I have been going crazier each day coming home from our new outside world. Very conscious of my "new normal", I walk into my home, remove my shoes, wash my hands, sanitize, change my clothes, and place them in a separate container to be washed separate from the rest of the household laundry. Emerging from my entry staging room, I wipe down all touch points and run my Rainbow on high to clean and sanitize the air. All of this happens, while I also interrogate both my spouse and kids about their sanitation habits that day, as I continue to remind and preach about the expected necessary precautions.
Who am I? Can you relate at least a bit? I felt much like the super OCD villain Martin, from the Julia Roberts 90's psycho-thriller, where in the thick of its plot, Julia's character couldn't possibly get anything right to keep her husband Martin happy. That similar obsession has now become a very familiar and common topic of conversation amongst people like you and me - our friends, family, and even clients.
With that said, let's get nasty. What would you guess is the filthiest, dirtiest, and most unsanitary place in your entire home? Would you guess the kitchen? Bathroom? Everyone has that "one place" - and while you may think you know, truth is, there is still a worse place most people don't even think about. Which is why, not only does it go unnoticed, it also goes forever uncleaned. I am talking about the one place you do not hesitate to lay on every night. Your mattress. Did you know?
“After 4-7 years, an old mattress becomes a heavy weight, from pounds of dead skin, gallons of sweat, and millions of dust mites that accumulate inside it!” - Confirmed by both popular mattress juggernauts Mattress Firm’s blog and Glen Needham, a retired professor of entomology at Ohio State University.
Dust mites are known to live anywhere there is high humidity and a good source of food, making human mattresses and bedding the perfect spot.
The American Lung Associations tells us, "The harmful allergen they create comes from their fecal pellets and body fragments. Dust mites are nearly everywhere; roughly four out of five homes in the United States have detectable levels of dust mite allergens in at least one bed as well as the air we breathe."
Dust mites are the source of sneezing, wheezing, coughing, itchy and watery eyes, runny noses, stuffy noses, eczema, and asthma. Dust mites, their body parts, and their feces are the most common household allergens.
"Dust mites are nearly everywhere; roughly four out of five homes in the United States have detectable levels of dust mite allergens in at least one bed as well as the air we breathe."
I have news for you! There are only two ways to get rid of dust mites. You can burn them or drown them; and since you can’t very well set your home on fire, stay tuned as we are the experts on how to drown those invaders, and get them out of your home for good!