Island resident Brie Barstow has opened a new business, Sleep Tight Mattress and Sanitizing Systems, offering mattress cleaning and sanitizing.

Her company offers free in-home allergen and mattress contamination tests that take only a few minutes to perform, as well as an all-natural, chemical free, dry treatment using UV-C (germicidal) light safe for treating all types of mattresses.

Allergy sufferers may find a new source of relief in this home treatment, she says.

Miss Barstow notes the American and Canadian Lung Association conference in 2002 reported that microscopic dust mites, feeding on dead skin flakes that accumulate in the typical bedroom mattress, are causing allergy and asthma attacks at high levels. Its findings indicate that dust mites excrete a compound called guanine, the dominant cause of most allergies as well as asthma, eczema, hay fever, bronchitis, inflammation of the mucous membranes, itchy red eyes, headaches, fatigue and depression.

Miss Barstow said in a news release she was surprised to learn about the extent of the problem and the process for dealing with it:

“When I witnessed firsthand what the Hygienitech Mattress Cleaning and Sanitizing process extracted from a relatively new mattress, followed by an allergen detection test which clearly indicated the level of contamination ... I could not wait to get home and clean the mattresses in my own home.”

Hygienitech Mattress Cleaning Systems has more than 150 dealers around the world.