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While a comfortable sleep environment and your mattress are certainly very important factors when it comes to your ideal sleep environment, some aspects of your sleep environment can be overlooked from time to time.
These 10 quick tips will help you and your family maintain a cleaner sleep environment.
Get Your Bedding Some Clothes
Encasing your pillows, mattress and quilts with mite-resistant protective bedding will limit exposure to mite allergens.
Say No to Max
Even though it will be tough to turn away the sad puppy eyes, keeping your pets out of the bedroom will make your sleep environment a much cleaner one.
Vacuum Your Mattress
Vacuuming your mattress will remove the dust mites that managed to find their way underneath the linens.
Wash Bedding Frequently
Wash your linens, sheets, and pillowcases weekly with hot water. 55°C is ideal water temperature to ensure all dust mites are removed in the process. However, if you are washing in cold water, use a commercial product containing essential oils such as eucalyptus that is formulated to kill dust mites.
Get Some Airflow
Eliminate high levels of humidity by ensuring your room is well ventilated. Dust mites tend to thrive where the humidity levels are higher. Alternatively, a dehumidifier or an air conditioner can do the trick.
Time to Donate Grandma’s Old Carpets
Even though they remind you of granny those old weathered carpets have got to go. While the dust mites will love you for keeping old untreated carpets around, you aren’t doing yourself or your sleep environment any favours.
Sensitive Choice
For families trying to take control of asthma, look to shop for products approved by Sensitive Choice. Products approved by Sensitive Choice will have an easy to spot Blue Butterfly logo. Read more about the Sensitive Choice program and their products.
Sunlight is Your Friend
By exposing your mattress, rugs and carpets to natural sunlight for several hours, you can eliminate dust mites as they have no protection to UV exposure.
Play It Smooth
Even though you might find fabric covered furniture to be more comfortable, dust mites and allergens are all over it. Try leather or vinyl coverings as an alternative. However, if you are going to go with fabric coverings, just make sure they have antimicrobial treatment to keep the dust mites away.
Teddy Bears Are Dirty
For those of you with kids, try to reduce the amount of stuffed animals and soft toys in their bedrooms. If they are insistent on keeping them around, reach a compromise to give teddy and his friends a warm water bath on a regular basis. Water temperature should be greater than 55°C.