The level of humidity is increasing in this world day by day and the reason behind this is global warming. This global issue is increasing very fast which is very dangerous for humans. Due to this environmental issue, the level of humidity in your home is also increasing, as a result, many people are facing the problem of dust mites. Do you know what are dust mites? These are small pests belonging to the species arachnids and these little creatures can’t be seen by your naked eyes due to their size.
These tiny organisms feed on the dead human skin cells that you shed every day. Dust mites are not parasitic like bed bugs that’s the reason these creatures don’t bite or sting but they can cause skin irritation to some people with sensitive skin. Today you are here to know ways to get rid of dust mites right? Well, your luck brings you to the right place because in this blog you will learn about effective ways that will help you to free your home from these tiny creatures. So read each section of this blog carefully.
Ways to Get Rid of Dust Mites
You learned about the dust mites in the above section and the main cause of their occurrence. In this section, you will learn about the ways that will help you to get rid of the dust mites from your home. These ways are very simple to follow as you don’t have to put in some extra effort. So here are the ways to get rid of dust mites:
1. Frequent Bed Cleaning
Your beds are one of the perfect places where dust mites love to live and multiply and this place is also warm which attracts the mire more. Your bed is full of your dead skin flakes that mites love to feed. That’s the reason a proper cleaning of your bedding is important. The bedding should be changed and cleaned once a week in hot water that has a temperature of at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit. This helps to remove all allergens and will kill dust mites. Items that are not washable should be placed inside the tumble dryer in high heat settings for 15 minutes at least every week. You can put your non-washable item inside a plastic bag and freeze it for around 24 hours. This method will not remove allergens but it will kill the mites.
2. Remove Wall To Wall Carpeting
The favourite playground of dust mites is your wall-to-wall carpeting. The fibres of the carpet attract and hold your dead skin cells and it is very difficult to clean than the surface floors. So getting rid of dust mites from the carpet is pretty difficult. To fix this issue it is best to replace your wall-to-wall carpeting with wood, tile, or vinyl that can be cleaned daily. So by doing this you can get rid of dust mites more easily.
3. Frequent Vacuuming
Vacuuming your home is very important because it is one of the great ways that will help you minimise the amount of dust in your house. The main cause of dust mites present in your house and don’t go away because your house is filled with dust and debris. You should always vacuum your carpet if you are not able to wash it regularly and ensure that your vacuum cleaner is equipped with a HEPA filter or doubled-layered microfilter bag to contain all of the captured dust. You can use a steam cleaner on carpets because these devices also kill the mites. You just need to put the temperature of the steam at 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Select Bedding Easy To Clean
Wherever you go outside of the market to purchase new bedding then buy a bedding that is easy to clean. Select bed items that you can clean easily with the help of a washing machine. Buy washable pillows. Individuals should always invest in bedding that doesn’t trap dust, so try to purchase items that are made of smooth fabrics and avoid buying any unnecessary bedding, for example extra pillows. By doing these things dust mites will not have much place to take residence.
5. Reduce Room Temperature
People should keep their room temperature low because it will prevent dust mites from multiplying in your home. The mites need a warm environment to breed and the perfect temperature for mites ranges between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit. So to reduce the amount of dust mites in your home you should never exceed the temperature of your home more than 68 degrees Fahrenheit. You should turn off the heat vents in the rooms that don’t need to be warm like a spare bedroom.
6. Use Dehumidifier
A high humidity level is a great friend of dust mites. Leaky windows, improper ductwork, and damp crawl spaces are some of the major factors that cause high humidity in your house. So you can control dust mites in your home by reducing the humidity. You should use a hygrometer, a device that tells you about the humidity level of your house, and adjust the level below 50 percent with the help of a dehumidifier (a device that reduces the moisture in your home).
7. Use Protective Mattress Covering
An easy way to get rid of dust mites naturally is by using a protective covering for your mattress, pillows, and box spring. You should buy zippered covers that are dust mite-proof because these covers will create a barrier between you and the pillow or mattress as a result dust mites will die because they are locked inside the cover and don’t have any food supply. Remember one thing your coverings and mattresses should be cleaned with the help of a steam cleaner twice a year. You should always wash the protective coverings regularly.
8. Remove Heavy Window Covers
People who have heavy drapes or window coverings that are very difficult to wash frequently should consider removing them. These types of items can trap dust and dust mites more easily. So what to do? Well, you can use curtains that are washable in machines easily. You can buy curtains that can block light and offer privacy just like heavy drapes.
9. Use High-Quality HVAC Air Filters
Your home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system can help you to reduce the amount of dust mites in your home. A high-quality air filter can easily remove the dust inside your house and this also helps you to remove the dust mite effectively. You need to make sure that you clean and replace your filter regularly so it can provide air filtration efficiently.
How Does Dust Mite Affect Health?
Dust mites can affect your health because they can cause you dust mites allergy. When you breathe the air which consists of waste products of dust mites your body reacts to it. Your immune system fights back when it feels threatened by any other substances. So your body reacts with the mite’s waste and starts showing symptoms like sneezing and runny nose. According to AAFA (Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America), over 20 million people in the U.S. have this type of allergy. You can get serious issues like sinus infections and asthma if you are exposed to dust mites for a long time. Dust mites allergy will show you various symptoms and here they are:
- Runny or itchy nose
- Postnasal drip
- Itchy skin
- Congestion
- Sinus pressure (may cause facial pain)
- Itchy, watery, or red eyes
- Scratchy throat
How To Treat Dust Mite Allergy?
