ARE YOU SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY?
Before we begin, lets agree…Please understand that our desire to inform you on the subject of dust mite contamination, as disturbing as it can be for some people, isn’t meant to scare you into taking action. Rather, it’s strictly designed to inform and educate so that with the proper information, you can make the best decision for you and those you care for concerning this subject. Our belief will always be invested in the intelligence and discernment of our customers, and their ability to know what best to do and how best to react given the facts.
If you or anyone in your family identifies with any of the following allergy related maladies such as Asthma, Eczema, Hay Fever, Bronchitis, Inflammation of the Mucous Membranes, Itchy Red Eyes, Headaches, Sinus Pain, Fatigue, early morning fits of excessive sneezing, even a feeling of depression when you wake up, you may well be sleeping with the enemy.
Who is this enemy? He’s called a dust mite and we’ll spare you trying to remember or even pronounce the scientific name. Dust mites live primarily in mattresses, but they are invisible to the human eye. The dust mite feeds on shed dead skin cells. The feces and dead bodies of mites are allergens to susceptible people, causing asthma, rhinitis or dermatitis.
These little creatures, not visible to the naked eye, and in fact, they’re so small that as many as 1000 of them could be placed on the head of a pin. And guess where their favorite breeding spot is? Yes, that’s right. . . the mattress. Their ideal home!
Why the mattress? Because it’s warm, often moist, cozy, easy to burrow into and full of their favorite food…skin flakes, the skin flakes every human being sheds every day and night of his or her life, no matter what their age, sex or state of health.
And you can’t just vacuum them away.
FACTS:
- We shed 10,000 million scales of bacteria laden skin each day, most end up in our mattresses.
- Dust mites produce 200 times its body weight in excrement during their normal life span.
- Dust mites feast for up to 170 days on our shed skin.
- Dust mites spread rapidly. A female dust mite lays 300 eggs.
- They can live without food for up to a year.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. How often should a mattress be cleaned?
A. Dust mites thrive on the skin flakes we shed every night. The recommended service interval is once every year unless you suffer from severe allergies then more often.
Q. Why can’t I just vacuum my own mattress?
A. Traditional household vacuums do not have the power to remove the highly resilient dust mites and other harmful debris that are deeply embedded in the mattress. And, they do not utilize the all important sanitizing properties of Microban®, the key to effective sanitizing.
Q. How long does the cleaning process take?
A. It depends on the size of mattress, but between 15-20 minutes for a single mattress and about 30 minutes for a double mattress. Queen and King Mattresses can take up to an hour. If the mattress has experienced urine damage, it will probably need to be removed and treated at Janssen’s facility. Such urine damage restoration can take a few days to complete.
Q. How long after you’ve finished do we have to wait before we can make the bed and go to sleep?
A. You only need to wait for the Microban® we mist the bed and the cleaning solutions we use to evaporate off. So about 1-2 hours. You can then make the bed and go straight to sleep. You don’t even need to air the room unless you want to.
Q. Is there any mess after you finish?
A. No. We make no mess and leave the room exactly how we found it. All you will have to do is to make the bed when we leave.
Q. Can mattress cleaning cure my allergy?
A. No, it doesn’t offer any cure, but it will help to reduce the severity and frequency of allergies. Many of our customers have found that their particular allergy disappears altogether and in the case of asthmatics, about 85% of sufferers are allergic to House Dust Mite droppings, so the chances of us helping an asthma sufferer is very high.
Q. Can an old mattress be cleaned effectively?
A. Yes, most definitely. Mattresses that are old will have much higher levels of dust mites and droppings, dead skin, fungal spores, bacteria and germs. This will also apply to hand-me-down ones as well. Our process is extremely effective and will make them clean and fresh again.
Q. Do protective mattress covers work?
A. There has been studies that show them not to work effectively. Also, from our experience, whenever we have cleaned a mattress with a protective cover, the mattress has always tested positive for contamination. However, if you have got them already or you are intending to buy some, then only use them on a brand new mattress or one that has just been cleaned and sanitized by us. If you don’t, all you are doing is incubating the mold, bacteria and fungus that is already present.
Q. Is there a dust mite season, as with pollen or molds?
Are the summer months tougher on people with dust mite allergies because of the higher humidity?
A. The dust mite season is actually quite erratic. It may be higher in the summer in many climates because of the warmth and higher humidity. But people who are sensitive to dust mites often will have symptoms all year-round. And in the winter time, when people spend more time indoors and keep windows and doors closed, dust mite particles are often still in the house, and they still can be a problem.
Q. Can exposure to dust mites actually cause the sensitivity, or are you just born allergic to dust mites?
A. The main area of concern is in very young children growing up in environments where there’s high dust mite exposure — or other types of allergen exposure. There is some evidence that if an infant or a young child grows up where there’s a high exposure to sensitizing substances, he or she will be more likely to develop allergy problems, asthma or both.
If you, or someone you know, suffer from Asthma, allergies or skin disorders, or you just want to know more about how dangerous Dust mites are, then we hope you find some of the following links useful. They will provide you with the latest information from around the world and each of these in turn leads on to numerous other links, so there is a wealth of information available to you.