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TweetIt seems like no matter how many times you dust or how much you try to get rid of it, dust is everywhere–there’s no escaping it. What you may not realize is that there are tiny, microscopic creatures living in the dust. They’re called dust mites, and they subsist on the dead skin that humans and their pets shed. The mites aren’t necessarily dangerous to humans, but can be a major source of discomfort for those who suffer from allergies. Following are a few tips on how to manage dust mites in the home.
What Are Dust Mites?
Dust mites are very tiny bugs. They live off the skin that is shed by people and their pets, and no matter how hard you try you can’t avoid them without living in a bubble. Dust mites don’t carry diseases, but can cause allergic reactions in people who suffer from asthma or allergies. Dander, which is dead skin, accumulates in places where people sit or lay on a regular basis, and dust mites survive by eating the dead skin. Cats and dogs also shed dead skin, much more than people do, which adds to the dust mite’s food source.
Nutrition and Grooming
Because pets supply a vast amount of food for dust mites, it would be helpful to reduce the amount of skin they shed, thereby lowering the food available for the mites. With proper nutrition and grooming, your pet will be healthier and won’t shed as much skin. If your pet is well fed, gets exercise, fresh air, and clean water, they won’t carry as many mites. Routine grooming will also reduce the number mites that live on your pets.
Vacuum Regularly
Because dust mites accumulate in soft areas, such as carpeting and furniture, keeping your house clean by dusting and vacuuming often will reduce the likelihood of being overrun by dust mites. The more often you run the vacuum cleaner the less dust there will be for mites to live in. It wouldn’t hurt to run it every day. Don’t limit your vacuuming to carpets–couches, chairs, and other surfaces where people or pets sit or lie on a regular basis are hotbeds for dust mites. Vacuuming them thoroughly and repeatedly will reduce dust, and therefore the mites that inhabit it.
Clean Air
Another method of managing dust mites is to get the air in your home clean, and keep it that way. Dust is small and light, and travels through the air with the slightest breeze before coming to rest on the carpet or other household surfaces. Running an air purifier will help remove the dust particles from the air before they have a chance to accumulate on surfaces.
Replace Carpeting
Because dust mites accumulate in carpeting they have ready access to an ongoing source of food–your dead skin. If allergies are a problem for you or your loved ones you will be able to reduce the chances of being overrun by dust mites by replacing the carpeting with hardwood floors. It is soft surfaces, such as carpeting, that attracts the mites and gives them a home. Without those soft surfaces the mites can’t gain a foothold, because the dust can more easily be removed from hard surfaces than soft. The same is true of your furniture. If you have soft-covered couches, easy chairs, or recliners you could replace them with leather furniture, which can be easily wiped down taking the dust with it that contain the mites.
Wash Bedding Regularly
Although it may be hard to accept, you’re more than likely sleeping with dust mites every time you go to bed. Because you shed skin regularly while sleeping, your bedding becomes covered with it, and dust mites subsist on dead skin. Washing your bedding regularly, in hot water, will help alleviate the dust mite problem. It removes the dead skin so the mites won’t have anything to live on.
Dehumidify the Air
Keeping the humidity in your home well below 50% will help reduce the dust mite population. Dampness attracts them, so reducing the humidity will prevent the mites from gaining a foothold and becoming a problem. This could be tough to do if you live in an area that normally has high humidity–the humidity level must remain low for most of the day in order to effectively reduce the number of dust mites. Consulting with a heating and cooling specialist may give you some insight into methods of maintaining low levels of humidity.
Guest post from Karen. Karen writes about home health, cheap home insurance, and related home topics for HomeInsurance.org.
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