Before your allergy treatment, you should go to an allergist. An allergist is a doctor who has expertise in diagnoses and allergy treatments. When you find that your symptoms are getting worse you should quickly go for the help of a doctor. You will go through a diagnostic test to know whether you have a dust mite allergy or not. The skin-prick test is the most common type of test, in this test the allergist will expose the allergen to a small portion of your skin after that the doctor will wait approximately 15 minutes to see any allergic symptoms.
The treatment of dust mite allergy starts from avoiding these tiny creatures as much as possible. Minimising your exposure to dust mites will reduce your allergic reactions. Remember eliminating dust mites from your home’s environment is not possible due to this you need medication to reduce the allergic symptoms properly. Here are some of the medications that your doctor will direct you to take:
- Antihistamines: This medication includes drugs like Allegra or Claritin that can help you relieve sneezing, itching, and runny nose-like issues.
- Nasal Corticosteroids: This medication can reduce inflammation and give fewer side effects than its oral version. Drugs like Flonase or Nasonex are used in this medication.
- Decongestants: To shrink the tissues in nasal passages this medication is used. Sudafed or Afrin are the two main drugs that are used to provide easier breath to allergic people.
When To Call A Professional?
Pest control services are available on the market for people who want to clean their houses from dust mites. Individuals should consider calling a professional when the problem of dust mites gets out of their hands. An expert is a well-trained person with a proper knowledge of clearing mites from your home. With the help of extreme yet safe a professional controls dust mites and makes sure that there will be no future infestations of these tiny organisms. In the process of removing the dust mites, the expert will do a radical inspection that will provide the information of breeding sites of mites and after doing this the expert will develop an optimal strategy to eliminate the dust mites.
Conclusion
Due to the increase in humidity levels in the world people are facing humidity inside their homes also and due to this problem of dust mites are increasing rapidly. These tiny creatures belong to species of spiders and they are so small that seeing them with the naked eye is impossible. Dust mites’ favourite places inside your home are your bedroom, carpet, rooms with high humidity, etc. There are many ways to tackle this problem in your home. Investing in washable bed items and using wood or tile instead of wall-to-wall carpeting can help you get rid of dust mites from your home.
Dust mites can negatively impact health because these tiny organisms’ waste can cause allergies to many people. When someone inhales air that has these mite’s waste their immune system may react to it and cause allergic symptoms like runny nose and sneezing. To find the cure for dust mites allergy individuals should go to an allergist who will do a diagnostic test and find out whether the person has an allergy or not then the doctor will direct the patient to take medications like nasal corticosteroids or antihistamines.
Frequently Asked Questions
The dust mites attract to those places where they can get the perfect environment for their living life. The bedrooms are one of the favourite places for the mites because here they get dead skin cells easily and feed on them. Rooms that have high levels of humidity are also perfect places for dust mites because in humid places mites can easily multiply.
Temperature can have a significant impact on the number of dust mites in your home. If the temperature of your house ranges between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit then the dust mites can increase their number easily because this temperature is perfect for their breeding. So it is recommended to keep the home temperature below 68 degrees Fahrenheit so the mites can’t breed.
Yes, air purifiers will help you to remove dust mites from your home. These devices capture many types of airborne contaminants and one of them is dust mites. When the purifier consumes air and the mites present in the air are stuck on the filter of the purifier because of that you get air free of mites.
Yes, dust mites can negatively affect you and cause health issues. Dust mites can cause allergies to some people and if someone gets exposed to a high amount of mites for a long time, they can get serious health conditions like sinus and asthma. So getting rid of these tiny creatures as fast as possible is necessary.
When you have a dust mite allergy you will see signs like sneezing, runny nose, itching, and many more. An increase of dust mites in your house is one of the main reasons that cause these starting symptoms and if you don’t do anything about it the allergy will become worse. So it is important to notice initial signs of allergy so you can treat it on time.
You should clean your house once or twice a week with the help of a vacuum and damp mopping. While cleaning you should use a dry cloth to wipe hard surfaces so it can help you to reduce dust mites in your home. Regular cleaning can help you significantly to get rid of these microscopic creatures.
Yes, pets contribute to dust mite problems in your home because your pets shed dead skin cells every day inside your house and these cells are perfect food for these mites. With the help of your pet’s shedding mites will get a chance to increase their number. So you must properly groom your pets regularly so they don’t shed too much dead skin in your house.
Yes, lowering the humidity level of your house will effectively help you to get rid of these mites. Places with high humidity provide the perfect environment for the mites because in these areas dust mites can easily multiply themselves. So individuals should use a dehumidifier to control the humidity level of their house.
You can get rid of dust in some natural ways too. Essential oils are one of the things that most households have and these oils can repel or kill insects, so spray 20 drops of clove or rosemary essential oil to your couch and mattress. By doing this the mites will be terminated from the places where you used these oils.
