Just as our gardens have become our lockdown saviour, the hay fever season is about to about to launch itself upon us. With allergic conditions often worse at night, it’s vital that sufferers can take refuge in their bedrooms and keep symptoms to a minimum.

But it’s not just pollen that causes problems. For those with asthma and other allergies, the pesky house dust mite is one of the most common causes of an adverse reaction. And guess where dust mites prefer to congregate? Yes, your bed.  Hence it’s important to keep your sleep environment as healthy as it can be.

The Sleep Council says there are more than 21 million UK adults affected by allergies and 59% of indoor allergy sufferers say their symptoms feel worse in their bedroom. For this reason, we’re sharing some useful tips on how to reduce allergens in the bedroom.

1. Mattress Maintenance

The experts suggest you replace your mattress every seven years. A typically used mattress has anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million dust mites inside. For newer mattresses that are still supportive, airing the bed each morning and regularly turning and brushing the mattress, will help to remove the ideal living conditions for mites.

2. Keep Your Bedding Clean

Regularly washing your bedding (ideally once a week) helps decrease the spread of bacteria. As well as perspiring into our sheets, they also absorb food, makeup, moisturisers and pollen will catch onto all kinds of surfaces. Wash your bedding on a high temperature and use bedding that protects against dust mites too.

3. Replace Your Pillows

Pillows should be swapped every two to three years and washed every three months. An old, unwashed pillow could contain as much as 10% of its weight in skin scale mould, dust mites and their waste.

4. An Airy Bedroom & Reducing Humidity

It is also vitally important to ensure the bedroom is well ventilated: in an age of central heating and double glazing, they rarely are, but a good cool breeze through the room at night will help combat the problem as well as aid more restful sleep.

If you’re concerned that open windows will bring in airborne pollen, it’s worth bearing in mind that the allergy created by the house dust mite is more extreme than hay fever. Keep temperatures down and flowers out of bedrooms (they increase humidity levels). Avoid drying clothes on radiators in the bedroom (again this stops humidity levels becoming too high).

Hay fever sufferers will want to leave the day’s clothing outside of the bedroom and have a shower to remove any pollen clinging to their hair and body.

5. Keep Your Room De-Cluttered And Clean

If you keep your bedroom tidy, there are less places for dust to collect and pollen to rest. Piles of books and cluttered bedside tables and window sills attract dust in no time, but there is a solution. If your bedroom is on the small side or awkwardly shaped, bespoke storage, such as fitted wardrobes, drawer chests and book shelves can be designed entirely to suit your space and your belongings. In any event a streamlined furniture design will improve your room aesthetically.

Remember to move your bed away from the wall and vacuum thoroughly under and around it. Regular cleaning of soft furnishings is also advised. Wipe surfaces with a damp, clean cloth, as dry dusting can spread the allergens further and fit roller blinds instead of curtains as these can be easily wiped clean. Having pets in your bedroom is a big no no; keeping them away will reduce allergen levels.

Whilst we’re not specialists in allergies, we do know a few things about furniture, which can play a useful part in keeping surfaces clear of mess and dust. Visit us at hartleysbedrooms.co.uk to see our wide range of storage solutions, or whilst our showroom remains close, you may like to take a tour of our 3D virtual showroom.