Here are our tips for attaining a dustless and
dust
mite free bedroom.
Clear out your bedroom of all surplus objects.
Aim for that "Spartan" bare look. Less objects, then less dust
collects.- Keep your humidity level at less than 50%. A hygrometer
will do the trick in measuring this.
- Eliminate all the dust with a good quality Hepa
Vaccum Cleaner such as the Miele Solaris or Callisto - with hepa featured in this newsletter. This means using
the special onboard tools to get into those hard to reach places
such as tops of pictures, door headers, corners, blinds, lampshades,
underneath the bed or furniture. Use the vacuum twice weekly.
Do not use a cloth dusting rag it just redistributes the dust
and aggravates your allergens.
- Use a 'Swiffer' or 'Grab It' to keep down the
dust bunnies on hardwood floors in between vacuuming. You will
be surprised at how much dust it picks up even on a daily basis.
- Take out as much carpets and draperies as you can
possibly stand, they are a prime harbinger of dust mites. Just
use a little washable cotton rug by your bedside to save your
feet from freezing in winter.
- Wash your bedclothes weekly in 140 degree water
(turn up your water heater setting) it kills dust mites. You can
add tannic acid or use one of commercial cleaners containing tannic
acid to eliminate the dust mites. Just look on the label for the
ingredients.
- Use very fine wafer thin filtration material at
point of entry to your bedroom for force air heating systems.
If you use fabric that is too thick the air will not be able to
pass through effectively and your bedroom will be cold.
- Have your duct work professionally cleaned every
three years. Be careful and choose a certified duct cleaner. Read
some of the articles by Bob Baker in our Member Library on this
topic. All duct cleaning services are not made equal.
- Don't forget to change the filters for your Room
Air-conditioner. Do you really want to breathe in mold and
dust blown out by a dirty air conditioner?
- Change the filters on your furnace once per month.
Use the pleated disposable kind such as put out by 3M or better
Electrostatic
Filters.
- Close your closet door. Clothes are collectors
of dust and particulates.
- Cover your bed with Dust
Mite Covers, and vacuum the bedding on a weekly basis. We
are in process of doing research on the relative effectiveness
of different manufacturers dust mite proofing products. Much to
our surprise there is quite a variation in effectiveness between
them. You want bedding that is impervious to the mites and just
does not allow the dust mites to breed-plain and simple.
- Use a Vapor
Steam Cleaner on your bedding to assist in killing dust mites
between washes. They are hot enough to kill dust mites.
- Take advantage of the freezing weather. Put pillows,
stuffed toys, any thing that could host dust mites into plastic
bags and put them out side in the deep freeze. Yes, the frost
kills those little bugs.
- Use a high quality Hepa
Air Filter to filter out allergens. Find one that will do
the job at low frequency so that you do not have to live with
noise of a filter at high speed.
Several good air cleaners can be found at AllergyBuyersClub.com.
More
Info...
First Published: January 2000
Updated: April 2007
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