About Top 10 Blog
This Top 10 Blog came into existence as I was up a lot of nights with our youngest. She would wake up at 2 a.m. and be wide awake until 4 a.m.
Not to disturb the entire house, we
stayed in the kitchen. She would play in the playpen, while I spent some time scribbling Top 10 Things... on scraps of paper and Post-it notes. Most are meant for fun, but some are also written on a more serious note.
Top 10 Tips...
when you have dust mite allergy:
by Laila Olsen, 12th of January 2022
I remember the first time I saw a picture of a dust mite. It was enlarged countless times and looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. It was in the news, I was only 8 years old - and I remember running to my bed afterwards and, manically, starting to change my bed sheets.
In the 1980s, however, there was not very much information readily available like we have today. Therefore, I went about my life as a child and adult thinking they were just really ugly creatures, not knowing I was allergic to these minuscule animals.
My oldest son and my husband were diagnosed with dust mite allergy within a year of each other and learning about these things, made me realise that I too have been allergic all of my life.
So even though that 8-year old girl wanted to rid her bed of strange-looking beings by changing her bed linen, she also needed to know what they did to her eyes, throat, and lungs and how to effectively clean her bed area to make a real difference.
It is incredible to think how many carpets we had when I was a child. It was only the actual kitchen area and the bathrooms that were free from this fluffy material. Bedrooms, hallway, living room and dining area were all carpeted. My brother had extreme allergies, but - as I remember, pollen was the only antagonist then.
I never remember my mum washing my actual duvet and pillow either. The washing machines were simply not big enough for a duvet then.
I also had a teddy bear collection of around 30 teddy bears in all shapes and sizes that all had to have space in my bed. They were not washed either.
In those days everybody smoked cigarettes everywhere - there were even ashtrays by the toilet. We were all passive smokers, definitely not by choice.
Thinking about it, I had great opportunities to develop any kind of allergy.
I did not always have a runny nose and red eyes like my brother, but my eyes did itch a lot as well as my throat. I was also a very weak and tired kid with loads of headaches. Headaches were such a big part of my life that I thought everybody had them - all the time. Furthermore, I recently discovered I have had exercise-induced asthma since I can remember.
Having to make changes at home to accommodate my son's and husband's newfound allergies, has made my physical well-being increase to new levels. I am better off in my 40s than I was in my 20s. I am not at all as allergic as they are - but then they have it quite bad.
These are the top 10 things we have done - and still do, to make sure that we have as few dust mites at home as possible:
1. Get a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA-14 filter to make sure all the dust mites, dead and alive - along with their droppings, get caught in the filter instead of being blown around your home all over again. Vacuum your entire home all at once if possible. Vacuum often, at least every week, but preferably 2-3 times per week. We have a big house, so we vacuum all of the upstairs once a week while we change the oldest childrens' bedding. The same day (preferably) - otherwise the next day, we vacuum all of the downstairs and change the bedding on our double bed, a toddler bed, and a cot. During the week (once or twice) we vacuum the much-used areas downstairs again - like the kitchen, living room, hallway, bathrooms, and utility room (where there usually is a lot of dust from the tumble dryer).
2. Get a steam mop to clean your floors. This has been a game-changer for us. You want to open some windows and doors while you add all that moisture into the air, but it all dries up surprisingly fast. Much faster than cleaning with a traditional mop. It doesn't just kill dust mites, but also mold, bacteria, and viruses. It is so much easier to breathe afterwards and the smell inside changes for the better. It is a bit expensive, but it is definitely worth the money. We got the Leifheit Cleantenso steam mop and we are very pleased with it. The only thing it does not do well is getting under e.g. bathroom cupboards and beds. We have added felt to the feet of our double bed so that we can easily glide it to the side. This steam mop comes with an attachment, which also allows you to steam carpets - and they dry up a lot quicker than I expected as well. We do not steam the whole house every week (although I do believe it would improve the indoor climate), but we try to steam the much-used areas downstairs every week. If you have hard water in your area, I recommend using demineralised water to prolong the life of the steam mop. Like you would in a steam iron. Some floors do not cope well with steam, like vinyl or untreated wood, so be careful not to ruin your entire flooring by mistake. We have click laminate, tiles, and carpet, and that works well.
