• 12" depths - Be sure to check the depth of your mattress before ordering as most mattresses are 9" deep.
• " Zipper Tape - Many doctors recommend putting tape on the zipper to be sure no allergens escape.

What Are Mite Proof Encasings?

The question is often asked, "Can I protect myself and my family from developing asthma and allergies?"
The answer is Yes! Medical studies now show that families can help prevent allergies and asthma from developing in their children by removing mite allergen from the home environment during the child's first year of life. The microscopic dust mites, proven causes of allergic symptoms such as sneezing, sniffling, and swollen, itchy nose and eyes, are alive and well in most every bedroom, regardless of how fastidiously you clean. Allergy specialists and medical studies state that using zippered encasings on your mattress, pillows & box spring will stop dust mite allergen in your bedding from becoming airborne and breathed in while you sleep. Unlike the uncomfortable plastic covers of the past that were hot and crinkly, ours are cool and extremely comfortable - a real pleasure to sleep on. Like an invisible shield, they completely trap mites and their allergen inside the encasing to give you the perfect barrier of protection while extending the life of pillows and mattresses. Today's encasings are made of soft, comfortable, breathable fabrics that protect you and pamper you, too!

Why Bed Encasings From Speleotherapy Clinic Make A Difference:

• Doctors know encasings are the best, most complete way to avoid dust mite allergen. Close the zipper and you get a barrier of protection by completely trapping dust mites and their allergen inside because all of our encasings have a mean pore size in the recommended range of 2 to 10 microns.
• No more sweaty nights sleeping on plastic covers. All of our membrane-free, mite-proof encasings breathe wonderfully yet stop mite allergen cold.
  Our cool, comfortable encasings are a pleasure to sleep on.
• You get allergy relief while extending the life of pillows, mattresses and box springs.
  

The #1 Way To Dramatically Reduce Dust Mite Allergen Exposure

Pillow Encasings:

Under Your Pillowcases - Forget crinkly, uncomfortable encasings. Our membrane-free pillow encasings disappear onto your pillow but protect you night after night.

Mattress Encasings:

Under Your Fitted Sheet - No more sweaty nights sleeping on plastic covers. Our encasings all breathe wonderfully yet stop mite allergen cold. So you get total protection and total comfort.

Box Spring Encasings:

Under Your Mattress - To thoroughly seal off bedding from dust mites and their allergens, medical studies have concluded that box springs should always be encased.

Comforter Covers

Satin Soft Supreme Ultra-Light Comforter Covers
Our Mite-Proof Covers Protect You AND Your Comforter!

If you love the feel of your old, fluffy comforter but your allergies don't, here's a great way to protect yourself. This encasing is made with our luxurious, Satin Soft Supreme material that seals dust mite allergen away from you.

Ultimate Mite-Proof Pillow Needs No Encasing!

Pillows

From our unique mite-proof pillows to hyper clean down pillows, we offer a wide variety of comfort options to fit nearly every need. So why not start fresh with a brand new pillow?

Back to top

Dust Mite Encasings For Allergy Sufferers - Most Effective Tool Against Dust Mites and Dust Mite Allergies

Facts About Dust Mites and Dust Mite Encasings

Dust mites are microscopic organisms closely related to spiders and ticks. Dust mites thrive in the warm, humid, dark conditions inside of the fibrous materials that fill our homes: bedding (why you need dust mite encasings!), upholstered furniture, carpet, stuffed toys and old clothing. Dust mites are scavengers that feed primarily on the dead skin that falls off the bodies of humans and animals. So, it's no wonder that they crowd around the places where we spend most of our time. It's not actually the dust mites that cause the sneezing, coughing, runny noses, stuffy noses, and the congestion that plagues 20 million Americans. It's their even smaller waste particles. While the dust mites are feasting on dead skin cells deep inside our pillows, mattresses, and carpet, the things we do everyday like walking across the room, turning over in bed, and vacuuming stir up dust mites' tiny waste particles for us to breathe. That's why it's important to cover your mattress and pillows with dust mite encasings with pore sizes in the range of 2 to 10 microns. Encasings with larger pore sizes may let dust mite allergen or dust mites themselves through, and encasings made with vinyl may not allow heat and moisture to escape easily. All of the encasings offered by Speleotherapy Clinic have a mean pore size within the recommended range of 2 to 10 microns.

Why Doctors Recommend Allergen-Proof Dust Mite Encasings

About 20 years ago, researchers began to wonder what could be done in the home environment to help control the allergen triggers that cause asthmatic and allergic reactions. Because we spend 1/3 of our life in our bedroom, it seemed the natural environment on which to focus. Tests were done in which one group got zippered allergen-proof encasings on their bedding, while the control group had no encasings. The results of even such simple tests were dramatic.
"At the end of a 1-month study period, there was a marked and statistically significant difference in symptoms and signs of asthma between the two groups."
Murray MB, FRCP, Andrew; Ferguson MD, FRCP, Alexander. "Dust-Free Bedrooms in the Treatment of Asthmatic Children with House Dust or House Dust Mite Allergy: A Controlled Trial." Pediatrics. 1983.

