How to keep your bedroom dustfree
A friend recently mentioned to me that they are waking up short of breath and have developed asthma and an allergy to dust. A lot of people are sensitive to dust mites even when they don’t have an animal allergy.
I listed a few things you can do to create a dust-free bedroom:
• Change your synthetic mix sheets for pure cotton or other natural fibres. Vintage cotton sheets are very tightly woven. Get tight weave cotton if possible- dust mites are 0.2 millimetres so anything smaller than that is great. Otherwise use two sheets.
• Change your laundry detergent to ecofriendly and fragrance-free. Laundry detergent fragrance and softeners contain thousands of synthetic chemicals that can be aggravating your asthma. In any case we recommend doing this for your pet.
• Wash sheets at 60 celcius weekly. The water needs to be over 55 celcius to kill mites) If you can’t wash at 60, wash and dry as normal and then place your sheets in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer for 12-24 hours. This kills the dust mites (−12°C or lower). Also freeze kid’s teddy bears etc. and don’t have anything you can’t wash in the bedroom.
• Clean the mattress. Vacuum and turn the mattress regularly, at least every month or 6 weeks. Strip bed and sprinkle bicarbonate of soda and leave for 20 mins then vacuum with HEPA vacuum. Get mattress cover or encase your mattress and pillows in dust-proof covers.
• Dust with a damp cloth and clean mop. Wipe walls down with damp cloth.
• Vacuum room weekly. Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
• No pets in the bedroom ever – mites from pets take about 3 months to disappear.
• Wash all your bedding. Wash the actual pillows at 60 and use under covers (Ikea).
Wash duvet in machine at 60. Replace wool or feathered bedding with synthetic materials (Ikea).
• Store your sheets in a dust free place. Store all extra bedding in vacuum sealed plastic bags or plastic boxes.
• Machines? We don’t like to recommend buying expensive gadgets but you might need to if you have a bad dust allergy. If you have very bad asthma you might conside buying an air filter and dehumidifier. Use air filter e.g. COWAY. Dont use humidifier, it increases dust mites. Maintain relative humidity at about 50% or below. Dust mites dislikes temperatures lower than 23°C.
• Declutter. Be sure to remove books, magazines, and don’t keep a lot of ornaments that gather dust. Remove all plants.
• Wash your furnishings. Curtains also need to be washed and dusted regularly.
• Dust door frames etc, with damp cloth, use a damp mop on the ceiling, or a damp rag to remove dust. Don’t use a dry cloth or feather duster.
• Keep bedroom door closed. Only air the room at night when the pollen and pollution is low.
• Wear a mask while vacuuming and cleaning!
• Change or clean any vents and air filters.
• Make a tea tree room spray for dusting – it kills mites. We make my own citrus or pineapple enzymes to clean our house with but you can also use white vinegar to clean the room. It also kills mites. It is always good to avoid toxic chemicals- anything bad for the environment is bad for you and your pets.
• Only use washable cotton rugs, remove everything else.
I hope this list is useful to someone!