3. Change the bedding every week. Dust mite eggs hatch after about 8 days, so you want to beat them to it. Wash the bed sheets at 60°C to make sure as many mites die as possible. A lot will probably die from drowning, but it is most effective to wash what you can at 60°C. It is also recommended to wash your duvets and pillows every 3 months. I have managed to do it every 4-5 months now. Hopefully, I will get more time as our little one gets bigger.
4. Tumble dry to eliminate excess dust - and to kill off a few more mites. When you fold your clothes, there will inevitably be dust particles flying around. When you tumble dry, the amount of dust will decrease considerably. Make sure it is a condenser tumble dryer to minimise the amount of moisture in your home, and have ventilation in the room where the tumble dryer is. Even condenser tumble dryers will emit some moisture into the air. We open the window in the utility room a little bit, while the tumble dryer is on.
5. Get a mattress pad. No matter what kind of bed you have, it will be useful to have a mattress pad on top of your mattress (or mattress topper), so you can take it off and wash it at 60°C once in a while (again recommended every 3 months - it took me 6 months last time, and we survived). Check the washing instructions before you buy it to ensure it tolerates high heat. The dust mites eat our dead skin cells and you want to minimise how many of those end up in the actual mattress. This is especially important on mattresses without a topper and on double beds with a double mattress topper, as the double topper covering can be too big for some washing machines.
6. Vacuum clean the beds with the upholstery tool when you change the bedding. Once you have removed all the bedding, vacuum the mattress pad or mattress topper thoroughly (whatever is the top layer). Once in a while, you want to also vacuum the actual mattress topper and/or mattress. We have a pad on top of our double topper. For the kids, we just wash the topper covering once in a while as their beds are smaller. We have an extra covering for this purpose, which makes it easier to just change one covering and then wash that ready for the next bed the next time. After three weeks they have all been changed. Most often we just vacuum them.
7. Get a hygrometer (or humidity meter) to check the humidity in your home. Dust mites love humidity, so it is recommended to keep the humidity below 50% in your home to control them. It will also help prevent mold. We manage to keep it at about 45-55% which seems to be fine.
8. Get a dehumidifier, a humidity sensing fan, or ventilation in your home. If your home tends to be too humid, you want to be able to control the humidity somehow. Of course, you need to open your windows every day to let out excess moisture (from breathing, bathing, doing the dishes, etc.) and get new air in, but sometimes it is not enough. Additionally, it will at times be more humid outside than inside, making it worse. If your home already has ventilation, then that should take care of it. If not, you can get smallish devices that will help you. We read a lot about dehumidifiers, but we ended up installing a humidity sensing fan in the ceiling vent in the upstairs bathroom. This way, the humid, warm air that rises to the upstairs will be sucked out at a certain percentage that we choose. When we use the steam mop or when I wash the bathroom, I turn on the fan, so that the extra moisture will be carried out straight away. Mostly it will not turn on by itself, but sometimes it will be on for more than a week in a row, because of extra humid weather conditions at certain seasons. If you choose a dehumidifier, make sure you get a new one, so that you do not carry old dust or mold inside your home from somewhere else. Change the filters often. Also, the humidity should not get less than 35% as this can cause health problems.
9. Only have (imitation) leather sofas and armchairs. We have had sofas in different types of upholstery fabric - some also bought new, because well... they are just cosier somehow. But even though we would vacuum clean them and the covers were washable on some of the cushions, we always had a sense of them being dusty. Once we changed to leather and imitation leather - that you just wipe clean, the whole living room seemed to open up and it changed the indoor climate completely. Alternatively, you could test out an upholstery steam cleaner and write on my Facebook page whether it works for you or not.
10. Get rid of all carpets. I know it is easier said than done. We are in the process of changing the carpets in the bedrooms. We have click laminate in most places, but we need to change the bedrooms upstairs. Meanwhile, we steam clean them every so often. We do not have 'decoration carpets' anywhere either. They simply get too dusty. In the same way, we do not have curtains, only blinds - and very few things on the window sills to make it easier to do the dusting. We have a very minimalist feel to our home, but at least we all feel better for it.