Myths About Dust Mites

• Air purifiers can trap/kill dust mites like dust mite encasings - A number of air purifier companies have gone on record saying that HEPA room air cleaners are effective at catching and trapping dust mites - as if they fly. Dust mites don't fly and are unlikely to even come into contact with a HEPA air cleaner. Even their allergenic waste particles are largely unaffected by HEPA air cleaners, because they settle back down quickly when stirred up into the air. Although HEPA air cleaners are ineffective against dust mites, they can play a very important role in eliminating other allergens like mold, pollen and animal dander from our homes. By using mattress encasings and pillow encasings, you can create a barrier between yourself and dust mite allergen, thereby removing that irritant from your environment.
• Dust mites live in air ducts - This myth is sometimes perpetuated by companies that want to sell you their duct cleaning service, but it's not true. A small amount of dust mite allergen that becomes airborne could settle in your ductwork, but ducts are far from the humid, fibrous environments where the dust mites live and produce their allergenic waste, and having ductwork cleaned is much more expensive than dust mite encasings.
• Dust mites bite - Dust mites are far too small to bite humans, but skin reactions to dust mite allergen may be the cause of this myth. Dust mite waste and other allergens can trigger a reaction known as atopic dermatitis, a type of skin rash.
• Dust mites live in all dust - You won't find live dust mites living in the dust on your bookshelf or in that dust "bunny" that skitters across your hard surface floor. They just can't survive on the surface of things; they need to burrow deep into bedding, upholstery, and carpeting, which is why it is important to use encasings on surfaces like pillows and mattresses that make perfect homes for dust mites.
  

Dust Mites' Weaknesses And How To Get Rid Of Your Dust Mite Problem

If you wake up in the morning with a stuffy nose, itchy, watery eyes, sneezing or coughing, you may be reacting to mites in your bedding and should consider covering your mattress and pillows with dust mite encasings. Since you can't see dust mites, you may feel somewhat powerless to deal with dust mites. But, there are a number of ways to handle the mite problem that exploit their weaknesses while keeping your home perfectly safe for you, your family and your pets. Dust mites require moisture and dead skin cells to survive, so using dust mite encasings helps remove these elements, thereby killing the dust mites and reducing the production of dust mite allergen.

Dust Mite Encasings Eliminate the Dust Mites' Friendly Habitats

Beds & Pillows - Dust mites' most troubling habitat is deep inside of our box springs, mattresses, and pillows where they form colonies. Pillow and mattress encasings are the best way to fight these bedroom colonies. Encasings close off these environments with a barrier that dust mites and dust mite allergen can't pass through. The dust mites that are already there are trapped inside, out of harm's way, and the dust mites outside can't burrow in and find a protected place to live. Many allergists recommend allergen encasings as the most effective means of allergy prevention in the bedroom. Dust mite encasings can be a frontline defense and should be one of your first considerations when using environmental controls to relieve allergies.

Carpets, Rugs, & Upholstery - Carpets, rugs, and upholstery are another prime habitat for dust mites. Dust mites can't survive on hard surfaces like wood, tile, and vinyl floors. Dust mites also have a hard time on leather, vinyl, and wood furniture. When it's an option, hard floors and non-upholstered furniture make it much easier to keep a room free of allergens. When it's not an option, there are a number of ways to get rid of dust mites and their allergens in your carpets and upholstery.

Dust Mites Cannot Survive Prolonged Exposure
To Relative Humidity Below 45%

Dust mites thrive in the homes of most Americans. But, the Americans that effortlessly live in dust mite free homes all have one thing in common - low relative humidity. The arid deserts in the southwestern part of the US and high altitudes have the fewest problems with dust mites. Dust mites are composed of 80% water and they absorb the water that they need from the air. Prolonged relative humidity below 45% will slow dust mite growth until the population is eventually eradicated. While it doesn't offer immediate relief, a dehumidifier can be an excellent tool in the long-term battle against dust mites, eventually turning your home into an environment where dust mites cannot live.

Dust Mites Cannot Survive Prolonged Exposure To Temperatures
Over 140° Fahrenheit

Washing all of your bedding in hot water kills dust mites and gets rid of their allergens. If your hot water temperature is less than 140° (a frequent precaution to prevent children from scalding themselves) or you'd rather not wash your delicate bedding in hot water, there is a laundry additive available which will kill dust mites during cold or warm water washes.

