How many dust mites in bed

Beds are one of the prime environments for dust mites to live and flourish. A mattress can have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million dust mites living in it. One of the things that makes a mattress a beneficial environment for dust mites is the warmth and high humidity provided by us when we are sleeping. One of a dust mites favorite foods is dander from humans and our pets. Dander nothing more than skin flakes which we shed continuously as we go about our lives. Every year the weight of a mattress increases due to dust mite waste and dead mites.

Dust mites and pillows

Pillows are another favorite place for mites to live. It is estimated that 10% of the total weight of a two year old pillow is a combination of dead dust mites and their waste. This is significant for those of us how suffer from allergies and asthma.

What you can do to remove dust mites from your bedroom and the rest of your home

It is very unlikely that you will be able to totally rid your bed or your house of dust mites. What you can do is try to control their populations by using dust mite proof bedding such as a mattress cover and mite proof pillow cover and utilizing other strategies to reduce their numbers. In this way you will be able to coexist with them and reduce or eliminate any allergic effects they may have on you.

Getting rid of dust mites can be a daunting task and is next to impossible because they are found virtually everywhere we go. People and animals shed skin cells (dander) constantly and this is the main food source for these little creatures. Here we look at some of the most common and safest methods of controlling dust mite populations to help manage allergy and asthma symptoms so you can lead a normal life.

Like people and our pets, these pests flourish in warm humid environments. Try to maintain humidity levels in your house below 50 percent at all times. Maintaining humidity in your home below 50% has a negative impact on dust mite populations. This is much more difficult to do during the summer than in winter but using a dehumidifier will help greatly.

How to remove dust mites from your bedroom

We spend a great deal of our time sleeping which makes our beds one of the prime environments for dust mites to live and breed. Bedding should be washed in hot water above 130 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have severe reactions then every week or two may be necessary for maximum benefit.

Allergy relief bedding (dust mite covers) is also available to help rid ourselves of mites. Cover mattresses and pillows in allergen blocking dust proof covers which zipper. This provides a barrier that dust mites can’t penetrate. This prevent them from colonizing these areas and eliminates one of their primary breeding grounds.

How to remove dust mites from your carpeting

Carpets and certain types of furniture are also common places where dust mites live comfortably. Use a HEPA vacuum cleaner to clean your carpets. HEPA filtered vacuum cleaners work better than standard vacuums because of the HEPA filters that are incorporated in their design. HEPA stands for "High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance". They are the most efficient air filters available. A great deal of dust passes right through standard vacuum cleaners and gets distributed back into the environment. It is a better idea to avoid having carpets in your home at all if your allergies are particularly bad. If carpeting is a must, try to have low pile carpets.

Many sources recommend steam cleaning carpets as another means of dust mite control. The benefits of steam cleaning are twofold, the high temperature steam kills the dust mites and the water helps to wash out any mites and any other contaminants that may be contributing to your allergy symptoms.

Remove dust mites from the air you breathe

Use efficient furnace filters in your heating and air conditioning equipment. This will remove more dust from your home and reduce the distribution of dust mite excrement and pieces of their dead and decaying bodies. These are the things that cause most of the allergic reactions that most people experience.

To help children who suffer from these allergies, wash their stuffed toys in hot water. Your child’s favourite stuffed toy is also a good environment for dust mites to flourish. These toys are usually held close to children’s faces which can intensify any reactions they may have.

Managing allergies can be a daunting challenge and requires constant control and monitoring of your environment. Is it possible to get rid of dust mites entirely? Probably not but implementing some or all of these strategies will go a long way toward controlling their numbers and allow you to coexist in relative comfort without negatively effecting your health.