It can get a little on the expensive side to get everything on this list, but start with the vacuum cleaner and then slowly work yourself through the rest. It is worth it. It has taken us a year and a half to get to this point and we are not done yet, but all improvements make a difference.
I hope you could use my top 10 tips on dust mite allergy. There is so much more on this subject that I could write about: eczema, cross-allergies, teddy bears, clothes, hair length - and do not get me started on the car! But unfortunately, I have to end somewhere.
If you have dust mite allergy, what tips do you have to make your life healthier and more enjoyable?
Drop me an e-mail or write a comment on Facebook. If I get a bunch, I'll write the top 10 in a new blog.
Top 10 Things...
you learn when having children:
by Laila Olsen, 12th of July 2021
- Sleep is a life necessity
- You are not as patient as you thought
- Toys are messy
- Children are straightforward - and complicated
- One can be scared and brave at the same time
- Farts, burps, no. 1 and no. 2 are a natural part of life
- Trapped air is painful
- Wrinkles are also a natural part of life
- A hug can cure almost anything
- You can handle more than you think
As a parent what have you learnt, when you started having children?
Drop me an e-mail or write a comment on Facebook.
If I get a bunch, I'll write the top 10 in a new blog.
Top 10 Tips...
to get children to eat more (of the good stuff):
by Laila Olsen, 6th of July 2021, revised 7th of July 2021
I am by no means a doctor nor nurse or health specialist. These tips are taken from my experiences as a mother of five.
- Put a small portion on the plate at first. As little as you dare, to still manage to say: "Well done". It is easier to eat a little and then have seconds than to eat one large portion.
- Arrange the food nicely on the plate and do not mix the foods; keep everything separate on the plate.
- Make 'kid's food', like lasagna, tortilla wraps with minced beef, meatballs with potatoes, chicken with rice, egg & bacon, and spaghetti Bolognese.
- Have vegetables along with every dinner. You can boil carrots along with potatoes to make it more interesting. Or you can cut cucumber, pepper fruit, and carrot sticks or even have canned corn. Anything that will make it easier to start eating a little at first. It will help increase the appetite.
- Have different colours on the plate. For instance cucumber, red pepper, and corn along with pita bread. Other ideas are broccoli, olives, tomatoes, and yellow peppers.
- Be a good example and eat those vegetables as well...!
- Have them help you with cutting vegetables. Depending on the child, they should be able to use a sharpish knife from about the age of six. It will create a feeling of accomplishment and pride - and you should experience fewer complaints about eating it.
- Do not make them eat up out of principle - especially if they did not choose what is on the plate. It can make them resent food and make it worse over time.
- Do not expect too much. Know that children, at times, do not eat much. It is completely normal. And my experience is that most children from 3 - 10 years old have periods of pickiness. As long as they are not full from eating sweets or crisps, that is. This brings me to the last one:
- Cut down on anything sweet and salty, like sweets, ice cream, chocolate bars, crisps, chips, juice, squash, and the like. It will fill up those little tummies and leave little space for real - and healthy, food.
As a parent/grandparent, what tips do you have to make children eat more (of the good stuff)?
Drop me an e-mail or write a comment on Facebook.
If I get a bunch, I'll write the top 10 in a new blog.
Top 10 Things...
any parent would like to experience:
by Laila Olsen, 28th of June 2021
- Sleep through a whole night.
- Go to the toilet alone.
- Have a private drawer or cupboard.
- Go for a walk as the sun sets.
- Eat that last cookie themselves.
- Eat dinner without hearing complaints.
- Have a sleep-in at the weekends.
- Watch a movie without interruptions.
- Have a conversation without anyone eavesdropping.
- For someone to invent swings with a motor.
As a parent what would you like to experience?
Drop me an e-mail or write a comment on Facebook.
If I get a bunch, I'll write the top 10 in a new blog.
MORE TO COME
Top 10 things...
- When your baby becomes a sibling
- That life teaches you
- And more...
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