Today’s consumers are very educated and we all know what to avoid and what questions to ask prior to making a purchase (aside from the very last question, is this really the best price?!) Yet the bigger question is, how many of us know the exact nature of the questions and why the importance of verifying those facts? When purchasing a mattress, we all tend to get phobic of the mattress being prone to dust mites and/or bed bugs. We are sure to ask for a mattress that’s resistant to these unwanted critters, however, how many of us “educated consumers” really know why these need to be so badly avoided? So what are dust mites, anyway? House dust mites are tiny creatures that live in pillows, mattresses, carpets and couches, quietly eating dead skin cells and hair. They require humidity and food in order to live, and many children with asthma are allergic to house dust mites and their droppings. An often quoted rule of thumb is that “up to 10% of the weight of a two-year old pillow consists of dust mites, both living and dead, along with their waste products”.
These critters are not a problem for all children with asthma, but when they are, taking control of house dust mites can make a huge difference in symptoms and in the amount of medication needed to control the asthma. For the right child, it’s well worth the effort. Now here comes the million dollar question asked by Nancy, from VA, who was considering purchasing a Greenbuds mattress for her 6 month old who suffers from asthma. How can I be sure that the Greenbuds Organic Mattresses are completely Anti-bacterial and Dust mite and Bed bug free??? Here’s why we can comfortably assure you that every fiber used in a Greenbuds Mattress is completely free of these invaders: Stay tuned for our next article on other allergenic concerns and myths – Scientific studies overrule!The bad news is that if you suffer from allergies, there is an 80% chance that you are sensitive to dust mite allergen. The good news is that you can get rid of dust mites and control allergy symptoms with allergy relief bedding, air purifiers, dehumidifiers, HEPA vacuum cleaners, laundry detergents & additives, and various cleaning products.
While they may look like insects in the magnified photographs, house dust mites are actually arachnids, related to spiders. Because they are too small to be seen with the human eye, nobody knew about dust mites until Anton van Leeuwenhoek invented the microscope in 1694. Shocked and horrified to find tiny bugs living all around him, Leeuwenhoek called them "little animals." The scientific name for house dust mites, Dermatophagoides, means "skin eater" - and that's exactly what they do. Since dead human skin accounts for the majority of house dust, a small clump of dust is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for dust mites. They're so small that a half teaspoon of dust can contain as many as 1,000 dust mites. Dust mites love mattresses. They find everything they need in your bed: warmth, moisture, and a never-ending supply of food (that's ). Depending on its age, your mattress may contain between 100,000 and 10,000,000 dust mites. Dust mite populations increase rapidly; each egg-laying female can increase the population by 25 or 30 new mites per week.
The weight of the average mattress doubles after ten years due to dust mite infestation, and the weight of the average pillow increases 10% after one year. If you often wake up with congestion, a runny nose, watery eyes, itching, or sneezing, then you're most likely allergic to dust mites. As with any allergy, symptoms appear when the immune system mistakes a normally harmless protein for a foreign invader; this protein that causes the reaction is known as the allergen. In the case of dust mite allergy, the allergen is an enzyme that helps mites digest skin. The enzyme, found in dust mite feces, not only helps digest dead skin flakes, but it also destroys the protective function of our living, intact skin, leaving it vulnerable to other allergens and irritants. The enzyme may cause allergic reactions when it touches the skin or when it's inhaled. During its 80-day lifespan, the average dust mite produces about 1,000 allergenic waste particles. Returning to the example in the previous section, that half teaspoon of dust with 1,000 dust mites would contain about 250,000 allergenic waste particles.
Even though dust mites are so small that three of them could fit inside the period at the end of this sentence, we have developed dust mite covers in which the pores (spaces in the fabric) are much smaller. When you encase your mattress and pillows with Allergy Armor, our exclusive allergy relief bedding, neither dust mites nor their allergenic waste particles can penetrate the barrier covers. Or use the Allergy Armor Ultra Pillow, which has been constructed with Allergy Armor fabric and doesn't require an additional encasing. And after you cut off the dust mites from their source of food (your skin) they will soon die. Allergy Armor Ultra Pillows, however, do not require dust mite encasings because they're made with material that's impenetrable to dust mites. See our Allergy Relief Bedding Buying Guide to learn more about effectiveness, pore sizes, fabric types, and more. If you are sensitive to dust mites, you will want to encase your box springs with a Allergy Armor Basic box spring cover and examine other items on your bed that may harbor dust mites.
To protect your comforter or duvet from infestation, use an Allergy Armor comforter cover. Lightweight, soft, and hypoallergenic, Vellux blankets have also been a long-time favorite among allergy sufferers. If you are looking for a new mattress, consider treating yourself to the best sleep imaginable with a Certified Organic Latex Mattress. The latex core not only conforms to your body to relieve painful pressure on the spine, but it is also naturally resistant to dust mites and other allergens. Other methods of dust mite control revolve around controlling your environment and making it unlivable for dust mites. If you take away their food and moisture, they cannot survive. Allergy bedding protects your mattress and pillows, but dust mites also live in carpet, upholstery, and other places where dust collects. Vacuum often with a HEPA vacuum cleaner and clean/dust all surfaces in your home to reduce the number of dust mites. A HEPA filter is a "High Efficiency Particulate Air" filter, guaranteed to trap at least 99.97% of allergenic particles.
If you're using a vacuum cleaner that does not have a HEPA filter, then you're just moving the allergens around and not really trapping them. Anti-allergen carpet powders & sprays will help get rid of the allergens, as well as anti allergen laundry detergents & laundry additives. HEPA air purifiers effectively filter the air of dust, mold, pollen, animal dander, and other allergens. If you are an allergy sufferer who is thinking about purchasing an air purifier, you must avoid ionic air cleaners that emit ozone.Ozone is a powerful lung irritant that can lead to asthma attacks or other breathing problems, yet many popular "air cleaners" actually pollute the air with ozone. See our Air Purifier Buying Guide to learn more.Dehumidifiers reduce the number of dust mites and mold spores in your home by eliminating excess moisture in the air. Dust mites cannot survive without adequate levels of moisture in the air. We recommend keeping your relative humidity between 40% and 50%. You may monitor your humidity with a humidity gauge.