Measurements of microclimates in beds in relation to the climatic requirements of house dust mites

• House dust mites are animals of a size less than 0.5 mm that can live in beds, carpets and furniture feeding on skin scales. They are a common source of allergy in, e.g., Scandinavia, where their major habitat is in beds. Previous studies show that in drier environments the house dust mite occurrence is lower, and persons with dust mite allergy have fewer symptoms during the winter when the indoor relative humidity (RH) is low. There have also been attempts to alter the microclimatic conditions in beds to reduce the house dust mite occurrence. The microclimatic conditions in beds have been studied both in field measurements and by modeling but there is still a lack of knowledge of how the hygrothermal material properties of the mattress and bedding affect the environmental conditions for the house dust mites. This paper presents diurnal temperature and RH variations in mattresses and beddings under normal use measured for two different mattress types. The climatic results from the beds have been compared to microclimatic requirements that govern the house dust mite activity levels. This study is a part of a multidisciplinary project aiming to find technical solutions for reduction of house dust mites in bedrooms by environmental control.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Husbyggnad (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Building Technologies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

house dust mites (HDM)

bed

bedding

mattress

relative humidity (RH)

measurements

temperature

climatic conditions

material properties.

Publikations- och innehållstyp

kon (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)