Worried About Having a Bad Duct Cleaning Experience?Home Dust Mites 101: Allergy Prevention
Dust Mites and Allergies in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Areas of PA
Everyone should know about tiny dust mites that live in your air ducts, carpets, and many other places, and can cause allergy symptoms. Most microscopic dust mites live in the dust accumulated in your air ducts. Skin, hair, food particles, and fecal matter, all are in the dust around your home, which the dust mites feed on. Know to allergists as HDM, dust mites true name is dermatophagoides farinae. Anyone with asthma should be especially aware of dust mites because they are one of the commonest causes. Dust mites have either 6 or 8 legs depending on whether they are in the larval or post-larval stage. The males are short lived, around 19-30 days on average. Unlike the males, females can live 60 days, half of which they spend laying eggs.
The only good thing about dust mites is that they do not bite. Often the dust of skin cells that humans shed are what dust mites feed on. People lose from 0.5 to 1 lbs. Of dead skin each year, and the dust mites thrive on that in a big family. Dust mites are commonly found living in people's beds because they like the moisture (perspiration and saliva) from people sleeping there. Dust mite infestation brings with them heavy allergens and can cause asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and dermatitis. If you have allergies, it could be because of the enzyme DerP1, which is found in dust mite feces.
Since they like the moisture, dust mites rarely actually live in air ducts. The air ducts do still provide a huge reservoir of dust particles that the mites like to feed on. Home heating and cooling systems toss this rich dust mite food all over your house with their powerful fans. 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 a number of great ways to reduce and control dust mite growth:
- Purchase a HEPA filtered vacuum and use this to clean your home on a regular basis.
- All surfaces of your home should be dusted at least weekly.
- Sanitizing household fabrics like carpets and bedding will help a lot.
- Consider replacing your carpeting with something that will not trap so much debris.
- There are sheets and pillow cases that you can buy that are anti-allergen.
- Protect your children by putting their stuffed animals in the freezer overnight.
- Finally, try to keep the humidity of your house below 70%.
Although there is no be-all-end-all dust mite solution, the above tips will make a big difference.
Well, that wraps-up our dust mites article. Hopefully you have a better take on what the operation involves and what you might look for in an air 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 still at your home cleaning your air ducts, will save you money.
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