Umm, is this a special towel or something? Just throw the dang thing away and get a new one!
We recently had a deer mice infestation in the Broomstick household…
My god, the panic that ensued! As soon as we identified the little buggers as deer mice people started screaming HANTA VIRUS! Yes, it’s a serious disease, but these guys had been running about the house peeing and pooping for weeks. It wasn’t like some evil bunch of aliens teleported a rodent into the kitchen.
Washed everything in bleach solution that was appropriate to do so.
We haven’t died yet. It’s been several months.
Next month, when it warms up a bit more, the two deer mice who survived capture will be released in a local prairie preserve. They’re actually cute little guys, and boy are they going to miss their exercise wheel. We keep them in a box (with air holes) and make sure we wash up after cleaning the cage. Again, we haven’t died yet. Neither have the mice.
Note that I do not in any way recommend keeping wild critters (my husband is a big softie when it comes to little critters, that’s how it happens at my house), just pointing out that rodents aren’t Sudden Death. We actually have rodents around us all the time, and even if they aren’t in our homes they’re certainly just outside. And they poop and pee all over.
So, take a deep breath (but not in the immediate vicinity of rodent droppings) and calm down. Hanta virus, while serious, is rare. Wash the towel in a mild bleach solution as mentioned then dry as normal. It will be FINE. Washed down anything rodents pooped/peeded on with a mild bleach solution and it will be FINE. If you start feeling bad go see a doctor. It will almost certainly be something other than hanta virus.
Note: the above does not apply if you’re currently having some sort of outbreak in your area. In which case, consult your local health authorities. But seriously, havng had them living in your house is more of a risk than having a mouse touch a towel for a few minutes.
We keep them in a box (with air holes) and make sure we wash up after cleaning the cage. Again, we haven’t died yet. Neither have the mice.
Hello Broomstick,
God Bless you for being gentle to those cute little critters, but if I was certain that they were Deer Mice… I’m pretty sure I’d throw that entire box into a lake somewhere. Just don’t tell PETA.
Best Regards,
Jettemaus
If I didn’t trust the laundry equipment and detergent, I might hit the towel with Lysol before washing.
I recently found one of my favorite Winter coats in a cardboard box before Winter this year. Unfortunately, I also found mouse poop in the bottom of the same box. So I put on gloves and inspected the coat for holes or damages. It looks fine, but I just can’t let myself wear it again because I’m worried about the mice crawling around the box it was in.
So I let it hang outside for a week, and I want to disinfect the coat, but its a dry-clean only! Does anyone know if dry cleaning will also disinfect hantavirus as well? I can’t find anything on the CDC Website that speaks about dry cleaning for the purposes of disinfecting.
Thanks!