Worried About Having a Bad Duct Cleaning Experience?Are Household Dust Mites Responsible for Your Allergies?
Dust Mites and Allergies in the Salt Lake City Areas of UT
Everyone should know about tiny dust mites that live in your air ducts, carpets, and many other places, and can cause allergy symptoms. Living in dust all over your home are microscopic dust mites. Even if you keep your home very clean, skin, hair, food, and fecal matter are still present in your ducts for the mites to feed on. Abbreviated, HDM, home dust mites scientific name is dermatophagoides farinae. They are know to be one of the most common causes of asthma, not just in America, but worldwide. The 6 legged dust mite larva turn into 8 legged adult dust mites. Male dust mites generally die after only 19-30 days. The female egg layers can live up to two months, probably because they lay eggs for the second month.
You do not have to worry about being bitten by dust mites. The most common food for dust mites in pieces of human skin. The 0.5 to 1 pounds of skin a person loses each year makes for plenty of food for the dust mites. Dust mites often live in sheets, blankets, and other bedding because of the moisture from people's breath, saliva and perspiration. Dust mite infestation brings with them heavy allergens and can cause asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and dermatitis. The dust mites harm your body through the enzyme DerP1 that causes allergies and is in the mite's droppings.
Not as many dust mites live in your air ducts as you may think because of the lack of moisture. Many of the particles that provide food for the mites do wind up in the air duct system. The fans in air duct systems are constantly heaving this dust into the air and depositing it around your home. Because they are always moving air around, the dust mites never have to look far for food.
Below are a number of good ways to control dust mite populations:
- Daily vacuuming helps a lot and it works even better if you have a HEPA filtered vacuum.
- All surfaces of your home should be dusted at least weekly.
- Wash and sanitize any fabrics that could harbor dust mies, such as sheets and linens.
- Not only would replacing your carpets with vinyl flooring help reduce dust mites, it also makes cleaning easier.
- Allergen resistant bedding can be bought at home stores.
- Protect your children by putting their stuffed animals in the freezer overnight.
- Using a couple dehumidifiers to keep the humidity in your house under 70%.
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 wraps-up our dust mites article. Hopefully you have a better handle on what the procedure involves and what you might look to in an 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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