Bamboo for an Allergy-Friendly Bedroom – Combats Dust Mites and Odors

Short answer: House dust mites live on moisture and skin cells, and the bedroom supplies both every night. Bamboo viscose does not remove mites, but it keeps the bed drier, and dry bedding gives them poorer conditions. Together with a weekly wash at thirty degrees and airing, that is what you can do about the textiles.

What the mites live on

Mites need two things: moisture in the air and in the textiles, and dead skin cells to eat. The body supplies both every night. What you can act on is the moisture. If it stays in the mattress, the sheet and the duvet, conditions are good around the clock. If the bed dries out again during the day, they are not. Cotton absorbs a lot of moisture and releases it slowly, which is why a cotton sheet can still be damp long after you got up.

The bedding first

Bedding covers the most and touches the skin longest, so that is where the difference is largest. Bamboo viscose takes the moisture into the fibre and releases it into the air again, so the sheet is dry long before evening. The full range sits under bamboo bedding. Measure the duvet before ordering: for the short size bamboo single bedding 140x200 and for the long one bamboo single bedding 140x220 cm.

The nightwear counts too

Bedding only works together with what you wear. Cotton nightwear under a bamboo cover still holds the moisture where the fabric touches the skin, and that is exactly where the skin cells end up as well. Thin bamboo nightwear passes the moisture on to the air. See bamboo nightwear for women and bamboo nightwear for men. Choose loose rather than close fitting, so the fabric can work.

Washing and routine

Wash bedding and nightwear every week at thirty or forty degrees, and use no fabric softener: it settles around the fibres and closes off exactly the moisture transport that keeps the bed dry. Fold the duvet back in the morning instead of making the bed straight away, so the moisture can escape. Air the room briefly and thoroughly rather than leaving a window ajar all day. An extra set of bedding in the cupboard makes frequent changes easier.

The rest of the room

The towel hanging on a hook in a bedroom or an adjoining bathroom is one of the largest moisture sources in the room. Bamboo viscose releases moisture faster than cotton, so it dries between two showers instead of giving off moisture all day. See bamboo towels and the rest for the home under bamboo homewear. Hang the towel out fully rather than folding it.