Guide to Allergy Bedding
Which fabric should I choose?
At Allergy Solutions, we offer several allergy fabric choices:
Allersoft - Allersoft is the new name for 100% Cotton Complete and it is our most popular fabric because it feels like luxury cotton while effectively blocking allergens and dust mites. Allersoft is one of the most recognized allergen barrier fabric names in the world and is made in the USA. This membrane free fabric is a patented, high construction piece of material. There is no urethane or "membrane" on the back of the fabric which gives it that cool, smooth, breathable feeling you get with your best sheets.
Bed Guard - Bed Guard is made from a special polyester which is laminated to a urethane membrane. The weave of the fabric, which is a circular knit polyester, has a "satin like" feel to it and is very smooth and cool to the touch. This fabric is listed under Bed Bug bedding because this fabric is bed bug proof as well as being dust mite and allergen proof. It's a great choice for hot sleepers who want added protection from bed bugs.
Econoshield - Econosheild is made from three layers of highly engineered material that are bonded to create a fabric which is a very effective barrier to harmful allergens. It is totally soft and quite unlike vinyl or plastic covers. As in all our covers, we use heavy guage rust-proof zippers and use 12 stitches per inch for ultimate strength in seams and to prvent tearing. Latex free.
Pristine - Pristine, like Allersoft, is a membrane free fabric made from a patented, tightly woven microfiber piece of material instead of 100% cotton Allersoft. There is no urethane or "membrane" on the back of Pristine fabric which gives it that cool, smooth, breathable feeling you get with your best sheet. It offers the highest durability from laudering.
What’s the difference between an allergy encasement and a traditional bed cover?
Allergy bedding covers (or encasements) use a complete seal to trap dust mites and keep them and their waste materials away from you by completely encasing your…
- pillows,
- mattresses,
- box springs,
- duvets, and more
—all those parts of your bedding you can’t easily wash.
Unlike standard covers, allergy encasements are specifically designed with allergy sufferers in mind. They are not simply “fitted sheets”. Encasements are zippered to completely cover and seal bedding to prevent allergens from getting through.
How are these different from standard plastic covers for infant beds?
They differ by fabric weave, membranes, and special zippers.
In the past, the only effective barriers to dust mites and allergens were made of plastic. The nature of plastic makes it more noisy or crinkly, and less soft than traditional cotton covers—and so, clearly not the most comfortable material to sleep on or near.
Fabrics available now have improved considerably—both in quality and comfort, while still achieving the effects allergy sufferers need. They come in familiar cotton, polyester, and cotton-poly blends, but it’s the new tighter weaves—not to be confused with thread-count—that provide an effective allergen barrier. The smallest particle a fabric can block is known as the fabric’s “pore size”—and for allergy encasements it’s often less than 6 microns. This means that extremely small particles—like dust mite waste—cannot penetrate the fabric.
Some designs do employ a membrane to block allergens—typically a thin vinyl or urethane based coating on the inside bonded with the fabric. They work just as well as non-membrane fabrics, but are also waterproof, should you want that capability—in an infant’s bed, for example. Keep in mind though, these fabrics hold in more heat and moisture, and so are less desirable if the user tends to get hot when they sleep, or sweats a lot. They also don’t last as long as non-membrane fabrics over many washings, as the membrane tends to break down.
Of the non-membrane fabrics, those made with higher cotton content do best at permitting air and moisture flow, and thus provide greater comfort. The advantage to fabrics with higher polyester content is durability, should you want to wash your encasements as frequently as your other bed linens.
Important to note: the same features that allow allergy bedding to block dust mites also work on bed bugs—provided the zipper is certified bed bug proof. Young bed bugs, at nymph stage, can make it through links and end point connections, unless the zipper is specifically designed to very tight tolerances.
