dust mite allergy

[al]

Does anyone have any experience with this?
I have removed the stuffed toys from DS's room, and I will buy him a new
mattress(this was on the plan as his is an old hand me down one) with those
allergy covers and bedlinin (I just bought him a new wool doona but I need
a synthetic one I think so I can wash it in hot water) From what I've read
it's most important to reduce dust mites in his room, what I'm wondering is
do I have to get rid of all the fuffy toys in DD's room too? he doesn't
sleep or play in her room. At the moment we have carpet, the DR told me not
to rip it up but when we are replacing it to go for hard floors (which was
our plan anyway) we don't have curtains in our house except DD's room and
one old couch which I'll replace with something the mites won't live in as
soon as I can afford it.Any advise?
Alley

[Staycalm]

"al" <som...@somewhere.com> wrote in message
news:466fd065$0$21008$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...

I used to clean for a family whose oldest son was a severe asthmatic. I
needed to damp dust all surfaces. They had hard floors and some rugs which
were regularly cleaned. His room and the playroom were pretty much free of
any dust collectors. Toys were kept in lidded crates, etc. His sister's and
little brother's rooms were without carpets and curtains but other than that
they had the typical soft toys.
Can't you do do something to soft toys to kill the dust mites <going to
google>

OK - here's from http://www.asthmascore.com.au/mites.aspx

1.. Cover mattress, pillow and quilt with dust mite resistant covers. The
covers must be washed every 2 months.
2.. Wash sheets and pillow cases weekly in water hotter than 55C. This
will kill mites and wash away the allergen they produce. If you cannot wash
in hot water, use a commercial product containing essential oils such as tea
tree or eucalyptus oils, formulated to kill dust mites in cold water. If
washing normally, hot tumble drying of washed items for 10 minutes after
they are dry will kill mites. Dry cleaning is not as effective as it will
kill house dust mites but wont remove the allergen they produce.
3.. Remove sheepskin or woollen underlays.
4.. Remove all soft toys from the bed and bedroom. Replace them with
wooden or plastic toys which can be washed. If a soft toy is allowed it
should be washed weekly using the method described for sheets. It should be
noted that freezing soft toys overnight kills mites but doesn't remove
allergen.
Other measures include using a damp duster or electrostatic cloths; reducing
humidity; and vacuuming carpets weekly. Because many houses have a large
floor area you might also consider replacing carpets with hard floors.

Cheers and happy cleaning!
:-)

Liz

[al]

Staycalm wrote:

thanks, I'm looking forward to all the cleaning....now I'm beginning to
regret buying wooden Venetians!
Alley

[pama...@telus.net]

We make a spray called "Dustmite Eraser". It came about because of my
aversion to hotel rooms. You may find out all about it at
www.woodlandbotanicals.com. There are links to study data there as
well, regarding the efficacy of the essential oils we incorporate.
Good luck to you, Pam