Stuffed animals are asthma triggers

Sure, stuffed animals look cute! But what do they do for those of us with allergies and asthma?

They're full of dust! And dust just happens to be one of the most common allergies, so if your kids are sneezing and wheezing, the stuffed animals could be to blame.

I just read an short article about stuffed animals, and it said stuffed animals could be harboring millions of dust mites and making your family's allergies worse.

Washing stuffed animals

Most kids love stuffed animals on their beds, so we wash Kitty's stuffed animals once a month in the washing machine in hot water. Experts suggest washing stuffed animals every 2 weeks.

But I always feel like a murderer when I'm trying to push the stuffed animals down into the water in the washing machine so they get clean. They always bob up to the surface like they are searching for air. 

Putting stuffed animals in the freezer 

 

One of the ideas the experts suggest is putting stuffed animals into the freezer for 24 hours once every two weeks.

 

Kitty gets really angry when I wash her stuffed animals and it ruins the long mane of fur on her stuffed horses. In the past, I have tried washing them in a lingerie mesh bag, or inside a pillow case. But it still seems to mess up the fur. And heaven forbid I annoy a pre-teen. 

 

I already get enough sighing and eye-rolling as it is!

We tried freezing stuffed animals, and although it kills dust mites, the fur is still dusty. And dust is one of our worst asthma triggers.

 

If you want to wash the stuffed animals or put them in the freezer, the trick is getting them away from the kids and explaining why you are putting the stuffed animals in the freezer. I can't help you there. 

 

I always had to sneak the stuffed animals off Kitty's bed after she went to school and try to run them through the washer and dryer and get them back to their spots.

The things we do as parents........but if your kids seem to sneeze and wheeze when they are in their rooms, dusty stuffed animals could be the cause. They look cute, but boy do they get dusty!

Let me know if any of you try freezing the stuffed animals or if washing seems to work better.