Dust Mites, Your Least Favourite Bed Guest

Dust Mites And How To Reduce Them

Dust mites are an unavoidable fact of life. What’s more, they are more than happy to take up residence in your mattress. Dust mites feed of our dead skin (Yuk we know!). They also multiply rapidly in the right conditions. A nice cosy mattress is their ideal habitat. Take a look at picture of one and you’re like to feel horrified and want to never sleep on your mattress again. However, there are plenty of steps you can take to remove dust mites from your mattress. There are also numerous precautions you can take to avoid them camping out in your mattress in the first place.

Why Are Dust Mites A Problem?

Firstly dust mites are not a problem for everyone. The chances are if you’re not reaching for a hanky in the night then dust mites are not troublesome for you. However, some people are allergic to these pesky bed dwellers. Symptoms that you might experience include, wheezing, sneezing , coughing or watery eyes. In short you might wake up feeling like you’ve got a cold every morning.

Whilst dust mites are not a problem for a large number of people it is still good practice to periodically remove them from your mattress. Keeping their numbers down will help to keep your mattress in tip top and hygienic condition.

How To Remove Dust Mites From Your Mattress

So how do you get rid of these unwelcome house guests? Thankfully there are a number of ways that you can get rid of them.

1. Use your trusty vacuum and some baking soda from the kitchen cabinet. Sprinkle some baking soda on your mattress and after a period of approx 30 minutes vacuum the entire mattress. However, you should not use this method on a mattress that contains memory foam or latex

2. Lower the humidity of the room. Dust mites need high humidity to survive. Lower this with the help of a dehumidifier and you will be able to bid them farewell

3. Call in the professionals, if you’ve tried the above steps but are still suffering then it might be time to contact a professional cleaning company.

How to Prevent Dust mites

As with most things prevention is better than cure. By taking a few simple steps you can drastically reduce the chance of ever having these sneeze inducing mites in your mattress.

1. Invest in a mattress that is less likely to provide 5 star accommodations. Certain mattresses have less favourable conditions for these pesky mites. These mattresses include latex and memory foam. That’s not to say they won’t be free from them and you will still need to take steps to eradicate them periodically.

2. Using a mattress protector is also a useful weapon when waging war against dust mites. The advantage of using a mattress protector is that it can be removed and washed at a high temperature. A removable cover will also help protect your mattress from spills and general wear.