Marcus J asked:
I saw a special onOprah thatsaysthatdust mites mainly feed offourskin cells andareallover ourhomes,especially ourbeds andpillows! I know vacuuming isa goodway,butthebest systems such asRainbow cost about$2000! Arethereanycheaper alternatives?
Cure YourAsthma in1 Week!
I saw a special onOprah thatsaysthatdust mites mainly feed offourskin cells andareallover ourhomes,especially ourbeds andpillows! I know vacuuming isa goodway,butthebest systems such asRainbow cost about$2000! Arethereanycheaper alternatives?
Cure YourAsthma in1 Week!
dust andvaccuum,wash yoursheets andpillow cases inpine sol orlysol. give yourhome a goodcleaning!
Ifyouhavenoallergies,I really wouldnotworry aboutitatall. Ifyouare,therearespecial covers formattresses andpillows thatdust mites cant burrow into. Besides that…vaccum daily.
Youmaythinkthisisextreme,butgetrid ofcarpet. I diditandamsoglad. Carpet isreally dirty stuff nomatter howoftenyouvacuum. It’s somuch easier tokeep a cleanhouse without it. I didlay down a couple area rugs andwhentheyeventually getbad,I willthrow themout.
I alsouseanionizer air filter. I don’t know ifitdoesanything fordust mites,buttheair inmyhome smells cleanandfresh.
Wash yourbedding everyweek. AndI believe therearemattress andpillow covers youcanbuyspecifically designed torepel dust mites.
Best wishes!
Wash yourpillows orfluff theminthedryer (makesure yourdryer isvented properly) fora couple minutes tokillthenasty things,change yourbedding often,dust frequently,wash curtains andstick tolighter fabrics forthem,getrid ofanycarpeting (ifpossible),andtry toeliminate asmany fabric surfaces aspossible.
I havea dust allergy &I alsouseFebreeze Allergen Reducer occasionally onmysofa &chairs.
PS:I usea bagless Eureka vacuum thatI purchasedfromWalmart…itworks great.
Very intelligent ofyoutorecognize thehealthful benefit ofsleeping onhygienic mattresses.
Here areyouroptions.
Thevery best youcoulddo,oranybody elseforthatmatter,istohire a professional mattress cleaner thatuses the“dry method cleaning process.”Unfortunately,therearevery few persons intheU.S. thatprovide thisservice. Following immediately below arethesteps a professional mattress cleaner wouldperform. BUT,becausetherearesofew mattress cleaners intheU.S.,read further down todiscover whatyoucandotocleanyourownmattress. Itwon’t beasgoodasa professional,butwillstill bea hugeimprovement over notdoing anything atall.
A professional mattress cleaning technician using the“dry method cleaning process”(never wet a mattress) willfirst usea HEPA-rated vacuum cleaner (notjustone equipped withHEPA filters) andpowerful suction toremove the“contaminants”within a mattress. Knowledgeable technician’s know better thantouseanattachment witha beater brush,power nozzle orturbo nozzle,astheseattachments cause vibrations. Thevibrations willcause the“contaminants”tobecome airborne fromtheotherareas ofthemattress notyetserviced.
Secondly,knowledgeable technicians’willbathe themattress surfaces witha separate,portable UVC light wand thathasultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) capabilites. Theywillapply theUVC light ina grid-likemanner andbathe anarea approximately 18″x 18″fora full 20 second duration,andsoon. Thiswillalter theDNA inallmicro-organisms andcause thedeath of99.9% ofthemicrobials.
Thirdly,a knowledgeable technician willapply a very light mist ofallnatural,non-toxic,odorless enzyme cleaner tothemattress surface andpillows. Theenzymes willcontinue todothework startedbythemattress cleaning technician andthwart future growth ofdust mite colonies,mold,mildew,spores,fungi,bacteria andviruses,until thenext service date. Thecost ofservicing a 3 or4 bedroom home willrunaround $120-$150 andtake 1-1/2 to2 hours. Depending ontheneeds ofthehome occupants,a follow-up service shouldbescheduled every6 months,4 months fora home withanallergy sufferer,3 months fora home withanasthmatic. Consider thenumber ofindoor pets also.
BUTbecausetherearesofew professionals…usethenext best option.
Ona day forecasted tobebrightandsunny withnorain intheforecast,take yourmattress (andthetheothers) outside early inthemorning andbeat thecrap out them. Prop themup sothattheycatch themorning sun andthenre-position themsotheycatch theafternoon sun onthereverse side. Makesure theautomatic sprinkler system doesn’t startup. Once youhavebeaten thecrap out ofthemandhaveused thesun’s natural cleansing abilities (UVA andUVB light waves) tote themattresses back indoors. Itwouldbea goodideatoinspect thetop edge ofthemattress justincase a cat hasnapped onit. Also,youshoulddothisata time oftheyear whenpollen isnotsoheavy. Yourlocal weathercast usually provides thisinfo daily. Next,apply a very light misting ofallnatural,non-toxic,odorless enzyme cleaner onthesurfaces ofthemattresses. Theenzyme mist shouldbedry tothetouch within 5 minutes orelseyouhavemisted tooheavily. Mist thepillows too. Each time youlaunder themattress pad,apply theenzyme mist (very lightly) tothemattress andpillows before replacing themattress pad andpillow cases. Theenzymes will“munch on”andslowdown thegrowth ofdust mite colonies,mold,mildew,fungi,spores,pollen,bacteria andviruses,until thenext time youbeat thecrap out ofyourmattresses.
