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What is the most effective way to eliminate dust mites at home?
Question : What is the most effective way to eliminate dust mites at home?
Are dust mites spray effective and safe to use?
dust mites
Best answer:
Answer by cruiser
There is no cure, only prevention.
One must control the levels of dust mites. Beds are a prime habitat, a typical mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside. Mites prefer warm, moist surroundings such as the inside of a mattress when someone is on it. Their favorite food is dander (human skin flakes). Bedroom carpeting and household upholstery usually support high mite populations.
Dust mites are about .01 inches (250 to 300 microns ) in length and have translucent bodies, so they are not visible to the unaided eye. For accurate identification, one needs at least 10X magnification. Through a microscope, one will see many oval-shaped mites scuttling around and over one another. There are eight hairy legs, no eyes, no antennae, a mouthpart group in front of body (resembles a head) and a tough, translucent shell, giving a “fearsome appearance”.
Control Measures
Recommendations focus on “dust control”. One must reduce the concentrations of dust borne allergens in the living environment by controlling both allergen production and the dust which serves to transport it.
Keep the house clean Dust mites, pollens, animal dander, and other allergy symptom triggers can be reduced, although not eliminated through regular cleaning.
Use a HEPA vacuum cleaner once a week. A high efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA) vacuum cleaner is recommended because it is much better than ordinary vacuums at trapping very small allergen particles.
Wash pillow cases and sheets once a week. Dust mites can be killed by water at 130°F (55°C) or hotter. Use non-allergenic detergent to help remove dust-mite allergens. They can also be killed by freezing.
Keep relative humidity levels below 50 percent. Dust mites as well as other allergens thrive on high humidity. Homes with air conditioning constantly have lower mite counts then non-air conditioned homes.
Use a high efficiency air filter. Most of the cheap ordinary air filters an not capable of trapping mites and their by-products. One should also look for a filter that has anti-microbial properties, to prevent the filter from becoming a breeding ground for allergens. Filters that call themselves “washable” should be avoided because it just is not possible to wash 100% of the biological contaminants out of them and they can also become a breeding ground for microbes.
Use an allergen barrier pillow case. They creep, they crawl, they trigger allergies while you sleep. Dust mites are the leading source of allergens in the home, and their prime breeding ground is right under your nose. These microscopic, indoor inhabitants have set up camp in your pillow, the warm and humid environment where you spend one-third of your life.
My son has an allergy to dust mites so I have researched this topic tremendously. It is impossible in a non hospital setting to eliminate them. You can try and decrease them in the bedroom. Get rid of carpet and use tile, linoleum or wood floors that you mop regularly. Use pillow and mattress encasings (covers that totally zip shut). Wash your sheets and bedding in hot water as often as you possibly can. They say not to use stuffed animals which is too drastic for a little kid so just throw them in the dryer every couple of days. Never re-use pajamas, use a fresh set every night. For furniture get leather or faux leather and not fabric. Use a damp cloth or baby wipes to wipe down dressers etc to remove dust. In the bedroom don’t use shelves or display a lot of dust collecting items out in the open. Even if the sprays did work you probably don’t want to be spraying your bedding down nightly and then inhaling the chemicals all night.