2 Responses

1. ♥ Marie

   October 6th, 2009 at 4:20 pm

   1

   I’m an allergy suffer too and I’ve had to buy three sets of bed and pillow covers (for my home, dorm, and cabin). Never have I seen the numbers that you’re talking about. I bought all of my sets of covers from Bed Bath and Beyond. Check out their site and I’m sure you’ll find what you need.

2. SterilMattress

   October 6th, 2009 at 4:20 pm

   2

   Adult dust mites are about 300 to 400 microns in size; the females are larger than the males. Their life cycle is 100 days or so and they go through 6 stages of life. Females may deposit anywhere from 50 to 80 eggs (+/-) and the size of the eggs are about 10 to 15 microns in size. Their main nourishment is the 50 million skin cells (flakes) that we humans shed each day.

   Dust mites defecate 20 to 30 times per day, therefore an average colony of 2 million dust mites in a queen-sized mattress, will yield 40 to 60 million fecal pellets per day, day after day! Apply the math and an average-sized colony, over the course of a generation or 100 days, will deposit 4 to 6 trillion fecal pellets in your mattress and pillows. Your unhygienic mattress, where you spend 1/3 of your life, is the nastiest, grungiest, item in you house and contains huge amounts of dead skin, dust mites, dust mite allergens, molds, mildew, pollens (transported inside from outdoors), spores, pet dander, bacteria and viruses.

   A very potent and extremely harmful allergen called "guanine" is found within the fecal pellets and the dead exoskeletons (pieces of dead dust mites). The fecal pellets are about 20 microns in size and the pieces of exoskeletons may be even smaller which allows for both to become easily airborne (yes, even right now they are floating around your home) and easily inhaled. Guanine, when inhaled, attaches to the living cells along the lining of your lungs, suffocating and killing healthy lung cells. Everyone is affected by this, some more than others, but especially small children less than 5 years of age, the elderly, and persons with low immune (even if just temporary) systems.

   The U.S. public has been very slow to "catch on" to the adverse effects of dust mites, the #1 indoor allergen. In Europe, Australia, and areas of SE Asia, professional mattress cleaners are in high demand. Over the past 12 to 15 years, 4500 mattress cleaning businesses have sprouted up in Europe and coincidentally the amount of money Europeans have spent on allergy medications has decreased.

   Mattress covers, pharmcotherapy (meds), and immunotherapy (skin prick tests, more testing and more meds) have been the usual means of addressing the symptomatic problems and each of these generate huge sums of income. This is akin to placing a "band-aid" over a festering wound and then selling you more "band-aids". Perhaps the huge multi-billion dollar revenues generated by the aforementioned industries, is the reason why American’s have not been properly informed (educated). But now, and unfortunately due to the year after year, annual increases in asthma, asthma deaths (especially among children), allergenic rhinitis, and other respiratory illnesses, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has initiated a public awareness campaign through public service announcements (PSA’s) and their new website << http://www.noattacks.org >>.

   Have you noticed how many corporations are touting their products for addressing the problem caused by dust mites? However, the solutions they offer are simply more "band-aids" to the problem and do not confront the problem head-on, the micro-habitats found in mattresses, pillows, and the "soft" furnishings in the home.

   EDUCATION and AVOIDANCE is the very best way to address the dust mite problem. Dust mites are found in 95% of all homes in the U.S. and of those homes, 50% (46 million homes) are considered to be INFESTED with dust mites.

   The American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) has suggested that 50% of ALL ILLNESSES are caused by, or are further aggravated by, poor indoor air quality. And remember, dust mites are the cause of the #1 indoor pollutant.

   Dust mites live, thrive, and breed, in the micro-habitat (visualize a little eco-system) that we create while sleeping in our beds. They also thrive wherever we spend our leisure time, such as lying on our upholstered sofas or sitting on our upholstered chairs watching television, doing homework, or entertaining. Every daily activity, walking across a room, sitting on the sofa, opening a door and combined with our nightly activities such as "fluffing" a pillow, turning over in bed while sleeping (nightly average is 50 to 60 times), even making the bed in the morning, will cause dust mite allergens (DMA’s) to become airborne. Once airborne, the DMA’s will circulate for up to 2 hours at a time before settling throughout the entire home INCLUDING on top of your expensive dust mite protected mattress cover and bedding.

   More than likely, you do not have a professional mattress cleaning service in your location. Many carpet cleaners will claim to offer the service (just as they steam clean a carpet) but they will not use the proper "dry-method" of cleaning a mattress. NEVER allow anyone to "wet" (steam) your mattress. Because there are only a handful of professional mattress cleaning technicians across the U.S., there is free information available to you explaining what YOU can do to lessen your exposure to dust mites and DMA’s.

   If you’re are fortunate and do have a professional mattress cleaning technician in your area, a TOTAL service fee of $140 to $180 would be the norm to clean all the mattresses in a 3 or 4 bedroom home. If one mattress proves to be in need of cleaning (ask for a free ACAREX test) and due to the frequency of airborne particulates, all of your mattresses will need cleaning.

   Generally, everyone interested in having mattresses cleaned should ask for a maintenance agreement and regularly scheduled service at 6 month intervals, or 4 months if anyone in the home suffers from allergies, or every 3 months if anyone in the home suffers from asthma. The number of household pets should also be considered when asking for a maintenance agreement.

   Visit: http://www.sterilmattress.com/ebook_dust_mite_removal_tips.html

   So, for your final answer as to what should be the pore size of bed linens you purchase…I would say no less than 400 TC sheets, BUT it doesn’t really matter since the DMA’s circulating throughout you home will simply re-settle atop your bed linens. Placing a dust mite-proof mattress pad over your mattress will not kill the dust mites within your mattress. They will continue to live, thrive, and breed. They will continue to eat the accumulated shed human skin flakes, dead siblings, their own feces, as well as the micro-organisms that continue to thrive such as molds, mildew, bacterium, and viruses.

   Also consider, guanine is not water soluble…meaning water will not wash it from your bed linens and the factory settings on hot water heaters are set to conserve energy, NOT to kill dust mites. The water temp must be at least 130 degrees F. (54.4 Celsius), 140 degrees F. (60.0 Celsius) is better.