Detox Your Bedroom

The bedroom is usually a place of rest, so it often slips through the cracks of regular cleaning regimes. Not only can poor housekeeping in the bedroom be detrimental to your quality of sleep but it could also damage your overall health.

The bedroom harbours a whole slew of health hazards separate from the rest of the house. Air quality is important, but number one on the list of hazards is dust mites.

Katie Molinari, spokeswoman for Method, the San Francisco company that provides nontoxic, biodegradable household cleaning products, has a few things to say about dust mites. She tells alive in a phone interview that they thrive on dander, dead skin cells, and moisture–all of which can be found in your bed and bedding.

Six Dust-Mite Busters

Molinari suggests three environmentally friendly steps to detox your bedroom of dust mites:

1. Purchase a dust-mite cover for your mattress and pillows (a removable plastic cover that zips).
2. Replace pillows at least once a year.
3. Air your bed every morning to get rid of moisture that accumulated overnight. Further action is suggested by the Ontario Ministry of Health, which cites dust mites as the most common cause of increased asthma rates among children. Public health officials recommend three additional housekeeping tasks:
4. Remove bedsheets weekly, damp-wipe the plastic mattress cover, and wash sheets.
5. Wash blankets monthly.
6. Keep household humidity level below 50 percent.

Breathe Deeply, Sleep Green

Air quality is another concern for bedrooms because you breathe deeper when you sleep than when you’re awake. You will spend about one-third of your life sleeping, so air quality in the bedroom needs to be at its cleanest.

Begin by taking a close look at the furniture, mattresses, and bedding you use. Are they made from natural materials? Organic cotton, bamboo, and hemp textiles are soft and gentle on sensitive skin and they are now so popular that they are widely available at large chain stores.

What materials are used in your bedroom furniture? Avoid furniture constructed from particleboard or plywood, as they contain glue and formaldehyde that release toxic gasses into the air. When purchasing new furni-ture, consider pieces made from recycled wood. It’s a better choice than new furniture constructed from wood sourced in old-growth and endangered forests. Another environmentally friendly option is to turn someone’s trash into your treasure by shopping for second-hand bedroom furniture.

Now look at candles you use. Soy, vegetable, or beeswax candles are better than paraffin as they burn without soot.

At the very least, you can open your bedroom windows to let in a fresh breath of air.

Practise Molinari’s dust-mite recommendations, crack open the window, and rest easy in your newly detoxed sleep sanctuary.