Worried About Having a Bad Duct Cleaning Experience?All About House Dust Mites and the Allergy Problems they Pose
Dust Mites and Allergies in the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton Areas of OR
Dust mites often live in air ducts, linens, carpeting, and beds, and cause allergy problems. Invisible to the naked eye, dust mites live in and feed off of dust in your home. The dust in your home is actually made up of millions of tiny particles of skin, hair, and fecal matter, that the dust mites feed on. The home dust mite, dermatophagoides farinae, is called HDM by most allergy specialists. These dust mites are a frequent cause of asthma. Dust mite larva have 6 legs and adults have 8 legs. On average a male dust mite only lives for 19-30 days. The female egg layers can live up to two months, probably because they lay eggs for the second month.
Dust mite infestation does not show from bites, because they do not bite. The dust mite most often lives on shreds of human skin cells. On average people lose from 0.5-1 lb. of skin per year, all of which is available to the dust mites as food. Dust mites are commonly found living in people's beds because they like the moisture (perspiration and saliva) from people sleeping there. If you have any allergies, you should know that dust mites are a huge source of allergens and can cause or make worse conjunctivitis, rhinitis, dermatitis, and asthma. If you have allergies, it could be because of the enzyme DerP1, which is found in dust mite feces.
Air duct systems trap a lot of dust, but not many mites live in them because the mites like a humid environment. Many of the particles that provide food for the mites do wind up in the air duct system. Home heating and cooling systems toss this rich dust mite food all over your house with their powerful fans. This re-circulated air provides more food for the dust mites.
These tips will help you manage dust mites in your home:
- Daily vacuuming helps a lot and it works even better if you have a HEPA filtered vacuum.
- Routinely dust your house.
- Sanitizing household fabrics like carpets and bedding will help a lot.
- By replacing your wall-to-wall carpeting with even just vinyl, you will make a big difference.
- Purchase anti-allergen furniture and bed coverings.
- Children's stuffed animals can be frozen to kill mites living in them.
- Although it may be hard to do, keeping the humidity below 70% will make it much harder for mites to live in your house.
Now that you know a lot more about dust mites, you will be better able to prevent them from affecting your health.
Well, that concludes our dust mites article. Hopefully you have a better take on what the technique involves and what you might search for in an duct 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 already at your home cleaning your air ducts, will save you money.
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