Have Dust Mites? Here’s What You Need to Know
If you or someone in your household suffers from allergies, the culprit may be dust mites. These tiny creatures don't make noise, don't bite, and can't even be seen with the naked eye. However, their impact is significant for millions of Americans who suffer from congestion, sneezing, coughing, and wheezing. Below is more information about this diminutive pest and what you can do to control it.
What Are Dust Mites?
Dust mites are microscopic arthropods, which makes them kin to spiders, ticks, and numerous other eight-legged creatures. However, dust mites are incapable of causing direct harm to humans, as they neither sting nor consume blood from a host.
Instead, dust mites subsist solely on a diet of dead human and animal skin cells that they find inside homes. This environment is ideal for dust mites, and generations will live, reproduce, and die inside human habitations.
Why Do Dust Mites Cause Health Problems?
Dust mites produce strong enzymes within their digestive tract to break down the tough food they eat, and this process is where the problem begins for many people. As dust mites digest their food, they excrete fecal material which contains high concentrations of the enzymes. Unfortunately, the enzymes evoke powerful allergic responses in some people.
One dust mite doesn’t create allergy trouble, but it's not unusual to find homes that contain millions of mites. All of those mites and their fecal matter and decay can add up, causing serious irritation for you and others in your home.
What Can Be Done to Eliminate Dust Mites?
Completely eliminating dust mites from homes is probably impossible, but there are numerous things that can be done to significantly reduce their numbers.
Schedule Professional Duct Cleaning
Air conditioning and heating ducts can become caked with dust and debris, and a significant percentage of this dust is made from dead skin cells. Unfortunately, it is impossible for homeowners to access air conditioning and heating ducts for cleaning.
Instead, you’ll need to contact a qualified heating and air conditioning service company for assistance. A knowledgeable provider will thoroughly clean dirty, dust-filled ducts and remove both mites and their food sources in the process. Once your ducts have been cleaned, you can maintain their condition for a longer period of time by frequently changing air filters.
Lower Humidity Levels Inside Your Home
Dust mites thrive in humid, warm conditions, so reducing moisture inside your home will help dry out and kill them. An easy way to lower humidity levels inside your home is to run your air conditioner more frequently. Alternatively, you can also use a standalone dehumidifier unit to reduce ambient moisture.
Use HEPA Filtration
If you are troubled by dust mites, you may want to supplement your air conditioning and heating with additional air filtration. One popular option is to purchase a HEPA filtration unit; HEPA filters remove extremely tiny particles, even bacteria and viruses, and are capable of cleaning the air of dust mites and their fecal matter.
Remove Unnecessary Fabrics
Another way to reduce the dust mite population inside your home is by eliminating areas where dust mites inhabit and find food. Such areas include carpeting, rugs, drapes, upholstered furniture, and other fabrics.
Replace carpets and rugs with hard floors and get rid of fabric-covered furniture in favor of leather sofas and chairs. Even a child's stuffed animals can be a haven for dust mites, so replace them with toys that are less hospitable to mites.
If you are bothered by allergies and suspect you have a dust mite problem, be sure to contact Parks Davis Air Conditioning and Heating for help. We can clean your air ducts and help improve your home's air quality, thus lessening the impact that dust mites make on your household.
