House dust mite allergy. What is your bedding system/routine please.

[Slubberdegullion]

I have asthma. Dh has allergic rhinitis. I know I have a house dust mite allergy and it wouldn't surprise me that dh's early morning symptoms are due in part to the bedding/ dust mites.

So I have gone for it and ordered a new bed and mattress and have just bought a new anti-allergy duvet.

So what else?

I am trying to source an anti dust mite mattress protector that you put the mattress in rather than it just going over the top.

Pillow protectors? I wash the standard pillow protectors every week along with the bedding but do I need to have something specific?

How often should I wash the pillows, or just bin and buy new pillows?

Does anyone here have a routine or product that has helped loads?

TIA

We have a relatively old mattress but we have a 4.5tog king size duvet on top of that, then the top fitted sheet. Duvet cover with a 4.5 king size duvet and because it is only 4.5 it's small enough to go in a domestic washing machine. When it gets cold I just add another one or even two duvets (this saves money on taking a massive duvet to the launderette). Pillows are cheap and cheerful ones and we have three each. I therefore have 12 and wash them every three weeks or more frequently sometimes. I vac the mattress every time I change the bedclothes and change and wash the bottom duvet, top duvet and all bedclothes each time.
The cheap and cheerful pillows get a bit matted inside with this much washing and when they go to a sort of spudge, I open up the cover and cut the wadding up into bits making it fluffy again and re stitch. I have pillows I have had for years and I have had to add a bit of extra wadding (from an old duvet) to make 'em pillowy enough but this has stopped 90% of my wheezing. The duvet underneath is a sort of poor mans mattress topper! It works for us anyway.

That's really helpful, thanks Dinnae. know what you mean about pillow spudge but had no idea how to couner it.

One really simple thing that may help is not making the bed in the morning, but leaving the duvet folded back at the end of the bed all day, so the bed can air. This is the usual habit of DH's family anyway, so he brought it with him when he moved in. I've since read that it chills the dust mites or something.

My asthma has definitely got better since he arrived, but as this also coincided with my cats being banished from the bedroom, I can't really be sure that the two are linked!

I bought an air filter for DS's bedroom recommended by the British Allergy people and it made a difference