Worried About Having a Bad Duct Cleaning Experience?Home Dust Mites 101: Allergy Prevention
Dust Mites and Allergies in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls Areas of NY
Dust mites are tiny enough to live in your air ducts, carpet, and even bed, and are known to complicate allergies. Dust mites are so tiny that you cannot see them with the naked eye, and they live in household dust. Most household dust is made up of skin, hair, food, and fecal matter, which is perfect for the dust mites. Doctors and allergen specialists often refer to the home dust mite, dermatophagoides farinae, as HDM. If you or someone in your family has asthma, then dust mites could be one of the causes. Adult dust mites have 8 legs whiledust mites in the larval satge have only 6. An average male dust mite lives only a short 19-30 days. Females on the other hand can live an extra 30 days to lay eggs.
At least the mites do not bite or have any sort of poison. Dust mites eat the dust from discarded human skin cells. The 0.5 to 1 pounds of skin a person loses each year makes for plenty of food for the dust mites. Human sweat and saliva are the main reasons dust mites live in beds and blankets. The big problem with dust mites is that they are a huge source of allergens and can cause rhinitis, conjunctivitis, dermatitis, and asthma. 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. However, your air duct system does trap a lot of skin, hair, and fecal matter that is floating around your house. The fans in air duct systems are constantly heaving this dust into the air and depositing it around your home. This is dangerous because it helps the mites thrive and causes you to breath in more of their fecal mater than you normally would.
Here are the best ways to prevent and reduce dust mite infestation:
- Daily use of a HEPA filtered vacuum will help greatly.
- Clean most other surfaces regularly.
- Household fabrics like linens, upholstery, drapes, and bedding should be sanitized in the wash.
- If you replace your carpets with vinyl or wood you will reduce dust mies and cleaning required.
- There are various allergen proofing treated fabrics available today for pillows and other bedding.
- Freeze your kids plush toys to kill any mites living in them.
- Keeping the humidity constantly below 70% does wonders for mite control.
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 handle on what the technique involves and what you might search for in an duct cleaning company. Since most air 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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