Last Updated on June 8, 2022 by Kravelv
In a nutshell, interaction with dust mites isn’t something that you should take lightly. Many people are allergic to them, and even if you are not, they can still cause respiratory problems, especially in prolonged exposure.
Needless to say, detecting these dust mites isn’t easy. After all, they are practically invisible. You’ll just know that you are potentially dealing with dust mite infestations if you are experiencing allergic symptoms.
Fortunately, there are ways you can deal with these dust mites. One of them is by searching for a high-quality Hiso air purifiers manufacturer. For the record, air purifiers are among the most effective devices in removing airborne contaminants, such as mites. But if you want to explore more options, read on.
What Are Dust Mites?
Dust mites are microscopic creatures that exist on almost every surface in your house, including your bed, carpets, and even your pillow. Dust mites can be found in all environments, but it is in your home where they are most likely to thrive. They feed on dead skin cells from humans and other mammals but are unable to survive on plants.
Dust mites are most active at night, and this feeding is what leads to allergic reactions, such as coughing, sneezing, and wheezing.
Don’t ever think that these dust mites don’t occur regularly. Often than not, many homes are encountering serious dust mite problems. These tiny arachnids can thrive in any part of your house. They can settle on clothes, furniture, upholstery, and your other belongings.
The size of these dust mites is microscopic; they can go as small as 1/4 millimeter. All regions in the world have dust mites. But interestingly enough, these creatures easily proliferate in environments where the humidity and temperature are high.
Despite being small, they leave numerous residues and droppings. It is these matters that can cause asthmatic and allergic reactions in many people.
Those who are suffering badly from dust mites are often required to wear high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE) as the first layer of defense against these microscopic threats. You can get high-quality PPEs from reputable manufacturers, such as HisoMedical.
How Do Dust Mites Get Inside Your House?
Many people were caught off guard by these dust mites. They were appalled when they realized that professionals told them that they had dust mite infestations in their living spaces. But how did these dust mites get inside their homes in the first place?
Answering this question is a little bit tricky. We can always assume that the apartment or house you are in has resident dust mites already, even before you can go in. In fact, these dust mites are almost ubiquitous. We simply don’t see them, and that’s the very reason that we are unaware of their existence.
Dust mites have been thriving with humans for many centuries already. Their origins are actually difficult to identify. However, we are sure that these dust mites like dusty, humid, and warm places. If these three qualities are present in your home or apartment, there’s a possibility that you have a dust mite problem.
By simply cleaning your home regularly and ensuring that it is dust-free, you are preventing the growth and spread of these dust mites.
Furthermore, you have to know that these dust mites also like living in moist and dark environments. They also have a favorite food. Specifically, they like the fibrous surfaces where the skin cells gather.
Hence, it is not surprising why these dust mites often settle on bedrooms. After all, that’s the place where people spend a considerable amount of time, either sleeping or relaxing. The bedroom has a lot of fibers that can easily trap the dead skin cells of humans. And these skin cells are the favorite treats of these dust mites.
How To Know If There’s A Dust Mite Infestation In Your Home?
As mentioned, detecting dust mites isn’t easy. After all, their size is at a microscopic level. The naked eye can’t see them.
Fortunately, your body can feel that they are around. When the following symptoms occur to you, you might need to assess if you are indeed dealing with a dust mite infestation. If possible, contact a professional to verify the problem for you.
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Nasal congestion
- Postnasal drip
- Coughing
- Watery or itchy eyes
- Pressure or pain in the face
However, if a person is asthmatic, then exposure to dust mites can lead to the following symptoms:
- Chest pain or tightness
- Breathing difficulties
- Wheezing or whistling sound while exhaling
- Sleeping troubles due to the symptoms mentioned above
- Severe wheezing or coughing
Keep in mind that a dust mite allergy can produce different bodily reactions. It can go from tolerable to severe. Mild cases of dust mite allergies may cause a person to experience watery eyes, runny nose, or sneezing. If the condition is severe due to frequency, symptoms such as harsh asthma attacks may occur.
How To Remove Dust Mites In Rooms?
Fortunately, it is not impossible to eliminate the presence of dust mites in the rooms of your house. You simply have to know that dust mites aren’t immortal. They can be killed.
Once you know these steps, you will be able to reduce their population. In turn, this would free you from allergies that are related to exposure to the residues of these nasty arachnids.
The following are some of the tested-and-proven methods of removing dust mites:
Always Clean Your Beddings
Dust mites are tiny creatures that thrive by feeding on dead skin cells and particles of skin shed by humans and animals. These dust mites live and multiply in mattresses, pillows, and beddings that are continually exposed to and act as a source for dust.
It is easily prevented by cleaning all your beddings, such as pillow covers and mattresses. Also, you should wash your bedsheets weekly. This will remove dust mites from your beddings.
You need to wash these amenities in hot water (around 130 degrees Fahrenheit). Dry them for at least 15 minutes under the same temperature. If you want to get the best results, wash your beddings with the use of anti-allergen laundry detergents.
Meanwhile, mattresses should be cleaned regularly using a steamer. With hot temperatures, you can kill a significant number of these dust mites. If you have non-washable bedroom items, simply freeze them for at least a day.
Use Bed Covers With Anti-Allergen Properties
One way of reducing the population of dust mites in your bedrooms is by encasing your beddings and mattresses with allergen-proof bed covers. These covers ensure that dust mites won’t grow in your bed.
The hypoallergenic qualities of these bed covers reduce the food supply of these dust mites. They stop the arachnids from being attracted to your rooms. Eventually, the existing dust mites will die. Of course, dust mites can still pass through the zippers, but not all of them can do this.
Clean Your Curtains And Carpets
You can reduce the impact of dust mites by cleaning your carpets and curtains. You see, these home amenities tend to hold dead skin cells, dust, and feces of dust mites. If you combine these things, you’ll experience a serious indoor air pollution problem.
Of course, the way to deal with this problem is by cleaning your carpets, curtains, and other soft furniture regularly. But the thing is, the cleaning procedure for these items is more difficult than in your bedroom beddings. Don’t expect that vacuuming or steam cleaning will solve the problem.
Any washable covers, curtains, and cushions should be washed in a washing machine. If you can’t do this, treat them using a denaturing agent. While this chemical can’t kill off dust mites, it can still remove the substances that could trigger allergies.
Use Air Purifiers
One of the best ways to remove the threat of dust mites in your home is through the use of air purifiers. But we are not just talking about any air purifiers here. Specifically, you should go with units that use authentic HEPA filters. They are the ones that can capture microscopic contaminants in the air.
HEPA filters are just a part of the standard filtration system of air purifiers. These HEPA filters are capable of trapping microscopic pollutants in the air that are as small as 0.3 microns. In this particular scale, dust mites exist.
Don’t get an air purifier that uses an ionizing technology. It doesn’t help with your problem. At the same time, these ionizers produce ozone as residues. Ozone is a lung irritant, which can make your allergies worse over time.
Conclusion
Dust mites are microscopic and live on human skin and clothing. Prolonged exposure to them can trigger frequent allergies and asthma attacks. Particularly, their feces or droppings are the ones that affect the health of many people all over the world. By following the procedures we listed here, you will be able to reduce the presence of these dust mites. They will also prevent any possible infestation of dust mites in your rooms in the future.