Somepeople maysuggest youvacuum themattress inposition (inthebedroom) butunless youhavetherightvacuum andmostlikelyyoudon’t,I wouldnot…unless youvacuum themattress outdoors. Mostvacuums,even thetop ranked HEPA vacuums per theConsumer Report’s magazine,still spew millions ofdust particles intoyourindoor environment. Theseparticles stay airborne for2 hours circulating throughout theentire home,before settling ontop ofeverything…including dust mite-proof mattress pads andpillows.
Forgenerations upon generations (askanyoctogenarian) people wouldroutinely tote theirmattresses outdoors atleasteveryspring,andsometimes again inthefall,toliterally beat thecrap out themwitha bigstick,broom,2 x 4,baseball bat,9-iron,tennis racket,orwhatever elsetheycouldfind.
Thepurpose ofdoing so,wastoremove thedust within themattress. Whatwasnotknown then,isknown today. The“dust”wasmostly shed human skin andtheallergenic waste products ofdust mites whichlovetoeat shed human skin cells,along withmold,mildew,spores,fungi,pollen,pet dander,bacteria andviruses.
Splurge onsome400 TC (thread count) sheets,orbetter. Thesesheets willhavea pore size ofabout6.5 microns (whennew) whichissmall enough toact asa barrier between thesmallest dust mites (20 microns atbirth) anditch mites (different critters,aka scabies). However,dust mite allergens (DMA’s) andotherallergens willstill pass through even a 400 TC sheet,justastheywillthrough thebest,mostexpensive,2 micron dust mite-proof mattress pad.
Ifthemattress hasanyforeign stains onit,thencheck out themattress stain removal link atthebottom ofthisreply. BTW,enzymes will,overtime,alsoeat away anyorganic stains,onorin,themattress(es).
Anaverage queen-sized mattress ishost toaround 2 million dust mites. A dust mite poops 20 to30 fecal pellets,15 microns insize,per day (actually night,astheyarenocturnal). Sothatequates to40-60 million FRESH fecal pellets inyourmattress each morning youawake. Dust mites live for100 days…soone average-sized colony leaves 40 to60 TRILLION fecal pellets inyourmattress over theirlifetime andofcourse astheydie off…many more replace thedead ones.
Thedigestive system ofa dust mite produces a protein called guanine. Theguanine breaksdown hard todigest foods whichalsoallows dust mites topractice “corphagia”meaning theycansurvive byeating theirownfeces justincase youdecidetoputa mite-proof mattress cover onyourmattress.
Thefecal pellets dry up andbecome powdery thus reducing the15 micron size toaneven much smaller size (< 1 micron). Allthecontaminants inyourbed become airborne each time youroll over inbed (50 to60 times per night isaverage) oreach time youfluff yourpillow,orofcourse everytime youandyoursignificant otherbounce onthebed.
Wheninhaled,guanine attaches tolung walls andkillshealthy lung cells bysuffocation.
BTW,theweight ofa newpillow canincrease 10%-25% injusta couple ofyears.
Dust mites havebeenaround forabout300 million years,2 months,and4 days. Theydiscovered man afterman begansleeping onmattresses about8 to10 thousand years ago. Man discovered theabsolutely healthy need tosleep onhygienic mattresses on,oraboutApril 1st,5993 B.C. Butandforsomeunproven reason,man thenforgot aboutthehealthful benefits ofsleeping oncleanmattresses andpillows sometime around 1967 (LSD maybe?).
Here’s thebottom line,forbetter Health andWellness,startwithmattress hygiene…
it’s soeasy,even a caveman candoit!
Free info “76 Tips toReduce Dust Mites andIndoor Allergens”atthislink:
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Mattress stain removal tips atthislink:
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Actually,ifyou’re really concerned aboutdust mites (especially ifyou’re allergic tothem) youshouldremove thecarpet altogether. Along withthemattress,pillows,andstuffed furniture (likesofas) –carpet isone ofthetop habitats ofdust mites.
One square foot ofcarpet maycontain asmany as100,000 live mites.
Ifyouhavetohavethecarpet,youreally need toinvest ina top quality HEPA vacuum cleaner. Sub-par vacuums don’t filter dust effectively andendup flinging themites,theirshed skins,andfeces intotheair. I recommend theDyson,personally. Itisexpensive,butwell worth it. Youreally dogetwhatyoupay for,anda cheaper vacuum cleaner justisn’t going todothejob aswell asa top oftheline cleaner.
However,ifyouwant tofocus onmaximizing yourcampaign against thelittlebuggers youshouldreally concentrate onminimizing dust mites inyourbedroom,sincethat’s wherethey’re mostconcentrated andit’s alsowhereyouprobably want themtheleast(sharing yourbed withthem!)
Thearticle linked below isa guide toeradicating dust mites inyourbedroom fora total cost ofunder $100.