Worried About Having a Bad Duct Cleaning Experience?All About House Dust Mites and Allergies
Dust Mites and Allergies in the Rochester Areas of NY
Everyone should know about tiny dust mites that live in your air ducts, carpets, and many other places, and can cause allergy symptoms. Common household dust is the home to microscopic dust mites. There is a lot of hair, food, skin, and other particles in the dust of your hose that dust mites feed off of. Home dust mites, or HDM as allergists usually call them, are scientifically know as dermatophagoides farinae. Dust mites are one of the leading causes of asthma. Larval stage mites have 6 legs while the post larval ones have 8. Individual dust mites live only around 19-30 days each. The egg laying females live for up to 60 days.
Dust mites are not poisonous and do not bite. Dust mites feed on shed skin and other food particles. Usually dust mites have plenty to eat since people shed around 0.3 to 0.45 Kg (0.5 to 1 lbs) of skin each year. The moisture from you sleeping, sweating, and breathing on your sheets and bedding, make your bed an ideal place for dust mites to live. The reason dust mites are bad is that they are a big source of allergens and can cause asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and dermatitis. Dust mite poop contains an enzyme that causes allergic reactions of the skin,, lungs, and other body functions.
The low humidity of air ducts actually make them unattractive homes to dust mites. Air ducts do trap more skin, hair, and fecal matter particles than anything else in your house. Air duct systems also use fans to circulate air all over your home. The dust mites never run out of food when they have your air duct system depositing more all over the house for them every day.
Use these tips to prevent dust mites from getting out of hand in your house:
- All carpets in your home should be vacuumed regularly, and a HEPA filtered vacuum is recommended.
- Make sure you dust and wipe down surfaces after use and on a regular basis.
- Have you carpets, drapes, upholstery, and air ducts professionally cleaned, at least twice a year.
- Carpets can be replaced with either hardwood or vinyl that does not retain dust so well.
- Get allergen proof covers for your pillows and even furniture.
- The freezer can be used to kill mites living in your children's plush toys.
- A good overall measure is to keep the humidity below 70% in your house.
If you can follow the above suggestions then you will be on your way to living much healthier.
Well, that wraps-up our dust mites article. Hopefully you have a better understanding of what the procedure involves and what you might search for in an ductwork cleaning company. Since most ductwork 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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