Dust Allergies Anyone?

This post is written for Alvin, sister's BIL.  

For those of us having to deal with dust allergies (whether adults or kids), here are some important points to note:

Household Practices

1. Except for the clothes you wear, everything (bedlinen, soft toys, sofa covers, etc) MUST be washed at 60 deg C to kill the dust mites.  They survive detergent!!! So don't cheat!!
2. Dispose of all rugs / carpets if possible.  If not, purchase those those that can be washed at 60 deg C, and wash them at least every month (since you are stepping on them all the time). 
3. Dispose of all soft toys if possible.  If not, purchase Purchase pillows / bolsters / comforters that are synthetic if possible.  They wash more easily and dry faster in Singapore's humid climate.  This makes it less likely for mold to form and for your sensitive family members to develop further allergies in addition to the dust.  Wash these at least every 2 months, and more often if you have the resources.
4. Wash all bedlinen at least fortnightly (I wash mine fortnightly, and for comforters, I do monthly because they take so long to dry).
5. Try not to use detergents / fabric softeners that are heavily scented.  Most allergic individuals can be affected by fragrances.  
6. Skip fabric softener if you can.  I use baking soda instead of fabric softener and it has worked well for my family for more than 8 years.  Baking soda rinses out whatever soap residue there is, and when I sun-dry my clothes, they smell.....fresh.  Like the sun. No overpowering fragrances.

Things To Buy (and where to buy from)

1. I use a laundry ball in my washing machine which claims to wash without detergent.  And this enables me to use MUCH MUCH less detergent (and less awful chemicals & fragrances) than is necessary to get my clothes clean.  I got mine at Carrefour for S$59.90 but have since found it selling for less than half the price at Gmarket!!!  Talk about being fleeced.
2. I put baking soda in the fabric softener compartment as described above.  Baking soda can be bought cheaply in bulk from Phoon Huat.
3. I buy dustmite covers to cover my pillows, bolster, and bed mattresses.  These are specially made to have such small holes that mites can't pass through them and die off, protecting you from allergies.  They last a lifetime.  Mine have lasted 3-8 years and still going strong.  They cost a bomb from Allercare, but trust me, THEY ARE WORTH THE MONEY.  Just compare the cost of it to endless trips to the doctors for inhalers / steroid nose sprays / antibiotics / antihistamines and uncountable days of medical leave for....and you get the picture.  I'm not rich, but when I compared the cost of all the years of suffering from dust allergies to the cost of these covers.....I wish I'd discovered them sooner.