Posted on 01/09/2017
Your child spends between one third to one half of each 24-hour day in his or her bedroom, so it’s important to make sure that room offers a healthy environment. Three major allergens that may be sneaking into your child’s bedroom are dust mites, mold, and mildew. The good news is that by controlling the environment, you can greatly reduce the risk of your child’s bedroom hosting these and other allergens that may prove hazardous to your child’s health.
Avoid Housing Dust Mites
We’ve written about dust mites before (and also about lice and bed bugs, for that matter). The Naturepedic mattresses we carry here at The Bedroom Source incorporate both organic cotton and GOTS-certified organic wool batting to promote a comfortable, dust-mite-proof sleeping surface.
Additional steps you can take to avoid exposing your child to these little critters include the following:
• Be sure to wash all bedding weekly in water that’s 130 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter and then dry it in a hot dryer.
• Choose low-nap carpet or replace all carpeting with hardwood or linoleum flooring, if possible.
• If your child’s bedroom has carpet flooring, vacuum it at least once per week, preferably with a vacuum that has a HEPA filter and a double bag.
• Use roller shades or easy-to-clean window treatments, instead of heavy drapery that requires dry cleaning or blinds that trap plenty of dust.
Declutter and Clean, Clean, Clean
Mold and mildew both thrive in the kind of dust and dirt that naturally accumulates on windows, furniture, and other areas. You can make it easier to maintain a clean bedroom by eliminating clutter that requires extra steps, making the cleaning process take longer.
Additional allergens can be caused by excrement from roaches, and the more areas for those critters to hide, the more likely you’ll be to find them. Like dust mites, children with asthma can be especially susceptible to these allergens. Wet towels and food that isn’t tightly sealed up can easily lure in roaches.
Encourage Healthy Air Quality
The allergens we’ve been discussing all thrive in a moist, warm atmosphere — which isn’t conducive to sleeping, anyway. Instead of opening windows, it’s better to run the air conditioner on warm evenings, keeping the temperature below 77 degrees. If you live in a particularly humid area, a dehumidifier can help keep the moisture levels between 30 and 50%, regardless of the temperature. An air-filtration system using a HEPA filter can work with either your HVAC system or a portable AC unit to keep the air in your child’s bedroom even cleaner. Commercial quality home air cleaners, such as RabbitAir, work well for constant air filtration and circulation.
An obvious way to improve air quality is to make your child’s bedroom a “no zone” for your furry pets, whose saliva, dander, and urine can carry added allergens. If you simply can’t say no to your child’s favorite pet, be sure to increase the frequency of vacuuming to two or three times per week.
The Bedroom Source
Located near the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island, The Bedroom Source is your source for the best collection of children's and teen bedroom furniture. From flexibly configurable Maxtrix furniture to fashionable Smartstuff collections, The Bedroom Source offers high end furniture and professional design assistance to create the bedroom of your child's dreams.
Contact the friendly staff at The Bedroom Source by calling (516) 248-0600 or by submitting our online contact form. We're a local family owned mom & pop store. When you shop with us, you're dealing directly with the owners. We professionally assemble everything we sell. We deliver to Nassau, Suffolk, the 5 Boroughs, Southern Westchester, Southwestern Connecticut & Northern New Jersey.