Hi All,
Currently sleep on a blended talalay pillow with a quilted wool/cotton pillowcase. Love the feel of the combo but I need a pillow encasement due to dustmite allergies. All the pillow encasements I have tried are either too tight or too stiff making the pillow more firm.
Does anyone know if there is a stretch type pillow protector available that does not change the fell of the pillow?
Thanks,
Hi ps9915,
[quote]Currently sleep on a blended talalay pillow with a quilted wool/cotton pillowcase. Love the feel of the combo but I need a pillow encasement due to dustmite allergies. All the pillow encasements I have tried are either too tight or too stiff making the pillow more firm.
Does anyone know if there is a stretch type pillow protector available that does not change the fell of the pillow?[/quote]
Almost anything that you use on a pillow will have some effect on the “feel” of a pillow that will be more noticeable to some people than to others so you are into an area of research that would be fairly subjective and where you will get many different opinions from different people who have tried the same pillow allergy encasement.
There are several “membrane” type pillow allergy encasements that use a semi breathable membrane and specify that they use a “knit” or “stretch” fabric bonded to the membrane that will protect against dust mites that are fairly stretchy (most membranes have some stretch to them) but they can affect the feel of the pillow and airflow and temperature regulation as well (see here).
There are also some cotton or microfiber (synthetic) pillow allergy encasements that don’t have a membrane but most of these are a weave so that the pore size would block the allergens (a stretch material would change the size of the pores). Most of these are flexible but they don’t “stretch” and for some people they would also have some affect how their pillows feel (they would be something like having an additional pillowcase around your pillow).
Because it would be uncommon for most people to have enough experience with using many different types of pillow allergy encasements to compare them in person … the most reliable source of information about these types of questions will generally be a retailer that carries several different types and can share their personal experience with all of them based on the criteria that are most important to you. An example of a retailer that is knowledgeable, has some very good comparative information about their pillow protectors, and tests all of them in person and would be a good source of information about the different types (membrane type, cotton weave, or microfiber) is Dust Mite Covers & Encasings – Allergy Buyers Club .
I don’t use personally use a pillow allergy encasement but if I did I would probably choose a cotton encasement because of its combination of flexibility and minimal effect on the feel of the pillow and it’s breathability.
Phoenix