Here are some scientific facts you should know before deciding to sleep on a “used mattress”:
1. Every person loses an average of 250ml of perspiration every night. If you share your mattress with someone, this increases to around 500ml. Even if the mattress is only five years old, this is equivalent to 900 litres of personal fluids
2. Every person sheds and re-grows skin cells every 27 days.
3. By the age of 70, the average person will have lost 50kg of skin (a large portion ends up in our mattresses).
4. Dust mites are microscopic spiders that live in our houses. The main component of dust is shed skin flakes, which is the mite’s preferred food. Areas around the home that are heavily used, such as beds and upholstered furniture, will have much higher mite populations than the rest of the house.
5. Dust mites don’t bite. Their bodies, secretions and faeces contain particular proteins that can trigger allergic symptoms in susceptible people. Old mattresses may contain several kilo- grams of dust mite excrement and dust mite carcasses.
6. Dust mite secretions and excrement are closely related to asthma and eczema.
7. Over 2 million Australians have asthma – about 1 in 8 children, and about 1 in 10 adults. Over 400 Australians die each year from asthma.
8. Old mattresses, pillows and quilts also contain high amounts of bacteria and fungi.
9. A by-product of bacteria is called an endotoxin, which can bring on asthma attacks. Old Pillows and mattresses also may contain millions of fungi spores.
Sources:
1. Water, electrolytes, fatty acids, urea and bacteria
2. http://www.cawc.net/open/library/education/skin-self-study.html
3. http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/BHCV2/bhcArticles.nsf/pages/House_dust_mite?OpenDocument
4. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4819.0.55.001
Established in 1973,