A home can be a couple’s most prized possession. Sometimes, a home can so closely resemble the homeowner’s personality that it’s almost eerie. This is usually the case when homeowners have taken on renovations, or the home has been passed down through multiple generations. Nonetheless, a home is not only nearly the biggest investment a person can make, but it’s the most important. A1 Pest Control Bowling Green
You may not realize it, but your home life can greatly reflect other aspects of your life. If you aren’t getting enough sleep or there is constant arguing, you aren’t going to perform your best. Simply put, a home is much more than just a safe place to rest your head at night. Therefore, when you have a home, you truly enjoy, you’ll likely want to do everything imaginable to protect it. Unfortunately, if you haven’t started using bed bug mattress covers, you are neglecting your home.
What Is A Bed Bug Mattress Protector?
With the current state of the economy, you are probably asking yourself why you should go out and spend hundreds on a product that you virtually have no need for. Why do you need a mattress protector if your home isn’t infested? That’s a fair point, but a bed bug mattress protector is much more than a means of eliminating bed bugs. When used properly, it is one of the most effective prevention tools.
Isn’t the best way to avoid a bed bug infestation by preventing one from starting? It is, and with the increasingly alarming rate at which infestations are popping up around the world, it could just be a matter of time before your home is invaded. With that point made, let’s take a look at bed bug mattress protectors. What are they? How can they help?
When you think of a typical bed bug mattress protector, you should think of a highly sophisticated suitcase for your mattress or think of a suit protector. You know those plastic zipper-clad bags that go around your suit to protect it from exposure to foreign elements. That’s what a bed bug protector is but only for your mattress!
Since the most common hiding place for bed bugs in your mattress, it only makes sense to start there. This device virtually wraps around your mattress and encases it, protecting it from outside elements while also trapping in any unwanted invaders or elements that may have already claimed a home here. If the mattress is infested with bed bugs, a good protector will prevent them from escaping and feeding. Without a blood meal, a bed bug can die in as little as just two weeks.
Choosing The Right Mattress Protector
With such a big and expanding market for bed bug prevention, detection, and elimination products, you can likely already imagine how oversaturated the market is. Simply put, everyone wants to claim their piece of the pie while it’s available. Bed bug sightings and infestations are only increasing, and homeowners are growing more aware of the need to protect their homes.
Unfortunately, a more versatile catalog of products isn’t necessarily a good thing.
For the consumer, it only makes finding a quality product that much harder. Here’s what you’ll want to keep in mind when shopping.
Fully Enclosable
First and foremost, the sole purpose of the encasement is to contain bed bugs in the mattress while also preventing new ones from taking up residence here. This defeats the entire purpose of the product if bed bugs can escape the encasement. They’ll be able to get out, feed, and go back into hiding. To kill out already resent bed bugs, you must cut them off from their food source. Therefore, the protector must fully cover and enclose your mattress.
Proper Sealant
Unfortunately, the mattress protector doesn’t need to just fully enclose the mattress, but it needs to ensure a proper seal. Think back to the plastic suit protector example. If the plastic has rips or tears, it’s going to expose the material to foreign agents, thereby virtually making it useless. The material and the zipper mechanism will be the two biggest factors here.
The zipper is probably the more significant consideration, as it will be utilized repeatedly. Make sure that the zipper closes and seals with ease. Reinforced seams along with double stitches are other good components to consider.
Proper Third-Party Testing
You simply don’t know how a product is going to perform if you don’t test it in the field. A quality bed bug protector for a reputable vendor should not only be put through standard testing, but it should go through rigorous third-party testing. The material should be stretched and pulled. The zipper should be closed and open. It should be tested to the fullest by an outside party that cannot skew the results.
Chemical And Toxin Free
Sleeping is a very intimate experience when you think about it. You are extremely close to your pillows and sheets, breathing in whatever is hidden inside them. It doesn’t take long to notice when your sheets need a good washing. With that in mind, you are going to be just as intimately exposed to your new mattress protector. Therefore, you want to make sure that it is only constructed and designed with the safest of materials.
Some manufacturers might include additional pesticides or chemicals to help capture and eliminate bugs. While this sounds great in theory, you must consider how exposed you’re going to be. There is a reason that families are required to wait hours and sometimes days before stepping back onto a fumigated property. Such chemicals are dangerous. It might even be a good idea to open the protector, unfold it, and let it acclimate in the yard or garage for several hours.
Are These Protectors Worth The Investment?
Before consumers invest their hard-earned money into a mattress protector, they need to determine if it is worth it. How can they do this? Firstly, they need to read product reviews, followed by customer reviews. These are reliable sources that contain a wealth of information. Unless you just want to take the risk of tossing your money out the window, do your homework. It will take about 30 minutes to determine if a mattress protector is a good decision to you.
There is no better prevention tool than a quality bed bug mattress protector. Quality protector is the operative phrase here. If someone has had a bad experience with mattress protectors, it is likely because the protector wasn’t of quality design. It honestly doesn’t take much to render a protector useless. A simple rip, tear, or malfunctioning zipper mechanism will render the product inferior. Go to extra lengths to ensure you choose a quality topper!