Posts tagged Mite

Duvet Covers have become a popular choice for bedding around the world. Originally it was a type of bedding found in continental Europe or Scandinavia. The Duvet draws its name from the French word for down and that is the material that the quilt that a duvet covers is used with contains. The duvet (or quilt) can contain feathers, silk, wool, cotton, polyester batting or other artificial fibers. This duvet is then used with a duvet cover to keep it clean, or to coordinate it with the decor of a room. The duvet may be confused with a quilt, but the distinction is typically that a quilt is used on top of other bedding, a duvet is used as the sole bedcovering.

Bedding however can be a great living and hiding place for all sorts of dust and dirt and duvets are no different. Dust mites can thrive in the duvet and it’s important that it be cleaned regularly. If you are allergic to dust and dust mites it would be especially important to find a duvet cover that is resistent to dust mites passing through the material. Cleaning the duvet seems as though it could be a challenging process. A large commercial washing machine is recommended for a duvet to be cleaned. You should not have a duvet dry cleaned as the chemicals may damage the filler material. If you choose to dry your duvet in the dryer you should stop it periodically and break up any lumps of damp filler material that have clumped together. You should also use low heat to dry your duvet.

It’s worth noting that it takes special measures beyond a simple run through the washer to kill off dust mites. Dust mites have been shown to be more effectively killed off if certain essential oils are used in the washing process such as pine, eucalyptus, or peppermint oil. These can kill a large majority of the dust mites in the duvet and will also leave a refreshing scent. Unfortunately just killing dust mites is note quite enough. Most allergies to dust mites are to their waste products and their bodies (dead or live) and so it might be effective to shake out or even beat your duvet with a broom as it’s suspended from a line. After this you will need to redistribute the filling material so that it is evenly placed. If you start out with a dust mite proof duvet cover you will not have to take such extreme cleaning measures of your duvet, you can simply focus your cleaning on the duvet cover on a regular basis and still avoid allergies related to dust mites in a dirty duvet.

Even with a good duvet cover it would be wise to regularly wash your duvet, however it should not be necessary to go to such extreme measures to remove dust mites from the duvet if you have an effective duvet cover. One advantage to the duvet cover is if they are allergen proof you should be able to just change out the duvet cover for washing on a frequent basis and then on a less frequent schedule clean your duvet. Another advantage to this routine is that you will be able to change out the look and feel of your bedroom on a regular basis as well if you have duvet covers with various designs.