Dust Mite Solutions

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Dust mite allergy is one of the most common allergies that Americans suffer from. It is estimated that 80-90% of those suffering from allergies are also allergic to dust mites. Some of the most common symptoms are stuffy nose, runny nose, teary eyes, dry cough, and even aches and headaches. Most people suffer from it without even realizing. If you tend to wake up in the morning congested there is a very good chance you may suffer from dust mite allergies.Your doctor or local allergy specialist can determine if you have dust mite allergies with an allergy test. Alternatively you can take a few simple dust mite elimination steps and see if you start feeling better.

Dust mites can be found in all households, almost without exception. They live in carpets, fabric upholstered furniture, curtains and most of all in beds. Dust mites feed on shed human skin, and can live anywhere the humidity is above 40% and there are humans. It is estimated that each person sheds approximately the equivalent to a paperclips worth of dead skin every day, providing an abundant foodsource for dust mites. Below you will find some of the ways you can protect yourself from dust mite infestations.

Dust Mite Bedding

Your bed is the dust mite's favorite place because of the high humidity generated by the sweat from your body and the abundant food source your skin particles. They live in mattresses, bed pillows, blankets and other stuffed bedding items like comforters, which provide the best conditions of warmth and humidity. Dust mites are related to spiders but are so small that they can only be seen under a microscope. Allergy symptoms to dust mites are primarily caused by the proteins in the particles of dust mite waste (feces) and body particles of dead dust mites.

Every time you move in your bed the compression of your pillow and mattress sends a cloud of dust mites and their fecal particles into the air around you. Washing sheets alone does not help because dust mites are so small they can easily pass through regular bedsheets. In fact freshly cleaned sheets can be recontaminated with dust mites within seconds if you do not have dust mite proof encasings.

An average mattress a year or more old can hold as many as 1 to 2 million dust mites. The solution is to cover your mattress, pillow and comforter with dust mite proof covers which are made of material that has pores so fine they prevent the dust mites from passing through. Combine this with regular washing of your sheets in hot water and you will dramatically reduce the primary source of your exposure to dust mites.

We carry a wide selection of dust mite covers for your entire bed. To learn about your options, visit our complete Dust Mite Bedding category.

Laundry Treatments

Dust mites are very tough, they cannot be killed by normal laundering/cleaning. Only washing in hot water at least 130-140 degrees F will kill dust mites. If you cannot use hot water, they can also be killed by adding bleach or borax or one of our specially formulated products to your laundry water. (note: we have not been able to locate studies that show the amount of bleach or borax and the soaking duration necessary to kill dust mites in cold water.) A complete list of laundry products can be found in our Laundry Solutions category.

Air Purification

The next step is to purchase a quality air filter of true HEPA or better quality. No matter how hard you try to keep everything clean, some allergens will always get stirred into the air and because the particles are so small, they will float around for many hours waiting for you to breathe them in. A good air filter will permanently remove these allergen particles from the air. Visit our Air Purifier section to see our complete line of HEPA purifiers.

Humidity Control

Dust mites flourish in humid conditions. An extremely effective way to control dust mites is to lower the humidity in your home, thereby robbing them of the moisture they need to survive. We offer dehumidifiers for your room, basement, crawlspace and entire home that will attack dust mites at their source and make your home a more comfortable place to live in. See our Humidity Control section for our complete line of dehumidifiers.

Allergen Neutralization

Treat upholstery and linens with one of our odorless sprays to kill and neutralize dust mite allergens. View our Allergen Neutralizer section to learn more.

Carpet Cleaning

Carpets and fabric upholstered furniture are the next most prolific areas for dust mites to live. Not only are there many places for them to hide, dirt and flaked off skin lurk where many vacuums can't reach. Even if vacuums can reach, most normal vacuums recirculate dust mites and their allergens into the air. The optimal solution is to replace your carpets with any kind of hard flooring and your furniture with leather or a non-porous synthetic upholstered material. If that is not an option, use one of our carpet treatments to kill and neutralize dust mites where they live. Combine that with our of our high efficiency HEPA vacuums, and many of your dust mite problems -- and allergy symptoms -- will disappear. View our Carpet Cleaning section for more.

Five Steps to Dust Mite Removal

To summarise the 5 most critical steps to reducing dust mite allergies are:

1. Cover your mattress, pillow and comforter with dust mite proof encasings (see our full Bedding selection)
2. Treat carpets and all fabric upholstered surfaces with a dust mite killing or allergen denaturing treatment (see our Allergen Neutralizer section)
3. Filter your air with a quality HEPA or hyperHEPA air purifier (see our Air Purifiers)
4. Run a dehumidifier to keep humidity levels below 55% (see our Dehumidifier section)
5. Keep your home clean and dust-free (see our Dust Mite Cleaning products)

Click here to see a selection of recommended products to get you started. If you need help contact us or call us at (888) 760-1900 and press option 2 Monday-Friday 10am-6pm PT (1pm-9pm ET).

Click here for more dust mite solutions.