As you can see, my nursery hasn’t any curtains. Though Anna Sova makes stunning eco silk curtains (the pillows and nursery chair are all in Shantung silk, which was my grandmother’s favourite material. I’m a first time mum, and bound to make such absurd choices), I chose to just have nekkid blinds (which have been there for enough years to have off gassed).

I adore sumptuous miles of fabric, and have massive puddle curtains in my own bedroom – but, I know that dust mites see curtains as a Club Med Holiday – and they would of been partying directly above the bed that I am sleeping in for the first few months to nurse. I can almost hear the mini maracas.

For more practical mothers, who don’t have an un-natural fear of dust mites, Rawganique has a wonderful collection of organic hemp and cotton drapes that are easier to clean that silk. Obviously, organic curtains will lower your child’s exposure to the pesticides and fertilizers that the sun does a great job of breaking down in curtains, which then turns into gas.

I have decided to forgo a dust ruffle for the same reason.

There are now lovely organic ruffles - but sweet anteaters, have you ever read about these dust mite guys? Don’t. You’ll end up as neurotic as I am.

As I mentioned earlier, getting an organic mattress, keeping your nursery clean, vacuuming with a HALO or other HEPA filter vacuum, using a non ozone air purifier and getting a Shih Tzu (seriously, these puppies don’t shed), will all help you and your child avoid being carried away in the night  by dust mites. What?! That happens!

The less “stuff”, the less dust. My recommendation: keep it as simple as possible. He or she will have more stuff than you know what to do with soon enough.

For the curious: images of dust mites.

For the petrified: adult organic mattresses  (more naturally resistant to dust mites, who live, in the millions, in your mattress and pillows. Sorry.)

Curtain.

Household dust is scary stuff. And not just to your mother-in-law. Household dust is full of lead, flame retardant, pesticides, PVC’s and PBDE’s (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), among other vile bodies. What does this motley crew of dust particles cause?  Oh, just everything from asthma to learning disorders to cancer. Here is a recent article on one mother’s horror story.

What can you do about it?

Number #1: Don’t wear shoes in your house. Think about what you’re walking into your home….ew.

Number #2: Don’t use chemical cleaning products (does anyone anymore?)

Number #3: Know what is in EVERYTHING you bring into your home – how is that dry cleaning affecting your health?

Number #4: VACUUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Number #5: Ventilate

When my husband and I moved into our new house last year, I ran out and bought a Dyson. Anyone with an accent that posh HAD to know what he was doing. (Honestly, doesn’t HRH sound like she’s from Essex compared to Mr Dyson?) I was THRILLED! I Dysoned every inch of my house and felt like a better wife.

But then I got pregnant.  Increasingly I became slightly disenchanted with my Dyson that had a dusty bagless canister that just didn’t seem like it could manage, Oxbridge accent or no, the dust mites that had recently been on the news, (and in my nightmares).

“Dust mites eat unsuspecting Bulgarian. Story at Eleven.”  Honestly, it seemed for a while that every hotel in America was overrun by these creatures that I can’t post a photo of, as I am so technologically incompetent. 

So. How to kill these microscopic wan$%^&  that are, as everything seems to be, linked to asthma and allergies? Why, with saber blue UV light, of course!

I am now the proud owner of a Halo vacuum, which is the first UV light, dust mite murdering vacuum in the world. It has an American accent – which I imagine to sound a bit like Dirty Harry: http://www.oreck.com/upright-vacuum-cleaners/oreck_halo.cfm

This is the vacuum I now use in the baby room (even pre-arrival). And I can’t tell you how smooth it is to use.

Warning: If you have a “down-to-earth” mid-western husband that may not understand why you need a $600 dollar vacuum cleaner, when you “already have a perfectly good” other madly expensive vacuum that cost more than his first car…have ready blown up photos of the dust mites with lots of scary bullet points about asthma, etc.  Having meatloaf in the oven may help too.

As silly as it sounds, you definitely want to add the Halo to your registry. Your mother-in-law will probably be thrilled to buy you one. You know how messy she thinks you are.