Certain Compounds Have Been Scientifically Proven To Kill Dust Mites and Break Down Their Allergens

Treatments that kill dust mites are known as acaricides. These treatments are used two different ways. Some of the treatments are designed to be applied to carpet and upholstery and others are used to treat bedding in your washing machine.
For carpet and upholstery treatment, we recommend Dust mite and Flea Control. Dust mite and Flea Control is a concentrated boron compound that mixes with water to form a clear, odorless solution that you can then spray on your carpets and upholstery. Borates are natural compounds that have been used for hundreds of years in applications ranging from cosmetics to laundry detergent to fertilizers to insect control. Borates work to kill dust mites by two mechanisms. First, they are known to be intestinal poisons upon ingestion by dust mite larvae. Second, they may act as dessicants, drying up the microenvironment of the dust mite larvae in the carpet, making it an unfavorable environment for survival.
For treating bedding during cold and warm water washes, we recommend de-mite. De-mite is a laundry additive containing benzyl benzoate, tea tree oil, and oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate). Studies have shown all three ingredients to kill dust mites during the wash cycle. Benzyl Benzoate is commonly used in fragrances and is FDA approved for use in foods, primarily as a component of artificial flavorings.
There are also treatments which denature the dust mites' allergen. These treatments are primarily derived from tannic acid, a natural product found in oak bark, coffee, cocoa, and tea.
These treatments breakdown the allergenic proteins in dust mite waste and animal dander so that they no longer cause allergic reactions. The one drawback to these tannic acid products is that they are light brown in color and can stain white and light colored materials. Thankfully, there is now an alternative to tannic acid based products for those of us with light carpets and upholstery. The alternative is Dustroy, a plant-based, non-toxic spray that neutralizes dust mite and animal dander proteins just like tannic acid.

Dust Mites vs. Dust Mite Allergens

We've focused primarily on how to deal with the dust mites that are causing so many problems in our homes. It's important to remember that killing the dust mites doesn't necessarily get rid of the allergens they've already left behind. Many of the steps we've gone over serve both ends, like pillow and mattress encasings. Encasings can trap the mother-lode of allergens keeping them out of harm's way and washing can get rid of the allergens in your bedding. Denaturing treatments and vacuuming with a HEPA-filtered vacuum get rid of the allergens in your carpet and upholstery. It's important to use a HEPA-filtered vacuum or special vacuum bag because ordinary vacuums and vacuum bags cannot capture particles as small as dust mites and their waste, so they just end up spitting them right back out in the vacuum's exhaust.

Back to top

Doctor Recommended

"Allergen Avoidance" is a key component in the treatment of Asthma and Allergy symptoms

Allergy physicians tell us that people are most allergic to dust and dust mites, mold spores, pollen, and animal dander. All of these allergens have two things in common: they are invisible particles that float through the air, and they have to be breathed in to cause allergy symptoms. Doctors who have researched the relationship between levels of airborne allergens and the instance of allergies and asthma say the connection is clear. If the source of allergies is removed or significantly diminished, major improvement in symptoms also occurs.

Environmental controls may not eliminate the need for medication and immunotherapy (allergy shots). However, studies do indicate that allergen avoidance is essential to effective treatment of asthma and allergies.

Here are some quotes from physicians and researchers taken from several medical journals which express the importance of allergen avoidance and environmental control.

 

"Three basic therapeutic techniques should be considered in treating either seasonal or perennial allergic rhinitis: 1. avoidance of the offending allergens 2. use of appropriate drugs 3. immunotherapy (injection treatments to effect hyposensitization or desensitization) When feasible, avoidance is the preferred form of treatment, since it both relieves symptoms and eradicates the cause of the difficulty." JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION Nov. 27 1987-Vol. 258, No. 20,Pp. 2854, 2855; M. Kaliner, MD, P. Eggleston, MD and K. Mathews, MD

"The most effective treatment of recurrent inhalant allergy is the removal of allergens to which the patient is sensitive." ADVANCES IN PEDIATRICS Deamer, William C. "Allergy in Childhood" 11 (1960): Pp. 147-82.

"House dust mite has long been recognized to be the most important allergic trigger of asthma." p. 17 "Effective aero-allergen avoidance may not only reduce the severity of established asthma but also have the potential to prevent the development of the disease in the first place." p. 18 CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY Warner, J.o. et al; Sept. 20 1990 -- Suppl. 3: 15-19 "Aero-allergen Avoidance in the Treatment of Asthma"

"Allergy to house dust mites requires precautions to minimize exposure to mite allergens. Avoidance in the bedroom is often sufficient because children spend more time there than in other rooms of the house." NELSON TEXTBOOK OF PEDIATRICS Behman, Richard E., ed. Philadelphia: Saunders P, 1992.

"Simple measures of environmental control can be helpful for most asthmatic patients." PEDIATRIC ANNALS Hen Jr, MD., Jacob. "Office Evaluation & Management of Pediatric Asthma." 15.2 (1986): 111-24.

"The most effective form of treatment is elimination of exposure to the offending allergen." TEXTBOOK OF PEDIATRIC ALLERGY Sly, R. Michael. New Hyde Park: Med Examination P, 1984.

"There are strong indications to suggest that manipulation of the environment to reduce the exposure of allergens and adjuvant factors in the first few months of life may reduce the risk of development of allergy and subsequent asthma." RESPIRATORY MEDICINE Warner, J.A. et al; March 1991,Vol. 85 (2); 103-104 (40 Ref.) "Allergen Avoidance in Childhood Asthma"

Back to top