Showering. Showering will wash away any stray dust mite from your skin. It could also help relieve allergies by washing off any allergens clinging to your skin or hair. However, excessive showering can raise the level of humidity in a house, and dust mites thrive in a humid environment.
The best option when trying to get rid of dust mites on your skin is to jump in the shower and thoroughly clean yourself with hot water and soap. The heat and soap should kill off any dust mites still on your body.
Wash all sheets, blankets, pillowcases and bedcovers in hot water that is at least 130 F (54.4 C) to kill dust mites and remove allergens. If bedding can't be washed hot, put the items in the dryer for at least 15 minutes at a temperature above 130 F (54.4 C) to kill the mites.
Showering before bedtime can also help prevent allergies and dust mites from entering your bed, especially in the summer.
Wash bedding in hot water (at least 120 degrees F) once a week. Reduce clutter, stuffed animals, and other places where dust mites live. If that's not possible, wash stuffed animals weekly in hot water (at least 130 degrees) to kill and wash away dust mites.
A general rule of thumb is that hot water—130 degrees Fahrenheit or higher—kills dust mites*.
Dust mites are repulsed by the smell of Clove, Eucalyptus, Lavendar, Peppermint, and Rosemary. Make your own aromatic spray by adding a few drops of one (or more) of those essential oils in a water-filled spray bottle.
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.
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.
Slowly, over the years, they will die of starvation. From the first night you sleep on dust mite proof covers you get relief. You will not be exposed to the dust mites, their shed body parts, or their feces!
Particularly with cold or warm-water washing, many mites die by drowning or are simply washed out of the substrate while still alive. In contrast, many newer washing machines are water-conserving front-loaders, in which the item is repeatedly wetted and spun, without it staying submerged in water.
Conclusions: Washing clothing and bedding in cold or warm water with detergent or detergent plus bleach removed most allergen and a significant (P <. 05) portion of live mites. Repeated washing is required to further reduce mite levels.
If you have a dust mite problem in your home, bedding—sheets, blankets, and bed covers—should be washed at least weekly in hot water (130 to 140 F) to kill the mites.
Sprays and aerosols containing syngergized pyrethrins should kill mites immediately on contact, though the treatment will only remain effective for up to a few hours. Insecticide sprays containing permethrin or bifenthrin are effective against many mites and should retain their killing properties for several weeks.
The predators of dust mites are other allergenic mites (Cheyletiella), silverfish and pseudoscorpions.
Discussion. The main finding of our study is that house dust mite allergen concentrations and total amounts in human hair are low.
Though too small to see with the naked eye (only about . 33 millimeters long), dust mites are easily visible through even a cheap microscope. You can pick up an inexpensive microscope from any store that sells toys, a hobby store, or a thrift store and use it to discover whether your home has dust mites.
A dust mite allergy can range from mild to severe. 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.
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.
Use essential oils
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.
A double bed contains as many as 2 million dust mites. The weight of a mattress will double in 10 years because of dust mites and dust mite feces. 20% of the weight of an old pillow consists of dust mites. 20% to 50% of the weight of a mattress or pillow consists of dust mites and dust mite feces.
Three of the most common allergens — house dust mites, animal dander and cockroach droppings — are worse in winter when there is less ventilation. Some common symptoms of indoor, winter allergies are sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, coughing and postnasal drip, and itchy eyes, nose and throat.
Washing of bedding, soft toys and soft furnishings at usual washing temperatures removes more than 95% of allergens but does not kill dust mites. Temperatures above 60 degrees are needed to kill dust mites. Regardless of wash temperature, washing should be repeated about every 8 weeks as dust mites will repopulate.
Direct sunlight kills dust mites, so hang bedding in the sun whenever possible. (Be mindful, though, that outdoor allergens can collect on bedding hung outside.)
It's Hypoallergenic
If you have allergies, you may have experienced problems with dust mites while sleeping. Hypoallergenic materials are used to make eucalyptus sheets, which means they won't attract allergens. You'll be able to sleep soundly without being bothered by your allergies if you sleep on sheets like these.