Just like hot temperatures, freezing cold temperatures also kill dust mites. For more delicate fabrics or items that cannot be washed (such as silk or lace) freeze them. Place the items in a clear plastic bag and put them in the freezer for 24 hours. This will kill the dust mites completely.
Essential oils contain compounds that repel or kill insects, including dust mites. The best essential oils for getting rid of dust mites are clove, rosemary, and eucalyptus oil. Add 20 drops of oil to four ounces of witch hazel, and spray your mattress, couch, drapes, and other dust mite hangouts.
Combine two cups of water with two tablespoons of tea tree oil and two tablespoons of eucalyptus oil in a spray bottle and shake to mix. Spray this solution around your home on your upholstery, bedding, carpets, and rugs at least once per week to keep dust mites at bay and make you home smell fresh.
Use a HEPA air purifier for dust removal. You need a high quality HEPA filter with sufficient air flow to effectively clean your room so you are not breathing in the dust mites and whatnot. Cover your pillows and mattress in an allergen cover.
Both steam cleaning and dry cleaning will take care of surface soil, but dry cleaning will not kill dust mites. Also, steam clean chairs, sofas, couches and carpets. Steam clean carpets and rugs on a regular basis. Once again, it will at least kill the mites even if it doesn't eliminate the allergens.
Predators. The predators of dust mites are other allergenic mites (Cheyletiella), silverfish and pseudoscorpions.
Keep your mattress and pillows in dustproof or allergen-blocking covers. These covers, made of tightly woven fabric, prevent dust mites from colonizing or escaping from the mattress or pillows. Encase box springs in allergen-proof covers. Wash bedding weekly.
Clean your bedroom floors weekly.
If possible, remove carpet. Dust mites can't grow on hard surfaces like wood floors. If you can't remove carpet, be sure to vacuum weekly with a CERTIFIED vacuum. Also have your carpets professionally cleaned by a CERTIFIED company a few times per year.
Dry vacuuming doesn't pick up dust mites. Consider steam cleaning carpets when possible. In addition to cleaning the carpet, the heat of the steam kills dust mites. You can buy chemicals (ascaricides) that kill dust mites and that you can use on carpeting and furniture.
Dust mites occur naturally and can appear in nearly all homes. Humidity is the most important factor in determining whether a house has high levels of dust mites. This is because dust mites do not drink water like we do; they absorb moisture from the air.
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.
Three most important functions to human life are heartbeat, breath and sleep. An active allergy to house dust mites (HDM) can interfere with breath and sleep. Wheezing, sneezing or itching, caused by an allergic reaction, is a known risk to sleep.
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.
Tea Tree Essential Oil is a natural antiseptic, antibacterial, and deodorizer. Eucalyptus oil, in specific concentrations, has been scientifically proven to kill 99.99% of dust mites. If you are into natural cleaning options and remedies, this is definitely a good place to begin at killing off dust mites.
A mild case of dust mite allergy may cause an occasional runny nose, watery eyes and sneezing. In severe cases, the condition may be ongoing (chronic), resulting in persistent sneezing, cough, congestion, facial pressure, an eczema flare-up or severe asthma attack.
Get a dust mite cover – plastic covers will make certain that someone's mattress is not infested. Use dust mite sprays – There are many different dust mite sprays available that you can spray over your bedding products. These won't be enough to completely eliminate the problem, but they can help.
Other Treatments. You can also use Ortho® Home Defense® Dual-Action Bed Bug Killer to kill dust mites. Thoroughly vacuum the entire house, concentrating on areas where mites congregate, like mattresses, box springs, headboards, walls, floors, carpets and along baseboards. Then spray the surfaces until damp.
Rubbing alcohol and vinegar can be effective solutions to kill dust mites on floors and on shelving. They will both work on hard surfaces. Vinegar is particularly useful because of the acid eats-away substances and even if it doesn't kill dust mites that are alive, it will help destroy dead dust mites and fecal matter.
Symptoms of dust mite allergy include sneezing, runny nose, itchy nose, and nasal congestion. If you have asthma, dust mites can cause you to wheeze more and need more asthma medicine. You may have more asthma symptoms at night, when you are lying in a bed infested with dust mites.
Joining you in bed are countless dust mites and bacteria, not to mention lots and lots of your own dead skin. Dermatologist Alok Vij, MD, says you should wash your sheets at least every two weeks — maybe more, depending on factors like whether you live in a warm climate and whether your pet sleeps in your bed.
There are approximately 2 million dust mites in a pillow. In fact, they say a 20-yr old pillow weighs twice the amount than its original weight because of dead skin cells, dust mites, and their waste products. That is why it is suggested to buy inexpensive pillows and replace them every 1-2 yrs.
Discussion. The main finding of our study is that house dust mite allergen concentrations and total amounts in human hair are low.
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.