Hi all --
Just wanted to share today's project. It's a wacky idea, but who knows, might be useful for someone, as it worked for me. This is to manage dust mite allergy while sleeping (relatively) comfortably. Previously, I was using waterproof camping sacks stuffed with fleece blankets. Inflatable pillows are not comfortable for me, and some have PVC odor. "Mite-proof" pillow covers never worked for me: they all have zippers, so the dust gets sucked in from the air outside when the pillow "rises".
I know folks here go as far as steam-cleaning their pillows and mattresses which I am still considering. As a proof of concept, I made a fully sealed pillow (Tempur inside) which does not let particles in and out, and yet "deflates" and "inflates" as a regular pillow would, conforming to one's head. The pillow is weld-sealed in a 250-micron (heaviest gauge I found) polyethene bag to which I coupled a vacuum seal (learned from composites industry). The adapter is then coupled to a £60 HEPA capsule (we use these HEPA capsules in biotech to vent vessels; nuclear industry uses them, too -- bigger ones). So the air can get in/out to let the pillow conform, without letting any particles in/out. The PE is easy to wipe-clean; The bagged pillow goes into a plush pillow cover which is washed daily at 60C.
camlab.co.uk/hepa-cap-filte...
PE is not an ideal material as it's crackly. I picked PE for now b.c. it was cheap, and I know PE to be odor-free, unlike PVC. Would be good to try other materials. Maybe fancy Dyneema fabric can be used which are less noisy and more puncture-resistant. Will see if I can seal Dyneema with my bag sealer (Dyneema is HDPE, should melt at ~200C).
The pic shows one pillow with the HEPA capsule removed, and another one with the HEPA capsule attached.
Steel waiting for my 1st xolair injection; 10 mg prednisone, Seretide, Q-var, and Montelucast.
