Vacuuming carpeting and upholstered furniture removes surface dust — but vacuuming isn't effective at removing most dust mites and dust mite allergens. Use a vacuum cleaner with a double-layered microfilter bag or a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to help decrease house-dust emissions from the cleaner.
Dust mites do well where humidity is greater than 50% but don't do well in dry conditions. This may be difficult in some seasons and some climates. Plants and fish tanks add to humidity, so keep these out of the bedroom. Dry vacuuming doesn't pick up dust mites.
Craddock says vacuuming once a week with a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter should do the trick. He adds that you could also steam the carpets at a high temperature to kill off any remaining dust mites. Try one of these best HEPA vacuum cleaners.
Because dust mite particles often become airborne, using an air purifier with a high-efficiency particle air (HEPA) filter can also help remove these and other allergens from the air.
They love to burrow in your fabric and feast on your skin cells. And, for this reason, your bed is the perfect place to make their home. Unlike bed bugs, mites don't pose any significant health risks. However, dust mite proteins can trigger congestion, a run nose, watery eyes, and other allergic reactions.
Dust mites eat skin cells shed by people, and they thrive in warm, humid environments. In most homes, such items as bedding, upholstered furniture and carpeting provide an ideal environment for dust mites.
Allergen levels are at their highest between May and October, the peak breeding season of house dust mites. Most of the mites die during the winter, but the allergen-containing dust is stirred up by heating systems. This often causes the symptoms experienced by affected patients year-round to worsen during the winter.
However, it isn't a cure for dust mite allergies. It may take between 6 and 12 months of regular allergy shots before your symptoms start to improve. It's a 3- to 5-year commitment to allergy shots to get the most out of this treatment.
Because dust mites thrive in warm and moist environments, leaving your sheets thrown back helps starve them out. Move making the bed to the end of your morning routine. This gives your sheets time to air out, so there's less moisture for those mites to move in.
Usually, during the warmer weather, windows are open and fresh air circulates through the house and dilutes the mite allergens. With cooler weather, windows are closed, and the heat comes on, re-circulating air in the house. This is when mite sufferers usually notice worsening of their symptoms.
Dust mites live and multiply easily in warm, humid places. They prefer temperatures at or above 70 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity of 75 to 80 percent. They die when the humidity falls below 50 percent. They are not usually found in dry climates.
Dust mites are not a sign of a dirty house. However, regular vacuuming and dusting can remove the allergen particles they leave behind. Make it a point to vacuum in areas that accumulate dust, like under beds and sofas. Also, use a vacuum that has a HEPA filter to reduce allergens that get airborne when vacuuming.
Dust mites feed primarily on human skin and are commonly found in homes or other buildings. They can breed inside your air conditioner. These organisms like to reproduce in warm, damp conditions. According to Berkeley Lab, 40 to 50 percent maintained relative humidity decreases dust mite prevalence.
Regular cleaning, using a dehumidifier, removing carpets and fabric curtains are all ways to reduce the dust mite population in your home.
The predators of dust mites are other allergenic mites (Cheyletiella), silverfish and pseudoscorpions.
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Dust mites can live in the bedding, mattresses, upholstered furniture, carpets or curtains in your home. Dust mites are nearly everywhere; roughly four out of five homes in the United States have dust mite allergens in at least one bed.
Dust mites can be difficult to detect due to their small size. These microscopic arthropods are estimated to be only 1/4 to 1/3 millimeters long. You can only see them under a microscope, and even then, they only look like small white spider-like creatures.
Dust mites are nearly impossible to get rid of entirely. However, there are steps a person can take to help rid their homes of most of these allergy-causing arthropods.
They live in the dust of a room (be it as clean as possible) and, especially, in beddings, pillows and mattresses, carpets and upholstered furniture.
Although they may “hitchhike” on clothing, dust mites do not live on people. They feed primarily on dander, flakes of dead skin that fall from people and animals. Upholstered furniture, pillows and mattresses typically harbor more dust mites than carpeting.
One of the best ways to kill dust mites in your home, and especially the bedroom, is to wash your pillowcases, sheets, blankets, and covers regularly. Wash them in hot water that's at least 130 degrees F and then dry them on a hot setting for at least 15 minutes at 130 degrees F.
Open windows, fans, and air conditioners can help with airflow, but they can also blow dust mites around the home where they enter our respiratory system. Speak with your HVAC technician about the best air filter for your dust mite needs. The cheapest filters can only trap the largest of particles.
Look for the words allergy cover or allergy proof. Wash your linens in hot water at least once a week. Now it's important that the water is at least 130 degrees because that's the temperature that will kill the dust mites.