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Dust Mites, Allergies and Mattresses
Page last updated: October 10, 2010
People tend to be repulsed by the idea that their mattress may be harboring millions of dust mites. Dust mites are microscopic relatives of the spider that thrive in warm, humid environments such as that found in many mattresses.
They feed on the shedded skin of people that settles inside the mattress; they also will feed on any fibrous material that is present inside the bed.
The weight of a mattress can double in a decade because of dust mite infestation.
At least 10% of people and 80% of allergy sufferers are allergic to dust mite waste and dead dust mites.
Signs of dust mite allergy include those common to hay fever, such as sneezing and runny nose.
Many people with dust mite allergy also show signs of asthma, such as wheezing and breathing problems.
| Water |
| Air |
| Memory Foam |
| Latex |
| Futon |
| Innerspring |
| Fewer mites | More mites |
Water
Waterbeds, especially hardside waterbeds, are generally dust-mite proof. Since much of the bed consists of a sealed water chamber(s), dust mites have largely no where to go and populate.
Air
Airbeds do an effective job overall of discouraging large dust mite populations. That's because neither the food that the dust mites eat nor the dust mites themselves can easily penetrate the air chambers. On the other hand, there is foam on parts of the bed, and both dust mite food and dust mites can certainly enter such areas, although the mites probably do not eat the foam itself.
Memory Foam and Latex
There is misunderstanding regarding memory foam / latex and dust mites. They are not dust-mite proof, but rather dust-mite resistant. Dust mites do live in memory foam and latex and eat on the shedded skin cells that penetrate the surface. However, they do not eat the memory foam / latex itself. Whether this results in substantially lower dust mite populations and a lower likelihood of allergy is unclear.
Futons
Futons that have a mattress made of foam may have smaller dust mite populations than those made of cotton blend.
Innerspring
Innerspring beds are generally not dust-mite resistant. Dust mites can easily enter the mattress and like to feed off of the shedded skin cells that make their way inside as well as the fibrous material that the bed is often made of.