Category: Dust Mites

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How to Put a Mattress Cover on the Bed

You asked for it and you got it!  So many people have asked how to put a mattress cover on the bed that we decided to show you how! We’ve got a great video on how to put your dust mite cover on your bed.

A dust mite cover is an essential part of your allergen reduction action plan.  Its a simple thing to zip your mattress up in a mite proof cover but that dust mite cover doesn’t do any good if you don’t put it on your bed!

People have always had questions on the best way to put a dust mite cover on their bed. If you haven’t gone it before, it can seem like a really big job.  But once you know what you are going and you put into action some simple high school physics principles it really isn’t that hard.

That being said, many hands always make light work so grab a friend and ask them to help you put a dust mite cover on the bed.

First, make sure that you remove all bed linens.  Strip the bed of all sheets and blankets.  If you use a mattress pad, it might be a good idea to cover the pad and mattress together.

Next, pull the mattress forward from the foot of the bed about 4  inches or so.  Archimedes said that if he had a place to stand and a strong enough lever, he could move the world.  Well you don’t need to move the earth, but by using the box springs as a lever you can stand your mattress up quite easily.

Once the mattress is standing, put the zippered cover across the top (head) side of the mattress (the head will be closest to the ceiling and then pull it down part of the way.  Drop the mattress back down and zip the mattress up.  It is always better for your dust mite cover to fit loosely than tightly.

After the cover is zipped up, push the mattress back towards the head of the bed so that it rests squarely on the box spring.  You can now make up the bed with clean sheets, blankets, and pillow covers.  You will have a barrier between you and common household allergens, like dust mites, dust mite feces, molds, pollens, and cat and dog dander.

Til Next Time

©Copyright 1996-2013  AllergyStore.com™ All Rights Reserved

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Cover Your Mattress Economically – We Can Help!

If you need to cover your mattress economically, just let us know up front and we can help.  If we have to guess that is your goal it can take a little longer.  For instance, we had a customer with an interesting inquiry earlier this week.

She wanted to know why she couldn’t cover her mattress and box spring in the same zippered cover.  She had measured her box spring and mattress together and realized that combined, they were under 18″ deep.  She thought they would both fit in an AllerSoft Blend mattress cover that was extra extra deep.

We spoke for awhile about how she intended to get the cover on both pieces at the same time.  She was thinking that she would just lift up one edge of the mattress and box spring and slide the cover over everything at once. In her defense, she had never really thought through how the cover would actually go on or considered the actual weight of the mattress and box spring.  Things were further complicated when I discovered that she had a king mattress with split box springs. Now we were talking about how to get three pieces in one dust mite proof mattress cover!

After spending quite a bit of time attempting to dissuade her based on the weight of a king mattress and boxspring set and the physical difficulty of accomplishing what she intended we finally got down to the heart of the matter. She was on a limited budget and needed to get maximum relief with minimum financial investment.  I finally asked “What you really want is to cover your mattress economically, correct?”  She responded a hearty “Yes!”.

Now once we got the the real issue, a solution was not difficult and not expensive.  After reviewing all the types of fabric available, we agreed that the Linen fabric that is a cotton/polyester blend would suit her needs just fine.  She also learned that she didn’t need to put the same more expensive fabric covers on the box springs that she wanted for the mattress. We carry both vinyl and SMS as budget-friendly alternatives for the box springs.

The end result was that for just about $6 more than that extra extra deep cover she was thinking about, she was able to get the proper size zippered dust mite cover for her mattress and box springs and they would be easy to install.

If you need to get zippered covers for your mattress, box springs, duvet or pillows and are on a tight budget, be sure to let us know. We have so many fabrics available and are so familiar with each that we can help you maximize your budget.  In addition to utilizing vinyl or SMS for the box spring, we can also direct you to less expensive covers for the pillows that you don’t rest your head upon.  We can also help you decide what to cover immediately and what can wait if you need to work in stages.

If you just let us know, we can help.
Til Next Time!
©Copyright 1996-2013 Cee DeeKay,Inc dba AllergyStore.com™ All Rights Reserved
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Dust Mites and Humidity

The official first day of Winter this year is December 22, 2011.  Winter may not be here yet, but many people have already turned on their heaters.  A side effect of using heating is a drop in the relative humidity in your home. That drop in humidity  is actually a good thing as far as dust mite populations are concerned.  Dust mites like humidity and dust mites need humidity.  There is a direct relationship between dust mites and humidity.

Exactly what is relative humidity?  It is the ratio of the amount of moisture in the air compared to the amount of moisture that the air can hold at that temperature (dew point). Once the air is saturated, dew forms.

Once relative humidity drops, you  get more static electricity (because the decrease in moisture means an increase in friction) and lots of people find that their nasal membranes and throat feel dry and they have difficulty in breathing.  Low humidity can also cause skin to dry and the scalp to flake. Because dust mites need moisture from the environment to survive, their populations decrease as the humidity decreases.  That is one good thing about dry air.

To combat the dry air caused by heating, many people run humidifiers.  These appliances are designed to put moisture back in the air. This adds moisture to the nasal passages, decreases dry skin and scalp, decreases static electricity and makes the air easier to breathe. It also provides moisture for the dust mites to continue to live and breed.  Dust mites and humidity go hand in hand.

So, if you have dust mite allergies and want to add humidity what should you do?

To begin with, never add more moisture than is necessary to bring comfort.  A relative humidity of 30% to 40% is what you want.  If you start getting condensation forming on your windows, try to dial the humidity back. Speaking of “dialing it back” don’t buy a humidifier that doesn’t allow you to set the humidity level you want. A quality humidifier will have a humidistat, which allows you to set the humidity at your desired level.  If your humidifier doesn’t have this feature, invest a few dollars in a hygrometer.  This measures the humidity levels.

We like evaporative humidifiers because they don’t produce white dust, won’t scald a child if they get too close to the unit, and don’t have the problem of scale build up that occurs with warm mist humidifiers.  There are units that are designed to do multiple rooms and units designed for one room.

No matter the type of humidifier you use, keep the humidity level as low as comfortable so that you don’t make those dust mites too comfortable!

Til Next Time!

©Copyright 1996-2013 Cee DeeKay,Inc dba AllergyStore.com™ All Rights Reserved