Worried About Having a Bad Duct Cleaning Experience?Defending Your Home From Dust Mites
Dust Mites and Allergies in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Areas of CA
Dust mites are tiny enough to live in your air ducts, carpet, and even bed, and are known to complicate allergies. One of the reasons most people do not know much about dust mites is because they are so small you cannot see them, and they live in dust around your home. The mites feed on the particles of hair, food, and skin that litter your home as dust. Home dust mites, or HDM as allergists usually call them, are scientifically know as dermatophagoides farinae. They are know to be one of the most common causes of asthma, not just in America, but worldwide. Larval stage mites have 6 legs while the post larval ones have 8. Each male dust mite lives for only about 19-30 days. The females, who lay eggs, can live up to 60 days.
Dust mite infestation does not show from bites, because they do not bite. Shed human skin cell dust are what most dust mites live on. A million dust mites can live for a year on the 0.3-0.45 kg of skin that the average human sheds. 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 big problem with dust mites is that they are a huge source of allergens and can cause rhinitis, conjunctivitis, dermatitis, and asthma. Those with allergies may know about the enzyme DerP1, which causes allergic reactions and is present in dust mite fecal matter.
The dust mites usually live in the most humid parts of your house, which is not generally the air duct system. 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. With the HVAC system constantly moving air around your house, the dust mites have an endless source of food.
The following are all good ways to control dust mites:
- Replace your standard vacuum with a HEPA filtered one.
- All surfaces of your home should be dusted at least weekly.
- Clean and sanitize bedding, upholstery, drapes, and linens regularly.
- By replacing your wall-to-wall carpeting with even just vinyl, you will make a big difference.
- Purchase anti-allergen furniture and bed coverings.
- To get the mites out of children's tays without chemicals you can freeze them.
- By keeping the humidity in your house under 70% you will make it unsuitable for mites.
Having learned about dust mites, you should not be able to live a healthier life.
Well, that concludes our dust mites article. Hopefully you have a better grasp of what the technique involves and what you might search for in an air duct 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 already at your home cleaning your air ducts, will save you money.
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