It's spring, I'm cleaning up! Sorting, throwing, cleaning... Doing a big cleaning once a year is good. This time, priority is given to inspecting bedding, carpeting and rugs, favorite haunts of dust mites.
No more dust and dust mites, it's time to tackle the big spring cleanup! Several tips...
On a daily basis, use a rotary brush vacuum cleaner, which is more effective than a conventional device for extracting dirt in depth. Once a month, dry clean with absorbent powder: sprinkle it on the carpet, rub it in with a brush, wait half an hour and vacuum. This operation can be carried out on synthetic, wool, sisal or coconut floors, especially where they get dirty quickly (entrance, hallway, living room). Every two or three years, we do a deep cleaning. Using a robot, pressurized soapy water is sprayed on the carpet before being sucked up vigorously. Stubborn stains do not resist. You can call on a specialized company or rent a machine from Kiloutou or Leroy Merlin.
Every time the season changes, air your rugs and beat them, but not too hard, otherwise you risk breaking the threads that make up the weft. Vacuum it methodically, in the direction of the hair only, to avoid weakening the fibres. Every four years, head to the laundry for a complete cleaning. Because even if the carpets are vacuumed regularly, the dust accumulates inside the fibers. By agglomerating, it forms small "pebbles" which break the weft threads. As a result, the carpet warps and cracks.
Is your rug old, fragile or valuable? It is better to entrust it to an expert, such as the Carpet Clinic in Paris. There, they are beaten, washed with essential oils and combed by hand, gently and for a long time. The colors are then fixed and revived, and the mites eliminated (price on estimate, possibility of travel to the provinces, tel.: 01 40 71 53 06 and lacliniquedutapis.com). At Chevalier Conservation too, the cleaning is tailor-made. From 18 to 71 euros per m² depending on the type of carpet (in Paris, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Colombes and relay points in Lyon and Orléans, tel.: 01 43 07 87 44 and chevalier-conservation.com).
The mites gladly take up residence there. So think, a very soft, very warm mattress, on which many dead skins rest (their favorite food) and a humidity which they love (we evacuate each night, via perspiration, 40 cl of water, i.e. nearly 300 liters per year for a couple). Disgusted? You can act! First by vacuuming the mattress once a month. Then by machine washing, every three months, duvets and pillows. Yours don't go there? Expose them to the sun for at least two hours, one side then the other, in order to suppress the mites. Then shake them thoroughly to remove the residue.
Wash sheets and pillowcases at 60°C, dust mites will not survive. Finally, adopt good habits, such as maintaining a cool temperature in the room (19 ° C maximum), because dust mites like heat. In the morning, when you can (particularly on weekends), you "open" the bed by rolling up the sheets and blankets and removing the pillows, in order to eliminate body humidity from the night. Leave the bed thus unmade for about an hour, then ventilate the room: this avoids the hot/cold contrast which would cause the humidity to condense in the mattress.
Every time the season changes, you have to think about turning your mattress. In spring and summer, the winter side becomes too hot, it will make us sweat more. Note the "No Flip" system developed by Simmons and Dunlopillo: the mattresses are covered with an "intelligent" textile which provides ventilation and temperature regulation; it is no longer necessary to return them.
Door handles, switches, remote controls, tablet or smartphone screens, computer mice... Our hands are constantly walking around and germs abound there: remember to disinfect them regularly.
"It is he who ensures the ventilation of the mattress, therefore good hygiene, recalls Gérard Delautre, director of the Association for bedding (APL, infoliterie.com). With springs or slats, it doesn't matter, you have to change it every ten years. If you install your mattress on the floor, it's worse than anything: the perspiration can't be evacuated, the carpet or the parquet will quickly mold."
Not brave enough to brick everything at home? Hire a home cleaning company. The Shiva company offers a "big cleaning" formula of 5 hours for 150 euros, or 75 euros after tax deduction. Such. : 0 811 46 46 46 and shiva.fr
Because of dust mites, 8% of French people regularly suffer from allergic rhinitis, eczema and asthma. To help us identify and fight the allergens present in our home, the general practitioner can prescribe the visit of a medical adviser in the indoor environment (list on cmei-france.fr). To find out more, contact the Asthme & allergies, on 0 800 19 20 21 and on asthma-allergies.org.
What to do against dust mites? The recommendations of Chrisbelle Speyer, indoor environment medical advisor in Marseille:
- Enclose mattresses, duvets and pillows in special covers that prevent contact with dust mites while allowing the bedding to breathe ("AllerHousse" from ALK, " Dom'Hous" from Stallergenes or "Evolon 100PS" from Dyn'R).
- Swap your box spring for a slatted model.
- Avoid carpeting and rugs in bedrooms.
- Prefer leather sofas to fabric sofas.
- Equip yourself with a vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA filter (high efficiency for airborne particles) or, even more efficient, with a device specially designed to combat allergens without loss of suction ("Allergy") from Dyson).
