How Often Should You Get New Pillows if You Have Allergies?
How often should you get new pillows? That’s a good question and one many of us tend to overlook.
We have a habit of becoming attached to our pillows, so the prospect of tossing an old one and replacing it can be difficult. They get worn in and we get used to them, but unfortunately, we’re not the only ones attached to that old pillow…there can be millions of dust mites in there too!
That’s right; dust mites love to burrow into the fabric of pillows, mattresses and bedding so that they have ready access to their primary food source, which are our dead skin cells.
As a result, your pillow will literally become a breeding ground for the microscopic pests. And as their waste is one of the most common allergy triggers for humans, that’s a real problem.
How often should you get new pillows, then? The general consensus is every year. Most pillows have a life span of a year to two years at the most.
After that time, not only can they be infested with a number of allergens, they will also usually lose their shape and no longer be able to provide the kind of support they are intended to provide.
In terms of support, a good indicator of whether a pillow has outlived its usefulness if folding it. If you fold your pillow and it remains in that position then it is no longer functional and should be replaced.
Also, if you have a memory foam pillow and you need to adjust it in order to fill in gaps that have formed, that’s another sign that it’s no longer up to doing its job.
The primary concern in terms of replacing pillows, though, is their effect on allergy sufferers. Allergies can be awful to live with, and those caused by dust mites can result in everything from a runny nose and itchy eyes to wheezing and asthma attacks. So how often should you get new pillows? If you are an allergy sufferer it depends.
You don’t want to open yourself up to dust mites, so why ignore the potentially significant allergy threat that is right there under your nose?
You can wash pillows in hot water to kill dust mites and there are allergy-proof pillow protectors that you can use to encase pillows to provide a barrier between you and the mites.
All of this can help to extend the life of your pillow but none of it represents a permanent solution to the problem.
No matter how comfortable your favorite pillow may be, it’s not more important than your health. Do the right thing for you and your family and make sure you replace all of your pillows regularly. This will help keep dust mites at bay and let everyone get a good night’s sleep knowing they are allergen-free.
Wishing you the best of health
The Allergy Store