Why a wash may not finish the job
A washing machine is built to clean fabric, not to reliably kill every small animal caught in it. Ticks can cling to clothing and may survive a wash cycle; water and detergent alone are not a dependable way to eliminate them. Their small size and tough outer covering help them withstand conditions that would seem fatal, but they are not invulnerable.
Heat is the decisive step
A tumble dryer changes the conditions: sustained high heat can kill ticks. The CDC recommends drying clothes that are already dry on high heat for at least 10 minutes. Damp clothes need longer, because heat first goes into evaporating their water; the fabric must spend enough time hot and dry for the treatment to work.
That distinction matters after time outdoors. Putting worn clothes straight into a wash may leave a live tick behind, while a sufficiently hot, long dryer cycle adds the step that makes laundry a reliable part of tick prevention. The washer cleans; the dryer’s heat does the killing.
