DUST IN THE BEDROOM? LOOK OUT

Most of the dust in our homes is shedded human skin. Mix this with other dirt in the air, and we have a recipe for allergic reactions.

But dust exposure can also lower resistance to illness, interrupt sleep duration, and impair sleep quality. Chronic ailments may ensue. The consequences of dust in the bedroom may be subtle and insidious. You can be having poor sleep quality without being aware of it. Like so many other chronic problems, symptoms do not become evident until the disease process is well advanced. Better to prevent a malady than try to deal with an established one.

Even if you do not have an allergy to dust or dust mites, you can still react to them in your bedroom. If you experience vague, unexplained symptoms, like tiredness, difficulty waking after what should have been a good night’s sleep, weight gain, or cognitive problems, consider the possibility that your sleep is disturbed by a reaction to dust or dust mites in the bedroom. 

Anybody who does not sleep well should not ignore the possibility of dust or dust mites as a partial cause of their problem. The only way to know for sure is to eliminate dust collectors and see if that improves your situation. Though that may seem dramatic, If other remedies are not working, this strategy may provide a satisfactory answer.

A response to the mitigating actions described below may be the only way to know if your environment is causing your problem.

Accumulations of dust accommodate dust mites. These little creatures cause obvious allergic reactions in susceptible individuals. They also cause less conspicuous problems. The malady may only be identifiable once the stimulus is removed. Then, you may notice that previously absent or ambiguous symptoms disappear. If you feel better after making your bedroom as dust free as possible, then you will know that you were having a reaction to dust and dust mites. 

Is it possible to reduce dust exposure in your bedroom? Yes, it is.

Remove things that collect dust. This includes stuffed animals, upholstered furniture, plants, clothes hanging in the room or draped over furniture, books, piles of papers, magazines, and cardboard. Either remove them from the room or store them in drawers, closets, sealable plastic containers, or anything that walls them off from the air you breathe.

Be as complete as is reasonable. Have ready storage containers for things like slippers. Hang up your bathrobe in the closet and close the door.

Clean curtains. They must be removed and washed in the machine weekly. It is better to replace them with blinds that can be easily and effectively dusted weekly. If you want to replace your bedroom windows, consider a model that has two panes of glass with an adjustable blind or room darkener in between. Dust cannot get into the enclosed area. These never need cleaning.

Carpeting holds dust and grows dust mites. There are chemical cleaners that kill dust mites, but they have to be reapplied monthly. There are also natural methods for this elimination. For either approach, dust mites reoccupy the carpeting, mandating repeated efforts to eliminate them. And the dust remains in the rug. Small area rugs that can be washed in the washing machine are preferable for ridding them of both the dust and the mites.

Wood or tile floors are ideal in the bedroom. I would not encourage replacing carpeting with flooring because the likely benefit may not justify the effort and expense. You cannot predict how much reward this action will produce. If you already have wood floors beneath the carpeting and were thinking of throwing it out anyway, then that is a good move. If other strategies of dust reduction were wildly successful in ridding you of symptoms, you may consider getting it worthwhile to get rid of the carpeting. That is a decision you may have to make.

Plants in the bedroom contain and collect dust. Grow them in another room. Place a decorative artificial plant under a glass cover in the bedroom if you like.

Although it may be difficult and against your strong preference, banning mammalian pets from the bedroom makes a huge difference for many. If you are going to employ this advice, then this restriction must be in force 100% of the time. You do not need to be allergic to your pet for this closed door tactic to be successful.

Encase pillows, comforters, blankets, and mattresses in dust covers. These are tightly woven fabrics that zip closed. These barriers isolate you from the inevitable occupation of your bedding and mattress by dust mites. They may be uncomfortable because of the weave. Counteract this by placing more comfortable and more easily removed pillowcases and sheets over these articles. Then you won’t have to wash the dust covers as frequently. Dust covers can be a hassle to remove and replace. 

Clean the bedroom weekly. Eliminate spider webs. Wet mop the entire floor and the corners where walls meet walls and walls meet ceiling. Wet mop every surface. Dust all surfaces with a wet moist dust cloth. Consider putting interesting trinkets in sealed display cases to avoid dust settling on them, especially if they are difficult to clean.

Consider putting an air purifier in your bedroom. This draws circulating dust (you can see this dust floating in the sunlight) out of the air and traps it with a filter. Clean and replace the filters as recommended by the manufacturer of the appliance. Another option is to use a negative ion generator. These put a charge on the dust, which makes it settle on various surfaces. Then you have to clean these areas every few days.

Dust and dust mites can disrupt sleep  inconspicuously. You do not have to be allergic to be affected.  An additional benefit of keeping the bedroom clean is less exposure to viruses. The body’s defenses against illness are less active while you are asleep. Because you are inactive, breathing is not as forceful and blood circulation is reduced compared to waking hours. It won’t hurt to keep the bedroom clean and uncluttered.