Mattress hygiene
In the mattress hygiene it comes to the hygiene of in beds located mattresses .
Historical situation
For centuries, straw sacks were used instead of mattresses. Straw or hay was exchanged several times a year and the straw sack was washed. The bedrooms were cold and well ventilated.
The straw sacks were replaced by three-part mattresses. These could easily be taken outside to be knocked, where they were exposed to air and sun. This achieved a minimum level of hygiene.
Todays situation
Today mattresses are of a very good quality, with the best sleeping comfort. However, this also means that mattresses are used for 10 to 20 years and longer. Because they are unwieldy and heavy, they stay more or less uninterrupted in bed, covered and hardly ventilated.
The consequence of this is that a person today has almost a third of their life in close contact with an unsanitary, dusty mattress, a biotope for house dust mites , bacteria and mold . More than 98 percent of all mattresses (including children's mattresses) are dirty and contain mite excrement. Anyone who wakes up with reddened and watery eyes, swollen eyelids, itchy and runny nose, cough, shortness of breath and rash is likely to react to the allergen contained in the excretions of the house dust mite.
Soiling of mattresses
Mattresses are essentially soiled by: mattress dust, under the generic term "house dust", consisting of abrasion of the mattress material, skin flakes, excretions of house dust mites (guanine), mold, bacteria, including urinary stones, vapors such as sweat and its salts, as well as other impurities caused by People or pets. An unpleasant odor caused by mattresses infested with bacteria dander, as a continuous traniger smell, by wet treatment arises Moder odor, mixed odor occurs mainly in bedridden people.
House dust mites (Pyroglyphidae)
The house dust mites are tiny and love it damp, warm and dark. They live almost exclusively on dander and multiply very quickly. The predatory mite, a natural enemy of the house dust mite, used to counteract the limitless reproduction, but the predatory mite seems to be extinct today. Today, up to a million or more house dust mites can be found in a double bed mattress and these produce a corresponding amount of allergy-causing mite excrement.
Dander
A person loses up to 1.5 grams of skin flakes per night, i.e. up to 0.5 kilograms per year. Some of these remain in the mattress, become infected with bacteria and cause the typical, unpleasant, musty bedroom odor.
Sweat
Every person loses up to 0.5 liters of sweat per night through natural sweating . The moisture in the sweat and the salts and proteins contained in the sweat partly penetrate the mattresses and remain there.
Mould
Moisture and insufficient ventilation often create barely visible mold. This can also trigger allergies.
dust
A mattress can contain up to 200 grams of dust , a mixture of organic and inorganic particles.
Pollutants
For example, formaldehyde or other pollutants can occur in mattresses due to production, which can cause health problems at high concentrations.
Air circulation
Air circulation is one of the essential functional properties of a mattress. The air circulation when moving a mattress is comparable to a sponge, which can absorb water and release it again when pressed together. When the mattress moves, dust can escape with the air and enter the room. The space under the bed or slatted frame should therefore always be free and accessible to ensure adequate air circulation. The bedroom should be ventilated as soon as you get up in order to reduce the moisture released during the night. During this time, the bed should not be covered, so that the moisture balance of the mattress can be regulated.
cleaning
To ensure optimal hygiene, regular cleaning of the mattresses is essential for the reasons mentioned above. Depending on the use, the bed linen should be washed every 1–2 weeks at a minimum of 60 ° C. In summer or in the event of illness, when you "sweat" more time in bed, more often, sometimes every day. Any existing mattress protectors and the removable mattress cover should be washed monthly at 90 ° C ( note the textile care symbol !). Apart from good air circulation, the mattress itself should be tapped if necessary and turned every month (both lengthways and crossways) in order to achieve even wear and ultimately after 5–8 years for cheaper models or 10–14 years for higher quality Models can also be exchanged.
Institutions can have mattresses professionally cleaned. Special washing machines for mattresses have been developed for this purpose. Specialized companies also offer dry cleaning of mattresses on site, using UV-C, vacuum and vibration processes.
literature
- Harald Schicke: Treating house dust mite allergy successfully. The comprehensive guide for patients and practitioners . 4th edition, MZ, Hetzwege 2003, ISBN 3-89240-119-5 .
- Wilfried Diebschlag , Brunhilde Diebschlag: House dust allergies . Utz, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-89675-931-0 .
- Knut-Olaf Gundermann (Ed.), Elke Bahr: Textbook of Hygiene . Fischer, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-437-00556-1 .
- Allergology : Volume 6 and 7, 1988.
swell
- Enno KJ Gries: Testing of bacterial growth in mattress cover materials . Munich 1997.
- G. Berolles: Bacteriological, mycological and parasitological investigation of the mattress cleaning system . Biohygiene Alsace, Mundolsheim, 1995.
- Horst K. Veith: Allergen contamination of mattresses (object hotels) . Investigation No. 15 of July 1, 1992.
- G. Pauli: Guanine and mite allergen content of house dust samples (comparative study by the University of Strasbourg when cleaning mattresses) . In: Allergology . No. 11, No. 6, 1988.
- Horst K. Veith: renovation of mattresses . Investigation No. 20 of November 20, 1992.
- FM Kniest: Allergology . No. 6, 1988.
- H. Rebmann: Allergology . No. 8, 1989.
- E. Bishoff, W. Schimacher: Allergologie No. 7, 1984, No. 8, 1985.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Washing machine for mattresses on Hauswirtschaft.info, visited on August 10, 2016
- ↑ https://www.cleanbett24.de