Dust mite eradication

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Discussion

Slow.Patrol

Original Poster:

913 posts

21 months

Monday 24th April 2023
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It appears that my eczema is being aggravated by an allergy to dust mites.

I have been doing the manic hoovering of carpets, pillows and mattress which has helped.

However, I noticed that there are sprays being sold on Amazon which apparently will kill off dust mites. Has anyone used these and are they effective?

phil1979

3,600 posts

222 months

Monday 24th April 2023
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I thought throwing bedding in the tumble dryer killed of the bugs better than hoovering etc?

Slow.Patrol

Original Poster:

913 posts

21 months

Tuesday 25th April 2023
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phil1979 said:
I thought throwing bedding in the tumble dryer killed of the bugs better than hoovering etc?
Oddly enough we have been using the tumble dryer and it seems to have got worse.

phil1979

3,600 posts

222 months

Tuesday 25th April 2023
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That's odd...

Are you sure this isn't being caused by a reaction to a pollen that's now started springing up again?

vulture1

12,775 posts

186 months

Tuesday 25th April 2023
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Slow.Patrol said:
phil1979 said:
I thought throwing bedding in the tumble dryer killed of the bugs better than hoovering etc?
Oddly enough we have been using the tumble dryer and it seems to have got worse.
Probably not wnough heat getting g I totally he fabric might actually be helping them. Get one of those hand held steamers and steam clean your bedding and mattress. I also hoover my bed every morning to get all the bits from a night's scratching off straight away.

Chromegrill

1,100 posts

93 months

Tuesday 25th April 2023
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Those sprays can be slippery. I know someone who sprayed the stairs carpet with one shortly before a trip to A&E.

How often do you change the bedlinen? Consider at least a couple of times a week, try different washing powders (bio or non bio)....lots of options but often comes down to trial and error.

sherman

13,838 posts

222 months

Tuesday 25th April 2023
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Chromegrill said:
Those sprays can be slippery. I know someone who sprayed the stairs carpet with one shortly before a trip to A&E.

How often do you change the bedlinen? Consider at least a couple of times a week, try different washing powders (bio or non bio)....lots of options but often comes down to trial and error.
The washing powder can make a huge difference.
I changed from Bold to Ariel and my ezema got better.
I also changed my soap in the bathroom and it got better.
You will just have to do alot of trail and error.

popeyewhite

21,383 posts

127 months

Wednesday 26th April 2023
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Need to wash bedding once a week at 60c.

A normal hoover won't pick up most dust mites/mold/excretia.

Sprays are ok, use a decent hoover afterwards. Spray all loose upholstery in the bedroom.

You can buy bedding 'wraps' - these are like big cotton bags - that you put your duvets/pillows/mattress in. The cotton weave is so tight dust mites can't get out.

You can buy air 'cleansers', that dry the air thus stopping dust mites from finding any moisture to drink and killing them off.

I'm on my third week of this protocol, told to me by the head of Macclesfield DH Head & Neck Dept, after an allergy test showed extremely positive for dust mite allergens. I'm just starting to show some improvement now, obviously it takes time... .

smifffymoto

4,771 posts

212 months

Wednesday 26th April 2023
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Get your bed and carpets steam cleaned.

Slow.Patrol

Original Poster:

913 posts

21 months

Wednesday 26th April 2023
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Thanks for the suggestions. I am definitely going to look at the bedding wraps.

Someone mentioned putting pillows in the freezer, so I might try that too.

sparkyhx

4,193 posts

211 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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Latex pillows and mattress can also help as they are inhospitable to dust mites being antimicrobial as well.
I love my Latex pillow, didn't get it for that reason through

Same also applies to memory foam pillows and mattresses - but to a less extent compared to latex

vulture1

12,775 posts

186 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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sparkyhx said:
Latex pillows and mattress can also help as they are inhospitable to dust mites being antimicrobial as well.
I love my Latex pillow, didn't get it for that reason through

Same also applies to memory foam pillows and mattresses - but to a less extent compared to latex
If you have eczema I can guarantee latex will make your skin 11 million times worse.

wyson

2,716 posts

111 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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Your vacuum does have a Hepa filter right?

Slow.Patrol

Original Poster:

913 posts

21 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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wyson said:
Your vacuum does have a Hepa filter right?
Not sure if it does. We have just bought a new Vax which seems to function a lot better than our old one.

GiantCardboardPlato

5,401 posts

28 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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Slow.Patrol said:
It appears that my eczema is being aggravated by an allergy to dust mites.

I have been doing the manic hoovering of carpets, pillows and mattress which has helped.

However, I noticed that there are sprays being sold on Amazon which apparently will kill off dust mites. Has anyone used these and are they effective?
I used one and it did work but make sure you avoid the cat.

wyson

2,716 posts

111 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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Slow.Patrol said:
Not sure if it does. We have just bought a new Vax which seems to function a lot better than our old one.
Ok, you might be hoovering it up and spewing it back out without a Hepa filter. When I used to suffer from house dust mite allergies in the past, using a crappy vacuum (gtech ram) made my symptoms worse. A Hepa filtered Miele brought immediate relief.

anonymous-user

61 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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Strip your bed right back every morning and dont make it til last thing at night. Keep the window open all day as well. It will dry out and kill the little critters.

summit7

723 posts

236 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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My wife has dust mite allergy. To help with this we have bought dust mite "proof" inner covers for our duvet and pillows, they have helped. They add time to changing bedding but have helped us and a simple change to make.

popeyewhite

21,383 posts

127 months

Saturday 29th April 2023
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wyson said:
Ok, you might be hoovering it up and spewing it back out without a Hepa filter. When I used to suffer from house dust mite allergies in the past, using a crappy vacuum (gtech ram) made my symptoms worse. A Hepa filtered Miele brought immediate relief.
Interesting. Any particular Miele? (yes i know a Hepa filtered one !) YKWIM

wyson

2,716 posts

111 months

Saturday 29th April 2023
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popeyewhite said:
Interesting. Any particular Miele? (yes i know a Hepa filtered one !) YKWIM
It was an allergy cylinder model. An older version of something like this:
https://www.miele.co.uk/e/cylinder-vacuum-cleaner-...

The main thing is the Hepa filter, lots of brands offer them. The dust mite poo, which is one of the main allergens is microscopic and will bypass "normal" vacuum filters and will just come out of the exhaust, kicking it up in the air, which is even worse! The Hepa standard was originally developed for hospitals, and will block all the main allergens.

I also use a VAX Pure Air 300 air purifier, the filter isn't quite Hepa standard, but will block 99% of particles.
So in the bedroom everytime someone got under the sheets, it would go off, reducing airbourne allergens quickly. Slamming doors (toddlers love this) would also trigger it etc. as did the goddamn awful GTech AirRam. It doesn't react to the Miele.

Edited by wyson on Saturday 29th April 12:37