How to get rid of dust mites

Beds are a prime habitat (where 1/3 of life occurs). A typical used mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside. (Ten percent of the weight of a two year old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings.) Mites prefer warm, moist surroundings such as the inside of a mattress when someone is on it. A favorite food is dander (both human and animal skin flakes). Humans shed about 1/5 ounce of dander (dead skin) each week. About 80 percent of the material seen floating in a sunbeam is actually skin flakes. Also, bedroom carpeting and household upholstery support high mite populations. The proteins in that combination of feces and skin sheddings are what cause allergic reactions in humans. Depending on the person and exposure, reactions can range from itchy eyes to asthma attacks. And finally, unlike other types of mites, house dust mites are not parasites, since they only eat dead tissue. Gross, but true. Here's what you can do to help get rid of those dust mites.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Wash Machine
• Vacuum
• Spray Allergen

1. One way to keep dust mites at bay is to wash bedding weekly. Make sure to wash the bedding in hot water, above 130 degrees. I wash everything else in cold water,, but I always wash my linens in hot. Launder mattress pads, blankets and comforter covers at least once a month and more often if one suffers from allergies. For fabrics that may not be washed in hot water; just pop it into the freezer for 24 to 48 hours to kill dust mites.
2. The most effective means is to enclose the mattress top and sides with a plastic cover or other dust mite impervious cover, thoroughly vacuuming mattress pillows and the base of the bed. Put an airtight plastic or polyurethane cover over your mattress. This tip is number one for a reason: it is in your bed that you are closest to the mites and their feces and enclosing the mattress and pillows in a dust mite cover virtually eliminates the mites here. You can also search the web for dustmite-proof fitted sheets. Mattresses covered with "fitted sheets" help prevent the accumulation of human skin scales on the surface
3. Replace feather and down pillows with those having synthetic fillings, foam is great. Replace woolen blankets with nylon or cotton cellulose ones. Wash forget the children's stuffed animals: be sure to get washable stuffed animals in the future!
4. Wash stuffed animals or the ones that can't be washed can be put in a plastic bag and put in the freezer over night, which will kill the mites.
5. Here's a reason to NOT make your bed. A study in 2005 by Kingston University shows that simply leaving your bed unmade each morning, with the sheets exposed to the air lets the sheets dry out and reduced the numbers of dust mites.
6. Keep the thermostat in the house below 70 degrees and the humidity below 50 percent. Dust mites love warm, humid conditions.
7. Weekly change pillowcases, sheets, and under blankets, and vacuum the bed base and around the covered mattress. Use a damp mop or rag to remove dust. Never use a dry cloth or broom, since this just stirs up mite allergens.
8. Wash curtains.
9. Remove carpeting and replace with wood, tile, linoleum, or vinyl floor covering. Remove cloth drapes and blinds. (If you have carpet, vacuum every day.) Vacuuming your carpets and upholstery every week can help. Vacuums with high-efficiency filters (Hepa filters) pick up more dust mites, but even standard vacuums work well enough and if yours use a bag you can find bags made for allergy sufferers that work the best. Also, use a carpet steamer to steam clean the carpets. Bissell makes an anti-allergen solution that they say will help to kill and clean dust mites.
10. Purchase an allergen spray at a home store or a supermarket and spray on a mattress. Follow the directions on the back of the spray can.

Tips & Warnings

• Take a dust mite impervious cover, along for when you stay at hotels.
• Daily dust plastic bed covering.
• Freezing kills mites but does not remove their residue. In addition to freezing temperatures and washing items in temperatures greater than 130 degrees F, extended exposure to sunlight, and low levels of humidity also destroy the mites.