Should I Be Vacuuming My Mattress?
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Dust is everywhere. A fine particulate blend of dead skin cells, animal hair, textile fibers, pollen, dirt, and car exhaust settles on surfaces — and provides food and housing for dust mites, microscopic critters that can trigger allergies in humans. As a dust-allergy sufferer myself, I’ve made peace with the fact that dust mites are found nearly everywhere on earth and in most households. You’ll never be able to 100 percent dust-mite-proof your home, but there’s a lot you can do to mitigate the red eyes and runny nose.
So I was curious when Strategist features editor Julia Edelstein mentioned buying a mattress vacuum, a product she’d seen on Instagram, “undoubtedly because my 11-year-old son has a really terrible dust- and dust-mite allergy.” I ordered one to test myself.
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It’s fun to use.
The Hersven mattress vacuum is a well-designed device that made the three-minute task of vacuuming my entire mattress almost fun. It has a broad, flat, T-shaped surface with a handle on top and a UV light that shines downward (you push down onto the surface to engage the light). A transparent-walled dust trap shows just how much debris you’re catching. I initially rolled my eyes at the idea of a mattress-only vacuum — why not just use a normal vacuum or a Dustbuster? — but it is noticeably easier to maneuver this device across a bed than a rigid and unwieldy vacuum wand. (I also understand the appeal of having a vacuum for furniture that isn’t in frequent contact with sticky kitchen floors or stairs.)
I’m skeptical of how useful the UV light is.
Ultraviolet light can kill dust mites and their eggs (thus the practice of“airing out” beddingin full sunlight). But in a2012 study, it took at least 30 minutes of UV exposure to kill all dust mites in a sample, and the authors concluded that “adult mites and eggs concealed in carpeting and dense fabrics may escape exposure to the UV-C light radiation altogether.” A few minutes of UV light might do something, but it’s unlikely to kill all the mites and eggs in your mattress.
My mattress produced less dust than a recently vacuumed rug.
The vacuum did its job, but it turned out that my mattress just wasn’t very dusty. This is in large part thanks to my partner, Warren, who bought the mattress over ten years ago and has kept it under a mattress cover since. To compare, I used the Hersven on a mattress-size area of rug that had last been vacuumed roughly week ago, and the rug yielded significantly more dust. I also vacuumed two pillows that I keep under pillow covers, which also turned up almost no dust.
Edelstein was surprised to hear it — vacuuming her son’s mattress had filled up the Hersven’s dust canister. When we compared notes, we realized that, although her son’s mattress was now under a cover, it hadn’t been for sevenish years, which is probably when the dust accumulated.
Pillow and mattress covers are a better bet (but remember to wash them).
Vacuuming can remove dust mites from your home — but so can soap and water or leaving an item in sunlight for several hours. Testing the Hersven vacuum became an accidental endorsement for mattress covers. They work! Not only is it cheaper to buy a mattress cover than a mattress vacuum, it’s less work. Just make sure to wash it occasionally, too, because although a cover keeps mites from getting into bedding, dust can settle on top. (Gross, but if my eyes are red and irritated after waking up, I know it’s time to wash my anti-dust-mite pillow covers.)
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I can imagine the Hersven mattress vacuum working for some cases — cleaning dust out of upholstered furniture, for example. But for your mattress, I’m happy to endorse the cheaper and easier strategy.
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