Worried About Having a Bad Duct Cleaning Experience?Home Dust Mites 101: Allergy Prevention
Dust Mites and Allergies in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Areas of DC
Dust mites can live in your air ducts, carpet, or even bed, but what do they do? Microscopic dust mites live in and feed on the dust in your house. Mites eat the hair, food, and skin particles that compose the dust around your home. Abbreviated, HDM, home dust mites scientific name is dermatophagoides farinae. They are well know to be a common cause of asthma. Dust mites have either 6 or 8 legs depending on whether they are in the larval or post-larval stage. The mites themselves each have a very short lifespan ranging only about 19-30 days for males. Female dust mites live much longer than males, up to 60 days, and do the egg laying.
Dust mite infestation does not show from bites, because they do not bite. Dust mites feed on shed skin and other food particles. You might not know it, but humans shed from 0.3 to 0.45 Kg (0.5 to 1 lbs) of skin each year. As gross as it may seem, the moisture from your sweat and saliva makes your bed an idea bed for dust mites as well. These dust mites living all around you can cause asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and dermatitis. Those with allergies may know about the enzyme DerP1, which causes allergic reactions and is present in dust mite fecal matter.
Despite all the dust in your air duct system, mites usually choose to live in more humid places. Air ducts are a huge source of the dust particles that the mites live off of however. Duct systems then use a fan to move these dust particles all over your house. Not only does this bring the dust mites a steady stream of food particles, it also moves their allergy causing feces to be circulated around your home.
Use these tips to prevent dust mites from getting out of hand in your house:
- Invest in a good HEPA filtered vacuum for cleaning your carpets and other places where dust collects.
- Clean most other surfaces regularly.
- Clean and sanitize bedding, upholstery, drapes, and linens regularly.
- You might want to consider having your floors refinished to get rid of any carpeting.
- Replace all of your pillow cases with special allergen proof cases.
- Protect your children by putting their stuffed animals in the freezer overnight.
- If you can keep the general humidity below 70%, possibly with your HVAC system, then that will take care of most of the mites.
It might be impossible to keep dust mites completely out of your home, but following the suggestions in this article will go a long way.
Well, that concludes our dust mites article. Hopefully you have a better grasp of what the operation involves and what you might look to in an ductwork cleaning company. Since most duct cleaning companies also clean dryer vents, you might want to read our dryer vent cleaning tips article as well. Having your dryer vent cleaned while the technicians are still at your home cleaning your air ducts, will save you money.
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