Dust Mites: What You Need to Know About Them

Know all about dust mites and learn how to get rid of them.

Allergies are never fun to deal with. Whenever someone's allergies are triggered, they can interfere with their daily activities. Who can focus on what they're reading or doing if they must deal with watery eyes and constant sneezing?

Plenty of factors can trigger an allergic reaction from someone, such as mold, debris, dust, and…dust mites.

What are Dust Mites?

Dust mites are pests that live in dust. They feed on dead skin cells and thrive in warm and humid areas. Commonly found living in mattresses, pillows, carpets, and more, they are unfortunately microscopic, meaning they can't be seen by the naked eye. Dust mites don't bite and pose little to no threat to humans. However, you may wonder why such microscopic insects still pose a threat to us, even if it's just a little.

The reason for that is they cause allergies. For people who have allergies, dust mites can become a fearsome foe. They are especially dangerous to people with asthma or other respiratory ailments since they can aggravate allergic reactions further.

How to Get Rid of Dust Mites

Getting rid of dust mites 100% is almost impossible. However, reducing their population is possible, thus lessening the chances for dust mites to cause severe damage.

Luckily, dust mites aren't invincible; they're actually easy to kill. They can succumb to freezing, hot washing, drowning, poison, and dehydration. Although some might be hard to pull off when dealing with microscopic enemies, you can still eliminate them by doing the following.

Wash Your Bedding Regularly

Dust mites eat the flakes of dead skin that animals and humans shed. And since we spend at least eight hours in our beds while we sleep, we shed skin there in the process. With so many food sources in one place, it's no surprise that our bedding will be the number one habitat for dust mites.

Thanks to this, it's recommended you change your bedding regularly. Wash your blankets, sheets, duvet covers, and pillowcases on a hot cycle with a temperature of at least 130 degrees. If you can't wash your bedding in hot water, you can always put them in the dryer for 15 minutes at the same temperature.

If working with something hot doesn't work for you, or if what you're using isn't washable, you can try freezing them for 24 hours. The freezing method might not remove the allergens but it can kill the dust mites.

Keep Humidity Low

Humid areas in your house, like the bathroom or basement, are perfect for dust mites to survive and thrive. Because of this, it's recommended that you lower the humidity in these areas and maintain humidity at 50% or lower. You can use dehumidifiers or turn on your air conditioner in these places. If you want to keep track of the humidity level in your house, you can purchase and use a hygrometer for that.

Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned

Other than your bedding, dust mites live in dust. And since your HVAC system is behind air distribution in your home, dust gathers there, making it a hot spot for a dust mite civilization. To reduce dust mite population, ensure that your HVAC and air ducts are as clean and dust-free as possible. This is possible by cleaning your HVAC and air ducts regularly.

Even though we can't eliminate dust mites 100%, we can still do something about it. As long as their population is low, the chance of allergic reactions will also lessen. Therefore, it's best to keep your airflow clean and dust-free to ensure dust mites won't bother you and your family anymore.

Suspecting dust mites might be around the premises? Give us a call at Grand Rapids Duct Cleaners! Our duct cleaners will gladly keep your HVAC and air ducts clean to keep the dust mites away!