Can Ticks Survive Washing Machines?

The definitive research here is Nelson et al. (2016, Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases 7(5):958–963), which tested ticks through actual home laundry cycles. The finding was blunt: 'all ticks survived cold washes,' about 94% survived warm washes (roughly 27–46°C), and even hot washes below 54°C (130°F) left about half the ticks alive. Only water at or above 130°F reliably killed them — hotter than most washing machine settings and most water heaters are even set to deliver. Detergent and agitation alone weren't the answer either: in a no-heat spin/fluff cycle, 49 of 50 ticks survived.

Heat, specifically dry heat, is what actually works. In the same study, all adult and nymphal ticks died when tumbled directly in a dryer with dry towels on high heat for just 4 minutes (with a 6-minute buffer for full statistical confidence). CDC has translated that into practical guidance: dry clothes on high heat for at least 10 minutes to kill ticks. That's a meaningfully easier, faster, and more reliable step than trying to get your wash water hot enough.

Because it's the dryer doing the real work, the most efficient approach after time outdoors is to skip straight to the dryer: toss clothes in dry, run high heat for 10 minutes, then wash as normal. If clothes are already damp or wet — sweaty from a hike, rained on — the tumble-dry needs more time to fully dry the fabric before the heat can do its job, so CDC notes damp clothes require additional drying time to be effective.

If washing comes first for whatever reason, use the hottest water setting available — ideally at or above 130°F — and follow it with a hot dryer cycle rather than air-drying or a low-heat setting, since a warm-only wash leaves a meaningful share of ticks alive on the fabric. The two-step habit worth building after any outdoor exposure in tick season is simple: dry hot, then wash as normal, rather than assuming a standard laundry cycle already handled it.