By Georgi Bellingham

06th December 2016

How to ensure the healthiest and best night's sleep for all of your family

By Georgi Bellingham

06th December 2016

By Georgi Bellingham

06th December 2016

So you have invested in organic cotton or bamboo bedding, to protect your family from all the chemical nasties used in polycotton bed sheets, but if you don’t keep your bed linen hygienically clean you are exposing yourself and you family to more potential problems. Bed is where you spend a third of your life, so if you are suffering with allergies, it is a good place to start investigating the possible causes.

Research has shown that many people wash their bedding only once every 5 weeks! It is recommended that bed linen is washed every 1-2 weeks to keep it clean. During the night we sweat, as our bodies try to regulate our temperature in our sealed, centrally-heated homes. This sweat is then soaked up by our bed linen and nightwear. While we are asleep our skin produces oils, which also end up on the bedding. Add into the mix dead skin cells, traces of urine, faecal matter and a cocktail of germs picked up during the day and you have a pretty unhealthy place to sleep.

You could be forgiven for thinking that simply washing your bedding regularly is enough to keep it clean, but what about those bacteria and viruses that can survive the lower temperature laundry cycles? Germs including the flu and norovirus can survive a 40 degree wash. The only way to ensure they are removed from bed linen is to wash them at higher temperatures, of at least 60 degrees. This is especially important if someone in the household is ill. The norovirus is pretty hardy and can even survive cleaning with bleach products, so you need to be meticulous with your cleaning, including the bedding, to stop it spreading throughout the whole household.

Every day your body sheds around a million skin cells – a perfect feast for the dust mites who thrive in the warmth of our beds. It is believed that their faeces are the cause of around 80 percent of asthma cases. If you wake up coughing and with a running nose, or suffer regularly from rhinitis, dust mites could be the culprit. For those with other allergies, attack by dust mites and their faeces can stimulate overproduction of histamines, making the reaction worse. Dust mites have been shown to trigger hayfever and eczema as well. Dust mite faeces can contain Salmonella, the main cause of food poisoning. Once an infection takes hold it is easily spread through the household by contact. If someone has picked up Salmonella poisoning, the germs can stay in their bedding for a long time. The only way to prevent the spread of infection is by taking strict hygiene measures, including washing bed linen at as high a temperature as possible.

Vacuuming or steam cleaning your mattress once a month can help to reduce the amount of dust mites living in it. To get a natural deep clean sprinkle the mattress with baking soda and a few drops of your favourite essential oil. Leave for a few hours then vacuum thoroughly. If you can limit the amount of dust mites in your mattress you will be well on the way to a restful night’s sleep.

Think also about the flooring in your bedroom. Carpets are also a great breeding ground for dust mites, so if you can choose to go carpet free – it is easier to clean and looks great paired with a deep pile rug to step onto when you get out of bed. A natural bedroom with help you relax and get a restful night’s sleep.

I am an avid homemaker, writer and copy-editor, work-at-home mum of two boys and one girl. I live in Cornwall, trying to raise happy kids.

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