Anyone For A Used Mattress?

Image produced by Australia’s CSIRO as commissioned
by Wenatex.

A mattress is something very personal… you and your mattress share more than just those skeletons you wish to keep deep in the darkest corner of your closet. Your mattress is your constant night-time companion and a place where you will spend up to 1/3 of your life.

A microscopic view of the “guts” of a secondhand mattress is enlightening, to say the least, and will help us make the best possible choice the next time we decide to change our old mattress.

Here are ten 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. 10% of the Australian population suffers from asthma.
7. Dust mite secretions and excrement are closely related to asthma and eczema.
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.

The only way to effectively reduce the amount of dust mites, excrement, bacteria, and fungi is to sleep on a mattress where the covers can be washed with detergent in water close to 60 degrees Celsius.

In summary, a used mattress is a serious health hazard. To buy one through ignorance is regrettable, and to sell one or give one away is irresponsible.

Sources
¹ Water, electrolytes, fatty acids, urea and bacteria
² http://www.cawc.net/open/library/education/skin-self-study.html
(APRIL 2008)
³ http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/BHCV2/bhcArticles.nsf/pages/House_dust_mite?OpenDocument
(APRIL 2008)
⁴ http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4819.0.55.001
(APRIL 2008)