Remember the song lyrics from South Pacific? I’m gonna wash that man right outa my hair…

I was reminded of that recently.  I was speaking to a sweet retiree on the West Coast.  She had just discovered that she was allergic to dust mites and was told to start washing to get rid of them.  Unfortunately, there was a break down in communication because while she knew she had to wash them out, she didn’t know exactly what she needed to wash them out of.  She had done a little searching on the internet, but only came away more confused.  I can’t tell you how relieved she was to contact us, get good, actionable information and find out that she didn’t need to wash the mites out of her hair, car, or kitchen cabinets.

We talked about the necessity of washing her bed linens weekly in hot water.  Because she can’t control the temperature of the hot water where she lives, we decided that her best plan of action was to wash with De-Mite Laundry additive to get rid of mites in her bedding.  Doctors often tell their patients to wash bedding in hot water, but they don’t mention that the water needs to be 140 degrees.  Most homes don’t have water that hot.  If the water isn’t hot enough to kill the mites, it is just a waste of energy to heat it up “almost enough” but not quite hot enough.

To get rid of mites in bedding, you can add De-Mite and wash in cold water.  Just focus on the bedding.  I can’t tell you how relieved the caller was to discover that she didn’t need to wash all the clothes in her closet.  She didn’t come out and say it, but I got the impression she had more than just a few ensembles in her closet.  Adding the De-Mite is just a small thing to do but it gets big results.  And results are what it is all about.

I can’t help but laugh, when on occasion I do a search on “wash dust mites out” or “get rid of dust mites”.  You find so many crazy ideas out there, I can see where people get confused.  One site tells you to add baking soda to your water.  Well, baking soda will act as a softener if your water is hard and the surfactants in your detergent will be more effective but that has zero to do with killing dust mites.  Another site tells you to wash all your clothes in hot water and run an ozone machine in your house.  Really?  Ozone?  Isn’t that the thing that when there is so much of it in the air outside they tell you to stay inside?  Wikihow actually tells you to clean out your cupboards.  Excuse me Mr. Wiki but there just aren’t lots of dust mites in your cupboard, why do you want people to clean there?  See why people get confused?

If you have questions about what to do or just feel overwhelmed, don’t forget that our friendly Customer Service staff is just a phone call away.  All of our employees are well versed in helping people control their indoor environment so they can control their allergies.  After all, its what we do.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store