Worried About Having a Bad Duct Cleaning Experience?Is Your Home Infested with Allergy Causing Dust Mites?
Dust Mites and Allergies in the San Antonio Areas of TX
Dust mites can live in your air ducts, carpet, or even bed, but what do they do? Dust mites are so tiny that you cannot see them with the naked eye, and they live in household dust. Dust mites live off of the skin, hair, food, and fecal matter that makes up most of the dust around your home. North American dust mites scientific name is dermatophagoides farinae, which is often abbreviated HDM by allergists. Asthma, a serious respiratory problem, is often caused and made worse by dust mites. Dust mites have a different number of legs depending on what stage of their life cycle they are in, larva having 6 and adults having 8. On average a male dust mite only lives for 19-30 days. Female dust mites live much longer than males, up to 60 days, and do the egg laying.
Dust mites will not bite your sting you. Cells of human skin that are shed are the main food of dust mites. An average human sheds from 0.3 to 0.45 Kg (0.5 to 1 lbs) of skin each year, which makes for a lot of mite food. Because of the moisture you lose during the night from saliva and perspiration, your bed is the perfect home for dust mites. These dust mites living all around you 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.
The dust mites usually live in the most humid parts of your house, which is not generally the air duct system. Air ducts do however greatly contribute to the dust, and other particles in your air. Home heating and cooling systems toss this rich dust mite food all over your house with their powerful fans. Daily use of your vent system cause fresh food to be flung into the air for the mites.
The below suggestions will help reduce dust mites:
- Regular use of a vacuum, particularly one with a HEPA filter.
- Practice regular dusting.
- Do not forget to get your carpets, drapes, upholstery, and air ducts professionally cleaned.
- Consider replacing your carpeting with something that will not trap so much debris.
- You can purchase special allergen proof pillows and sheets.
- You can freeze your kids stuffed animals.
- The mites cannot thrive if humidity is under 70% in your home.
Having read the above you will now be able to greatly reduce the number of dust mites living in your home, and therefore have less allergies.
Well, that wraps-up our dust mites article. Hopefully you have a better handle on what the operation involves and what you might look to 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 still at your home cleaning your air ducts, will save you money.
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