How do you organise child’s bedroom/bedding to minimise dust mite reactions?

[concernedrepurplehouse]

Ds2 has had a consultation re nut allergy with specialist and we dealt with dust-mite situation at same time. His skin-prick tests showed no reaction to grass, slight reaction to tree pollen, life-threatening reaction to Brazil nuts ( :( ) but biggest reaction was dust mite. This explains why he goes outside to “de-clog”

Doc wants him on Avamys in winter but nothing in summer. He wants us to improve bedroom dust management.
I’ve bought pillows/covers before but they get mixed up with rest of household/fall on floor. I’ve washed pillows at 40% but it made them unusable (the stuffing all went in a corner).

If you are managing dust better than me, how do you do it? Tips on laundering systems would be particularly appreciated.

My DS is allergic to dust, grass, pollen, dogs, cats etc. so his room is vacuumed twice a week (rest of the house once a week), his room is wiped down with a damp cloth rather than a duster and he has a dyson fan as in summer he can’t have the windows open but the fan has to be easy to clean.
He has pillow and mattress covers and all his things are dried in the tumble dryer. I strip his bed in the morning, wash and dry separately and then remake his bed, also whilst it’s stripped I vacuum his mattress.
I have found in general if you blitz it once and then keep on top of it then it’s easier\quicker, but it’s still a pain!

Thank you.
we’ve just found the mattress cases - under the bed stored!
seems dh and I have not been singing from the same hymn sheet.

We have fewer excuses than you gin as he is negative to grass!

Wooden floors everywhere. Our dust in general has dropped loads since we replaced old carpets. And we used to Hoover a fair bit.

minimal soft furnishings and teddies. Roller blinds you can roll out and wipe down are better than curtains for example. Wash soft toys and bedding regularly. Leather chair or sofa

Wood floors and either hoover daily or get a robot hoover to do it.
The dust in our house has minimised considerably since having a robot hoover for 90min every morning.

I also found a company that makes furniture coverings for yachts/ boats that made me a full mattress over in hospital grade PU type fabric.
The mattress sits inside it, totally wipe clean and breathable.

Does robot hoover just live in room? And can you set it to run as you leave house then settle itself back in it’s corner?
need robot duster too!

Try an air purifier too

@concernedrepurplehouse i have a robot hoover for downstairs as found it didn’t work as well on the carpet upstairs, mine lives in the hall and works on a schedule, once it’s done it goes back to it’s base to charge.
Also we have a no shoes on in the house as pollen can get stuck to the soles, furniture on legs is much easier to clean under and if DS is into Lego then cans of compressed air are great for dusting models.

We have robot hoover too. It’s lives under the sofa on dock and comes out every morning at 7.15am to Hoover whilst we are generally still upstairs getting ready.

We just lift it manually and move upstairs if we want upstairs done as well, but in your senario I would just get one upstairs too and schedule it to come on whilst your out.

Ok so I’ve:

• helped ds do more decluttering


• got rid of some under Bed wheeled drawers - major dust trap.


• found and washed the zip-able mattress covers, first at 40% then, when I realised it’s supposed to be 60%, at 60%. Then hung them up outside as he is negative to pollen


• broached the idea of moving the bed so it is no longer along the wall but head on to wall


• bought ridiculously expensive pillow and duvet zip-able covers to arrive tomorrow


• bought even more expensive pillow you can boil-wash (when I washed old pillows they basically gave up the ghost and got so lumpy I had to Chuck them


• taken the two discoloured duvets to the tip


• considered getting someone in to fill the gaps between the floorboards (full of dust)


• started this thread


• fixed one of his drawers (not dust-related but fun)

@concernedrepurplehouse wow that sounds like a lot for one day and should make a big difference, hoping you get to put your feet up as a reward!
for the floor boards, I’ve used this gap filler before, not for dust but for draughts but it might do the job, I also used clear silicon sealant between the skirting boards and the floors.
Draughtex Floorboard & Skirting Board Insulation, Floor Gap Filler Draught Excluder - Thick 6-11mm 10m roll amzn.eu/7xHVpln

Thank you. It looks good but I suspect would be hard to make even for the friendly robot.
years ago we had wooden floorboards sealed using some kind of sawdust paste- might try that again.

Sound like you’ve done most things, if he has teddies, the need washing every so often and a sleepover in the freezer once a month, and store toys I’m containers with lids so as they trap dust too.

Also bizarrely I think getting dry in the bathroom helps keep dust out of bedrooms.

That makes sense -apparently the mites need moisture

I think generally most polyester pillows can’t be washed as go lumpy. But feather ones wash and can tumble dry to refluff quiet well.
If you add zipped pillow protectors and then pillow case to pillow, then the pillow won’t need washing too often

I am allergic to dust too and the main thing I find makes a difference is no under bed storage and bed high enough to clean under (no divans).

I think what you have done should make a difference.

I also sometimes find sleeping propped up I.e half sitting up, on pillows, helps when nothing else will.

Change curtains to blinds maybe? Or hoover them regularly too. For me fabric headboards in hotels set off my dust allergy. So consider replacing that if you have one.

Thanks - all great points. Lots more to do!

yes re blinds. The windows are actually doors opening out to a balcony but it’s doable. The curtains are unchanged since we bought in 2008 - they are heavy cotton, white with some water stains. Crying out to be sold really.... I’ve seen those “perfect fit” blinds though it probably needed be as fancy...

I'm also allergic to dust mites, but the main thing is just old mattresses. If the mattress is replaced every few years, that's enough to keep it under control for me.

Do you have your mattress in a zippered cover too Gwen?

Once a Month add lavender or tea tree oil to bi carb and sprinkle on mattress. Leave for an hour and then hoover up.

does that kill the mites?

I used to, but I don't bother any more. I think it fell to pieces in the end and was a right hassle to wash, even if I didn't wash it that often.

There are plug devices that emit a sound wave that (apparently) interferes with the life cycle of the dust mite. Sounds feasible but unlikely, until my niece did a 'blind test' with hers to assess effect on hubby's breathing. It worked - nasal blockage much reduced. So, check it out on t'internet,

Oh interesting loopy.
i saw something called allerbed online. There were some scathing reviews saying no evidence but the bar for what constitutes evidence is very high in medical contexts