Eucalyptus Oil and Dustmites

Emu Ridge Eucalyptus oil Kangaroo Island

We know how good our Emu Ridge eucalyptus oil is, here’s more proof!

Thousands of Dust Mites living in your bedding and feeding off your dead skin. Dust mites, near microscopic spiders, live in and around our mattresses and pillows. Their waste matter is the source of allergic reactions for many people!

Puffy, itchy eyes or a sluggish start in the morning might not be just from your escapades the night before — they could be the sign of a dust mite allergy.

Associate Professor Euan Tovey from the Allergen Group of the Woolcock Institute for Medical Research at Sydney University.

What To Do?

Vacuuming mattresses helps remove dust, their habitat per se, and the dust mite fecal matter, but not them! Dust mites have “sticky feet” and can resist the suction power of the typical household vacuum. A great, natural cleaning option I have learned is to treat mattresses and bedding with tea tree or eucalyptus oil, which has been proven to kill dust mites.

Tea Tree and Eucalyptus Oils: Natural Antiseptic, Germicide, Antibacterial, Fungicide

Some people swear sunlight will rid your clothes, carpets and bedding of dust mites. But Dr Euan Tovey, an allergy researcher from Sydney University, says it’s not a straightforward solution.
Tovey says leaving your rugs or carpets in the sun to ‘bake’ for three hours will kill all the dust mites, but it won’t get rid of the allergen. Plus, it will quickly fade your fabrics!!
“Killing the mites alone doesn’t stop any of the exposure to allergens – all it does is kill the mites, which will over a period of time just re-establish themselves anyway. So you do need to get rid of the allergen,” he says. “What I do is wash my Persian carpets once or twice a year – I hose them down, scrub them with soap and water, put them on the trampoline and leave them in the sun for a day.”

The best thing for bedding and clothes is regular washing in the machine. Tovey says dust mite allergen is highly soluble, and washing in warm water with normal laundry detergent removes close to 97 per cent of the allergen. “Most websites advocate washing bedding at 73 degrees – that’s very hot water. Most systems don’t have water that hot and I don’t think it’s worth the trouble – you’re better to wash it more frequently,” he said.

“Washing alone will only get rid of 2.4% of the dust mites. 99% of dust mites can be eliminated from your bedding by the simple addition of a long soak in Eucalyptus essential oil.” The research work with this eucalyptus oil solution for dust mites was done at the University of Sydney in Australia.

The Eucalyptus Oil Natural Cleaning Recipe:

Soak blankets, sheets or bedding for one full hour in the following solution:

  • 6 Tspn Eucalyptus oil
  • 2 Tspn liquid laundry detergent in
  • 1 bucket of water approx 15 litres

Mix the Eucalyptus oil and the detergent together to make an emulsion, add it to the water and then add the bedding. Soak for 1 hour. Then wash the bedding or blankets as normal.You can also substitute Tea Tree oil for the Eucalyptus oil. There will be no lingering Tea Tree oil aroma after the rinse cycle. The heat from the dryer should finish off the rest.

Vacuum mattress surface with hose attachment, then wipe with a cloth dampened by Eucalyptus or Tea Tree oil, let dry completely. Replace cleaned sheets and other bedding.

Refresh Pillows – Machine wash your pillows twice a year. Add half a cup on Baking Soda to your regular wash. Cover 2 tennis balls with socks and this will fluff up your pillows in the dryer. All you need to do is add 1 tsp of Emu Ridge Eucalyptus oil as well for a great clean fresh smell, plus it kills the dust-mites and removes oil based stains!

Recharge Towels –  Wash your towels twice without detergent. Once with hot water and a cup of vinegar and on the second load, hot water and half a cup of baking soda, add a cap full of Eucalyptus oil for added freshness. You will have beautiful absorbent towels again!