Woven anti-allergen material is superior to non-woven
Woven materials designed for allergen avoidance prove to be more effective in reducing mite and cat allergens than non-woven fabric. Tests were carried out on two separate classes of materials clinically proven to exclude mite and cat allergens from mattresses. One was a woven fabric with a pore size of 6mm (6 millionths of a metre) the other was non-woven, short length filament, compressed fabric similar to felt. The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the allergen/dust levels on the surface of the two materials (20 non-woven and 12 woven) after one year of constant usage. An observation made during this study was that although the non-woven fabric is tight enough to block the passage of allergen, the depth of the fabric can offer mites hiding places for mites with the potential for colonisation. This was not observed in the woven material. Higher levels of allergen were found on the rough surface of the non-woven material. Concern was expressed that on this material allergens could actually be pushed into the substrate during clean wiping or act as a ‘sink’ for loose allergens. In this paper, given the fact that higher levels of both cat and mite allergens were found on the surface of the non-woven material, questions were asked about the validity of claims of allergen avoidance for this product.
‘Nonwoven, in contrast to woven mattress encasings accumulate mite and cat allergens’, Letters to the Editor, Miller J d, Naccara L, Satinover, S, Platts-Mills TAE, J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007, Vol. 120, Number 4, p 977-979
