Are down duvets hypoallergenic?

Are Down Duvets Hypoallergenic? Many down duvets are produced in a way that minimizes an allergic response. The overall standard of cleaning down and feather has improved over the last several years, which is a significant improvement. 

In the past, many people have been allergic to the dust and dander associated with poorly cleaned and processed down and feather. To protect yourself against poorly cleaned and processed down and feather, purchase your bedding products from a quality company such as www.isleptsowell.com, which only uses the cleanest fills available in the marketplace. 

House dust mites are commonly found in our homes, in our bedrooms, and on our bedding. The feces of dust mites can create an allergic reaction in varying degrees based on your personal sensitivity. To mitigate the problems of dust mites, make sure to launder your bedding, duvet covers, bed sheets, and pillowcases at least once per week. Use a quality pillow protector that is dust mite-proof to keep dust mites and their feces away from your pillow. 

From the Nomite website, which is a European certification body, they provide the following information on dust mites: The down-proof fabric used for down and feather bedding functions as yet another virtual "mite barrier". It is very tightly woven to prevent down and feathers from leaking through the fabric. House dust mites and human skin scales, on which the mites feed, cannot penetrate into the ticking. 

Consequently, long-term studies have found only extremely small concentrations of mites and allergens inside down and feather bedding. Down and feather beds achieve, therefore, extremely positive results when compared with synthetic bedding. They are completely safe from an allergologic point of view. Bedding articles filled with down and feathers neither host house dust mites nor do they provide a source of food for them. (1) 

Even recent international research conducted in the form of long-term surveys examining a possible relation between down and feather bedding articles and house dust allergies, has unanimously refuted the popular view that such bedding articles pose an increased risk for house-dust-allergy sufferers. (2), (3) 

1. Jürgens, H. W., Abschlussbericht „Ökologische Untersuchungen zu Hausstaubmilben” (Final report: “Ecological studies of house dust mites”), 1992 

1. Nafstad et al., ClinExpAllergy 2002 Aug; 32(8): 1150-54 

1. Ponsonby et al., J ClinEpidemiol 2002 Jun; 55(6): 556-62 

For those who suffer from allergic reactions to house dust mites or who have an elevated risk for allergic reactions, here are some additional steps to take: 

• Air your bedroom and bedding regularly and thoroughly. By doing so, you reduce the humidity in the room and in the bedding, thereby creating a climate that is not favorable to mite growth. 
• Care instructions by the German Textile Cleaning Association (Deutscher Textilreinigungsverband e.V.): The Bonn-based German Textile Cleaning Association recommends having the summer and winter bedding washed once a year by a certified specialist. The pillows should be washed more often than the duvets – because our head perspires more than the rest of the body. The Association further recommends a dry and cool bedroom climate with a temperature not over 18 °C. On days with a low pollen count, you can air the bedding at the open window or outside. 
• Do not allow your bedding to become too old. It is advisable to replace it with a new one after 8 – 10 years.