pipes in the laundry room will prove to be attractive to various pests if they begin to steadily leak water. As you do your loads of laundry, keep an eye on the washer and its water lines to see if there is any water dripping or pooling up outside the appliance. If you do find any extra water, don’t let it sit for too long. It could lead to water damage in the flooring or wall, as well as appeal to moisture-loving pests. Whether you want to take on the repairs as a DIY project or you opt to call in a professional, the most important thing is that the issue is fixed as soon as possible. 

Clean the Floor

It wouldn’t be a blog about maintaining a pest-free room without us mentioning the importance of cleaning the floor. The reason why we include this task in every blog within the series is because it’s that important. Just think of how many primarily ground-dwelling pests would be drawn to various debris on the floor: roaches, ants, rodents, silverfish, earwigs, crickets, carpenter ants, and the list goes on. The laundry room floor has plenty of appealing items for pests when it isn’t clean, since all of the lint, hair, dander, pet hair, dead skin cells, dust, and crumbs from the dirty clothing collect on the ground and provide a food source for pests. Whether you have tile or hardwood flooring in here, you can easily clean it with the method of your choosing. Sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping are the most efficient ways to clean this floor on a regular basis. You don’t have to fully clean it every day, but it would be a good idea to do a basic cleaning at least every other week. 

Organize Laundry Products

Organization is a natural process for some people and an impossibly lofty task for others. When we say to organize your laundry products, it’s a pretty open-ended suggestion that you can take as far as you want it. The key point to remember is that pests can hide in clutter far easier than in a tidy space, so if your laundry detergents and cleaning products are randomly gathered in the room, it makes it much easier for creepy-crawlies to hide amidst the mess. As with most tasks in this blog, the specifics of your organizational process are up to you. If you don’t have much storage in here, you can try using containers or baskets to organize all of the products. For laundry rooms equipped with shelves or cabinets, you can line up all of the products in neat rows so that you can clearly see everything. As a side note, make sure all of your liquid and powder products are completely sealed when not in use. Ants and roaches are attracted to the sweet smell of these items, and the last thing you need is a bunch of insects in your fresh container of laundry detergent. 

Don’t Let Wet Clothes Sit For Long

Similar to our suggestion of preventing the pile of dirty laundry from stacking up, we also recommend not letting your wet clean clothes sit for too long. The combination of damp fabrics and sweet smells will draw in some invasive pests before long, especially if those clothes aren’t thoroughly dried within the next few days. Plus, wet clothing that isn’t thrown in the dryer or properly laid out to dry will begin to acquire that strange mildew smell, and can even develop mold if they continue to go undried. We know that life happens and you might not have time to immediately dry the load of laundry you just washed, so it’s sometimes necessary to leave the damp clothes in the washer until you can return to it later. The general deadline for drying damp clothes is no more than 12 hours after washing them, so you are good to go as long as it’s within the day. 

Inspect the Dryer Vent

This one is an easily overlooked but completely necessary task in preventing pests from invading the laundry room, as well addressing a potential issue before it leads to larger problems within the house. The exterior vent could become damaged or uncovered at any time, which allows plenty of room for invasive pests (especially rodents) to get inside. One of the most common issues with the dryer vent is that the vent tube or exterior vent flapper is broken in some way, thus leaving a gap for any critter to enter at will. If you hear strange noises (squeaking or scrabbling) within your vent, you might have a rodent clan living in there. Every so often, check your exterior dryer vent to ensure that it’s sealed properly and not cracked. If there’s any vulnerability to the vent, try to get it fixed as soon as possible. As for the actual laundry room, if you suddenly have a bunch of lint expelling from the dryer every time you use it, there’s likely an issue with the hose seal that needs to be repaired.

Seal Any Holes

Finally, as with any room in the home, it’s essential to inspect for any holes and cracks in the walls on a regular basis. If your laundry room has a wall that is on the other side of the house’s exterior, it is even more important to keep an eye out for any imperfections in both the interior and exterior walls. These gaps can be utilized as entry points by pests of all shapes and sizes, especially rodents. For the laundry room in particular, it is important to check around the washer, dryer, drain, vents, and sink (if there is one) since cracks can form more easily here due to the moisture and heat content. You can easily seal both interior and exterior cracks with waterproof caulk. For larger holes and gaps, you can fill them with steel wool or copper mesh before sealing it in with caulk. There are multiple online tutorials for this process if you want a visual.

Pest Control Services Shouldn’t be Another Chore

Laundry is an unfortunately constant chore that we have in our lives, and it can feel even more overwhelming if you do the laundry for multiple people in your home. There are enough chores involved in maintaining your home as it is, so reliable pest prevention is a task that will be preferably left to the professionals. The experienced technicians of Green Pest Services are dedicated to protecting local homes from invasive pests in every season. We get to the root of each pest problem by inspecting every part of the property for signs of pest activity, then use our findings to create a treatment plan that is completely customized to fit your pest control needs. Since all of our treatments are completely safe for both people and pets, you don’t have to worry about toxic pesticides contaminating your home after the service ends. Don’t let your pest problems stack up like that pile of laundry that needs to be done; contact us today to learn more about our efficient pest control services!

Citations

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Harashinski, J. (2019, February 11). Common laundry room pests. Tri-County Pest. Available at https://tricountypestco.com/common-laundry-room-pests/ (Accessed on September 28, 2023).

Hartzer, C. (2018, February 27). Best laundry practices to help prevent bed bugs and other pests. McKnights Long-Term Care News. Available at https://www.mcknights.com/marketplace/best-laundry-practices-to-help-prevent-bed-bugs-and-other-pests/ (Accessed on September 28, 2023).

How to get rid of mice in dryer vents and mouse proof your dryer. (2022, August 29). EarthKind. Retrieved September 28, 2023, from https://www.earthkind.com/blog/mice-in-dryer-vents/ `

How to seal up to prevent rodent infestations. (2023, January 3). CDC. Retrieved September 28, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/wildlife/seal-up.html 

Leverette, M.M. (2023, August 17). How to identify 8 insects that eat holes in clothes. The Spruce. Available at https://www.thespruce.com/insects-that-eat-holes-in-clothes-2146424 (Accessed on September 28, 2023).

Sapirman, A. (2021, April 30). Six simple tricks for preventing pests in your closets. Hang It Up Closets. Available at https://www.hangitupclosets.com/six-simple-tricks-for-preventing-closet-pests (Accessed on September 28, 2023).