Anyone deal with poison oak/ivy exposure on clothing?

[bcla]

I went hiking with my kid today to get a little exercise and to maybe avoid getting stir crazy at home. However, I've been adamant about my kid staying really close to me and avoiding the edge of the trail where there may be poison oak.

But this time I looked as my kid got ahead of me and off to a side trail that needed to be climbed somewhat. Then as my kid was up there I noticed the poison oak right at about where it would brush against someone wearing pants. I took action almost immediately saying to get down a different way, then I did what I could to remove my kid's pants and shoes without touching the exterior and placing the shoes/socks/clothes in a paper bag to take home. My kid wasn't happy about riding home wearing only underwear, but I understand it was best if the oil migrated through the pants. This park is close to home, so it might have been less than 20 minutes from exposure to getting hime. When we got home it was a shower with lots of body wash almost immediately before I hand washed the pants/shoes.

I'm not quite sure if I washed the clothes/shoes the right way. I hand washed them with warm water and normal detergent while wearing dish gloves. It was a lot of detergent - way more than the concentration in the machine. I've always been told that the oil washes off pretty easily, although I didn't use hot water like some recommendations. I rinsed several times then made sure to wash the tub I used to hand wash. I hope I got all of it.

I know there are a lot of variables, including whether or not my kid actually brushed against the leaves and what condition they were in. I've been told that intact leaves don't ooze the irritant oil, but it's rather difficult to tell. Contact could have been minimal.

Anyone deal with it? I've always been freaked out about this. I have never (to my knowledge) been affected, but my mom once had to deal with serious rashes after working in her yard, and about a year before the scars faded. I'm wondering if I missed something or maybe I should have washed it several times in hot water, or maybe let it soak.

 

[NotUrsula]

As long as you used a detergent that is effective as a de-greaser, then it should be fine after regular washing with hot water. Experts suggest washing these items alone in the machine without anything else so as to minimize any cross-contamination. It is also recommended to do a hot-water-&-bleach cycle on the empty washer afterward, before you use it to wash anything else.

 

[bcla]

As long as you used a detergent that is effective as a de-greaser, then it should be fine after regular washing with hot water. Experts suggest washing these items alone in the machine without anything else so as to minimize any cross-contamination. It is also recommended to do a hot-water-&-bleach cycle on the empty washer afterward, before you use it to wash anything else.

I hand washed several times using a wash pan. That's what I typically use to hand wash clothes. However, I did use the washer for the spin cycle. But nothing went in the washer until it was washed several times in detergent and rinsed several times.

I've heard that the oil is pretty easy to remove with a good soap or detergent, and there might be 15 minutes to an hour before it penetrates into the skin enough to be a problem. Not sure about the clothes though. For all I know there might not have been any oil that got on my kid's clothes if the leaves were intact. I hear that they have to be broken in order for there to be transfer of the oil, although it's hard to tell.

 

[mnrose]

I've always washed poison oak clothes in COLD water with a STRONG detergent (fels naptha works great). Alone. Nothing else. Hot water spreads the oils around. I use fels naptha and cold water on any exposed skin too. It WORKS. When we lived in NorCal, and did LOTS of hiking on trails with poison oak, some impossible to avoid, I would shower religiously upon returning home in cold water (not fun), and fels. We kept a bar JUST for laundry and showers. It's sold in the laundry aisle of most major grocery stores. VERY STRONG stuff. Seriously. It works. Really, really well. And it costs less than $1. Cold water. Harsh detergent. Miracle worker. There was one trail we were on with HUGE poison oak on both sides, and impossible to avoid. Straight home. Fels. No worries. And, we were both clearly exposed.

 

[Colleen27]

You did a lot more than I do! I wash any potentially contaminated clothes in their own load, with ordinary Tide and ordinary warm water, and then run an empty quick-wash/cleaning cycle afterwards to be sure the oil isn't lingering in the washer. Shoes get hand washed with dish soap and warm water, then dried in the sun rather than on the shoe shelf in the dryer.

I don't react to poison ivy and I'm pretty sure my youngest has inherited that superpower, but I know two of the three do react because they've had it in the past and they've never had a problem with the way I handle clothes that have been exposed so I assume I'm doing enough to be effective.

 

[bcla]

You did a lot more than I do! I wash any potentially contaminated clothes in their own load, with ordinary Tide and ordinary warm water, and then run an empty quick-wash/cleaning cycle afterwards to be sure the oil isn't lingering in the washer. Shoes get hand washed with dish soap and warm water, then dried in the sun rather than on the shoe shelf in the dryer.

I don't react to poison ivy and I'm pretty sure my youngest has inherited that superpower, but I know two of the three do react because they've had it in the past and they've never had a problem with the way I handle clothes that have been exposed so I assume I'm doing enough to be effective.

