Digging deeper into our Thermal Remediation quest for more heat we decided to see just how hot our electric furnaces can get. With a bed bug kill temperature of 46°C or 115°F, we were aiming for a minimum 49°C or 120°F. Maybe we should have thought about doing the test mid-week instead of Monday when staff was a bit more excited and awake!
- Knowing that our cooling season would be picking up soon and that long hours were about to begin, we were all eager to make it out the door and on our way home. It wasn’t until early the next morning, when we discovered up to three inches of water throughout our warehouse space, that we remembered about the testing room that was “off limits” for the day to keep the room as hot as possible. Oops!
It turns out we reached our desired temperature and then some…with the sprinkler valve setting off at 74°C or 165°F any question about being able to kill those pesky bed bugs was answered. Much to the relief of staff, John was volunteering with Lord Kitchener Elementary School that morning and would not be arriving for another hour. That meant enough time to get the water level down to a much less intimidating sight! With brooms, squeegees, and shop vacs in hand we managed to keep smiles on our faces and laugh about how one simple experiment can cause such a big mess.
-Tanya
