Can drying quilts in the sun kill mites?

Quilts are very common and necessary in our daily life. However, long-term use of quilts is prone to breed mites and bacteria. We all know that although mites will not have much impact on human health, they will seriously affect normal life and may also cause skin diseases. If the quilt is exposed to the sun, can it kill mites?

Can drying quilts kill mites?

The most common way to deal with mites is sun exposure. But some Japanese experts say that sunlight can only kill 3.8% of mites.

Curious set up the experiment in two seasons: summer and autumn.

Mode 1: Drying thin quilts in summer

On the day of the experiment, the temperature was 39℃ and it was sunny. A half-pound silk air-conditioning quilt was cut into small squares 40cm long, 30cm wide and about 1cm thick, and laid flat in a transparent plastic storage box. About 100,000 mites were evenly sprinkled on the silk floss and exposed to the sun for 4 hours.

As a result, 100,000 mites were basically killed. Although there was one mites left at the bottom layer of the quilt, it was also dying.

Mode 2: Drying thick quilts in autumn

The temperature on the day of the experiment was 25℃ and it was sunny. The quilt was a 6-jin silk winter quilt, and other experimental conditions were the same.

After 4 hours, under the microscope, although a lot of dead mites could be seen on the winter quilt, there were still quite a few that were jumping and running around. Basically, this gentle sunlight could only kill about 70% of the mites, and the surviving mites were still in good spirits.

Therefore, the statement that "the sun can only kill 3.8% of mites" is wrong. The effect of drying quilts in the summer is obvious, but the effect is greatly reduced when drying quilts in the autumn and winter when there is insufficient sunlight.

Some people say that in autumn and winter, you can cover the quilt with a black plastic bag, which is equivalent to creating a high-temperature "sauna", which can greatly improve the mite killing effect.

I tried this once. I put the quilt into a black plastic bag, tied it up tightly, and then exposed it to the sun at 25℃. After 4 hours, the mites inside were basically dead.

Some people believe that the reason why the sun kills mites is because of the ultraviolet rays in the sunlight.

Ultraviolet rays can kill bacteria, so it is taken for granted that they can be used to kill mites. As a result, there are various types of ultraviolet mite removal devices and ultraviolet mite killing lamps on the market. Some businesses even install an ultraviolet lamp on the vacuum cleaner, claiming that it can kill mites in 0.93 seconds.

Use a medical-grade double-tube ultraviolet disinfection lamp to directly irradiate the mites for 2 hours at a distance of 20 cm.

As a result, high-intensity ultraviolet radiation had no effect on the mites, and each one was full of energy.

It seems that killing mites by short-term exposure to ultraviolet rays is just a gimmick of merchants.

"The suitable temperature for mites to survive is around 25℃ and the humidity is 65%-80%. This is why mites are most rampant in spring and autumn." Teacher Lei said that the easiest way to kill mites is to bask in the sun, but it is not because of ultraviolet rays, but because of temperature - mites die in large numbers at temperatures above 50℃. More importantly, the humidity of the quilt should be reduced, causing the mites to dehydrate and die.

Tips for removing mites

Mites like dark corners in the room, so ventilation and dryness of the room are conducive to removing mites.

You need to clean the room more often and remove the dust. You should also beat the quilts after drying them in the sun or use a vacuum cleaner.

If the sunlight is not good, you can remove the mites by spraying anti-mite agents, washing the bedding with hot water over 60°C, or ironing it with an electric iron.

What details should be paid attention to when drying quilts

First of all, you can choose to expose the quilt to the sun between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., because the sunlight is most abundant during this time period, so you can expose the quilt directly to the sun, which will make it expand greatly and will be very comfortable to sleep after drying. However, down quilts and wool quilts should not be exposed to the sun, just take them to the balcony or other ventilated place to dry for 1 hour.

Secondly, some quilts made of chemical fiber or mixed fiber fabrics should not be exposed to the sun, because these two materials will release chemicals when exposed to high temperature for a long time. When drying such quilts, you can cover them with a layer of thin cotton cloth before drying, which can protect them from damage.