Protect Your Sleep giveaway

***WINNER PICKED 11/5 WITH RANDOM.ORG***

***CONGRATULATIONS, MELISSA NEECE!!!***

I've always had allergies. Growing up on the damp windward side of Oahu, I assumed having a stuffy nose was just a part of life. When I adopted my first pet in college, a cat named Piewackett, I knew I would be battling allergies at least for her lifetime. I religiously popped antihistamines and kept an inhaler on hand for particularly nasty flare-ups.

Piewackett's old and even greyer nowadays and we live in dusty, dry Wichita, Kansas. I have two kids and, uh, seven cats, now so I'm a bit more concerned than I used to be with keeping allergens at bay. I wash the clothes and sheets frequently, vacuum as often as possible (not enough, admittedly!), and hope for the best. So far, neither of my kids seems to have allergies but their dad has developed them, probably a result of wood carving.

Roo's potty training experience had motivated me to get waterproof mattress pads for all the beds in the house quite a while ago, but when I read about CleanRest, a line of bedding products designed to protect you from allergens in your sleep, I was intrigued. What makes CleanRest products so different is that instead of being merely waterproof, they are allergen-proof. Instead of laying on top of a mattress, the CleanRest encasements actually zip around the whole thing, providing an all-encompassing barrier to moisture AND allergens. But unlike the rubber sheets of my youth that crinkled uncomfortably and made noise, CleanRest encasements are made of a high-tech breathable fabric called Micron One. Its weave is so small, no liquids or allergens can penetrate it.



Since both kids are staying in our room right now (Jasper in his moses basket and Roo snugly between us, ugh) we tried a CleanRest mattress encasement on our king sized bed. We usually have three cats in bed with us at night, too, so there was quite a panel of product testers. The CleanRest encasement was way easier to put on our huge pillow-topped mattress than I expected. I was initially apprehensive because it was crunchy and noisy right out of the package but it became much softer after washing and drying it before use, as recommended.




We've the mattress and pillow encasements for about a month now and I have to say that I am definitely breathing easier. Bob is, too, although it hasn't miraculously stopped his snoring, unfortunately. I also like the security of knowing that baby spit up or other nastiness from middle of the night nursing won't affect the mattress or pillows. I'm going to need a set for Roo's bunk bed once she moves back into her room, hopefully as soon as Jasper is big enough to move into his crib, which there is also a CleanRest encasement for…




If you'd like to try CleanRest out for yourself, I have one twin mattress encasement + one standard pillow encasement (total suggested retail value of set is $99.98) to give away to a lucky reader. To enter and win this set, visit CleanRest's site and comment on this post with the answer to the following question: How long does it take the average mattress to double its weight from dust mite infestation?*

Entries will be accepted through October 26th. US/Canada readers only, please. Make sure you leave an email address or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win!


*Hint: go to the Our Technology section of CleanRest's website and look for the dust mite.