Been awhile since we have posted anything about dust mites or anything else for that matter.

The question came up the other day about products that were really effective for dust mite allergies. In particular they were talking about using those UV wands to kill dust mites on a mattress. They think they want to add a mattress cleaning service to their company.

There are all sorts of products on the market that claim they can kill or control dust mites and the allergens they produce. Some work but most don’t. If you want to read about products that DO work please check out this article, Dust Mite Products That Really Work. Cheryl at the Allergy Store really does know here stuff.

Back to the UV question and mattress cleaning. First of all there is not a vacuum made that has enough suction to pull air all the way through a mattress or even half of it. Not going to happen.

UV does kill different types of bacteria but the contact time (how long the light shines on it) varies by what you are trying to kill. Just running a wand down a mattress is not going to cut it.

Now we have used the ADMS spray (see Cheryl’s article) on the mattress and it was effective. The key to using it or any other spray is making sure the mattress is dry before you put it back together. If it is not you can end up with a mold problem that will make dust mites look easy.

In the end I told  them they would be better off selling their customer dust mite proof bedding. Much more effective and they would have happier clients.

Ever wonder why dust mites cause allergic reactions? Find out more here.