Dust mites are a common allergen. They love to live on mattresses and pillows, which causes sneezing and itchy eyes and generally disrupts sleep. You wake up too early and with a stuffy nose and watery eyes. No fun! These allergies can develop in adulthood or childhood. My struggles with adult allergies prompted this post, and I have used everything here.
Dust mites bite the dust by freezing, boiling, microwaving, or being tossed in a hot dryer. To keep them out of your bedroom, follow these simple steps.
Pillows
Dust mites don’t like heat, so toss your pillow in the dryer for at least 15 minutes. To keep new dust mites from making your pillow their home, immediately cover your pillow in an allergy relief cover and then put your regular pillowcase over it. Older allergen pillow covers were noisy, but the newer ones are soft and quiet. SureGuard is one brand of pillow and mattress covers that offers many options.
Looking for a good pillow? These are the Best pillows for any sleeping position, as they’re adjustable. The pillow system comes with a thick pillow cover and 2 adjustable pillows: add or remove inserts to adjust to your preferred comfort level of soft, medium, and firm. They’re hypoallergenic and washable. We have them and recommend them!
Mattress
Your mattress is basically a giant castle for dust mites. You can’t put your mattress in the dryer, but there are other ways to rid the allergy-causing buggers. Use anti-allergen spray weekly after stripping the bed and washing your sheets. I bought the large Anti-Allergen 128 Oz because it’s cost-effective, but they offer a single spray bottle. Next, grab your HEPA filter vacuum and suck those mites right out. Be sure to take the contents out of your house. Another option is the Neat Steam Cleaner, which uses ordinary tap water and can be used to clean and sanitize just about anything with amazing results. Make sure your mattress is completely dry before adding any bedding!
Then, cover your mattress with an allergy relief cover. The allergy cover prevents your shed skin (aka dust mite food- Yuck!) from reaching any remaining mites, so they’ll ultimately die.
If you’re shopping for a new mattress, consider getting a foam or latex mattress. Dust mites can’t live in either one.
Wash Your Bedding Regularly
Even with your pillow and mattress free of dust mites and preventing new ones from moving in, the little sneeze-makers may live in your sheets, blankets, and other bedding. Keep them at bay by washing your bedding every week. Use hot water and dry in the dryer unless the type of fabric can’t be dried. Air purifiers help a lot; This particular one scored well in Consumer Reports and is a Best Seller on Amazon.
The less cluttered the space, the fewer places for dust mites to live.
Not sure if you’ve got a dust mite issue? A Test for Dust Mite Allergens can give you the answer.