I keep on hearing various things about urushiol. I don't quite get the need to use hot water. I do have some Tecnu (really old too) but didn't have it with me. And the big difficulty would have been what to do since it would have been on my kid's clothes and they shut off all the water there. Besides that, I found where I had the Tecnu, and the pouches look like they've leaked a little bit.

I've heard of a few people who aren't allergic. And it's really just an allergy. I remember a park ranger at Golden Gate NRA who said he could just grab poison oak growing on the side with the admonishment of "Don't try this at home." I guess he wouldn't be shaking any hands after doing that.

 

[amcnj]

I've heard of a few people who aren't allergic. And it's really just an allergy. I remember a park ranger at Golden Gate NRA who said he could just grab poison oak growing on the side with the admonishment of "Don't try this at home." I guess he wouldn't be shaking any hands after doing that.

There is a wide variation in response to contact. I could literally pull poison ivy out with my bare hands and be OK, while my brother would be wrapped in saran like a mummy in the dead of winter, with medication all over his body. We think he was getting It from a pet’s fur at that time of year.

 

[NYCgrrl]

The hottest water the fabric can take with your favorite detergent in the wash cycle. First rinse with vinegar, second with nothing added to the water.
Some people like to wipe the machine's drum out with chlorine bleach; I've never had a problem NOT doing that.

 

[bcla]

There is a wide variation in response to contact. I could literally pull poison ivy out with my bare hands and be OK, while my brother would be wrapped in saran like a mummy in the dead of winter, with medication all over his body. We think he was getting It from a pet’s fur at that time of year.

Urushiol dermatitis is just an immune response. I don't know if I have any issue. I've never had a reaction but I'm very careful to avoid contact and have washed as soon as I could when I thought I was exposed. I've had other responses to various things including hives and blisters.

Yesterday was at a local regional park where I'd normally be able to go to the bathroom to wash off. There's also a visitors center where I was offered Tecnu once when I said I might have been exposed. That time was more or less a vine of Pacific poison oak that was hanging from a low branch of a tree. I was wearing a cap and immediately took it off and went to the nearest bathroom to wash it off with their hand soap, as well as washing my hair with that hand soap. Getting it off quickly is supposed to be the key.

 

[JimMIA]

Urushiol dermatitis is just an immune response. I don't know if I have any issue. I've never had a reaction but I'm very careful to avoid contact and have washed as soon as I could when I thought I was exposed. I've had other responses to various things including hives and blisters.

Yesterday was at a local regional park where I'd normally be able to go to the bathroom to wash off. There's also a visitors center where I was offered Tecnu once when I said I might have been exposed. That time was more or less a vine of Pacific poison oak that was hanging from a low branch of a tree. I was wearing a cap and immediately took it off and went to the nearest bathroom to wash it off with their hand soap, as well as washing my hair with that hand soap. Getting it off quickly is supposed to be the key.

I used to carry Tecnu in my EMT kit at Everglades. We had a major wildfire one year and a bunch of firefighters got into poison oak or ivy and it tore them up. The Technu helped a good bit.

Not satisfied with poison whatever, they then got into blister beetles, which elicited the highest level of firefighter expletive pain descriptors. Fortunately, simple sting wipes solved those bites quickly.

From that point forward, they wouldn't go anywhere without me. Bunch of sissies!

 

[RamblingMad]

I’ve always thrown my clothes in a normal load in the laundry. Then I used Ajax to wash myself in the shower. I never had any problems.

 

[disney212]

I always put a little Dawn in the washer to remove any oil. They de-grease wildlife with it so it's effective.

 

[Colleen27]

I keep on hearing various things about urushiol. I don't quite get the need to use hot water. I do have some Tecnu (really old too) but didn't have it with me. And the big difficulty would have been what to do since it would have been on my kid's clothes and they shut off all the water there. Besides that, I found where I had the Tecnu, and the pouches look like they've leaked a little bit.

I've heard of a few people who aren't allergic. And it's really just an allergy. I remember a park ranger at Golden Gate NRA who said he could just grab poison oak growing on the side with the admonishment of "Don't try this at home." I guess he wouldn't be shaking any hands after doing that.

I've never read up on it as an adult. I just do what my grandmother taught me, and as long as it seems to work, I'll keep doing the same. I think I'd just confuse myself into some long, elaborate process if I Googled it!

I discovered pretty early in life that I don't react and, in high school, asked my biology teacher about it. He said that about 15% of the population doesn't have an allergic reaction to the oil in poison ivy. It wasn't until years later that I learned the active ingredient, so to speak, was the same in poison oak and poison sumac (which I have had far less opportunity to encounter). But as a gardener in an area where poison ivy is rampant and ridiculously hard to eradicate, I do appreciate not having to worry about a reaction!