Allergy Mattress Pad

Many people think that an anti allergen mattress pad is all they should look for to protect themselves from dust mites. This pad should also be water proof not just water resistant.House dust mites feed on human skin scales, pollen, fungi, bacteria and animal dander. Dust mites do not drink free water, but absorb water from the air and the environment. Using a waterproof, breathable, anti allergen mattress pad works two ways. First it separates you from any mite infestation while still letting your bed breath. Unlike plastic sacks which will do the same thing you won’t be bothered by excessive heat reflection. Secondly you emit approximately a cup and a half of fluid while you sleep. This helps increase the humidity in the mattress which dust mite love.

Dust mite don’t just live in your mattress and pillows. In fact they are all over your house. The best way to eliminate them is not to have carpets but use hardwood or vinyl floors. Wash all bedding in very hot water weekly. All soft children’s toys should also be washed regularly. Dirt and dust must be kept at a minimum. Furniture should be either be leather or vinyl. Use HEPA air filters Your house should have a dehumidifier. The humidity should be set under 50% .

This seems like a lot if you don’t have asthma. Asthma is not the only reaction caused by dust mites. atopic dermatitis. or just a skin rash. Spots that swell and can look like acne,or itchy dry blotches can all sometimes be traced back to the enzymes created by dust mites.

After watching this video read below for another solution

The following were tested by the EPA to eliminate dust mites
Raid Flea Killer
Raid Flea Killer Plus
Raid House and Garden (COMPARATIVE)
Hartz 2 in 1 Flea and Tick Killer (COMPARATIVE)
Sergeant’s Rug Patrol (COMPARATIVE)
Sergeants Dust Mite Patrol (COMPARATIVE)

These products include d- tetra- pheno- piperonyl N-octyl Treatment pyrethrin methrin thrin butoxide b. d. s-meth (Note: Noctyl b. d. = Noctyl bicycloheptene dicarboxamide smeth = smethoprene)

There is a long explanation of the test and results but to save time this was the final result Raid Flea and Tick Killer: 0 Acarosan ™: 191 Untreated Control: 939 Use of a single application of the first product, which is an embodiment of the present invention, was effective in completely eliminating a long-term infestation of house dust mites from the carpet sample. It was significantly more effective in this experiment than was the only product currently registered by the E.P.A. for this purpose

I imagine that your next question would be. Do you expect me to spray this on every thing? The answer is no. Forgetting the odor there is a possibility of other allergic reactions. So my search went on and this is what I came up with:

eHow said “Use the vapor steam cleaner at least every eight weeks on the areas of your home where you want to kill dust mites. The eggs can lay dormant for months in your carpet, and the best way to prevent these eggs from hatching into dust mites is to kill them with steam.”

Gaiamlife said “Vapor steam-cleaning (using a small machine that heats surfaces with dry steam) kills fungus, dust mites, bacteria, and other undesirables. This is a good way to clean bedding that you can’t launder, such as mattresses. Vapor contains only 5 to 6 percent water (conversely, most steam cleaners use lots of warm water to clean), so the vapor steam doesn’t contribute to a moist environment. Vapor steam deeply penetrates whatever it is cleaning, and it is great for upholstery, couches, carpets, and mattresses.

There are many other references that say the same thing. But after reading I found it might take at least 24 hours for your mattress to dry. So the steam cleaner is good for carpets, drapes and soft toys (these actually could be done buy placing in a plastic bag and freezing them)

A test found in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 107, Issue 1, Pages 55-60 T. Htut, T. Higenbottam, G. Gill, S. Darwin, P. Anderson, N. Syed said:
Background: House dust mite (HDM) allergens can accumulate to very high levels in homes. From the observed sensitivity of HDMs to heat and their allergens to steam, a novel treatment of furnishings has been developed. Objective: We sought to determine whether combined steam and heat treatment of home furnishings reduced asthmatic patients’ bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR) and lowered HDM antigen loads. Methods: The homes of 30 asthmatic subjects aged 18 to 45 years were randomly allocated into 3 groups. In groups 1 and 2 mattresses and duvets were treated with hot air (110°C), followed by steam and then heat again. All their carpets were steam cleaned. Group 2 also had a special ventilation system installed above each patient’s bedroom. The homes of subjects in group 3 were sham treated. Neither patient nor laboratory staff was aware of the types of treatment. Der p 1 and 2 levels in the household dust from the lounge, bedroom carpet, and beds were determined before and after treatment and then at 6 and 12 months. BHR, measured by using histamine PD20 values, was recorded during the 4-week run-in period and at 3, 6, 9, 12 months after treatment. Results: Active heat-steam treatment of homes caused a sustained reduction of Der p 1 (P = .003) and Der p 2 (P = .001) compared with no change in sham-treated group 3 homes. Patients whose homes were treated showed a 4-fold reduction in BHR at 9 months in group 1 and throughout the post treatment period in group 2. No change was observed in the asthmatic subjects whose homes were not treated. These improvements were sustained for 12 months in the homes with bedroom ventilation units. Conclusions: A single treatment of home furnishings reduced mite allergen load to below the risk level for sensitization and improved the asthmatic patients’ BHR by 4-fold. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001;107:55-60.)

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