Dust Mite Protection» dust mite mattresses http://www.dustmiteprotection.com Your Resource For Dust Mite Protection, Control and Treatment Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:03:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 en hourly 1 How Do You Get Rid Of Dust Mites In Mattresses http://www.dustmiteprotection.com/dust-mite-control/how-do-you-get-rid-of-dust-mites-in-mattresses/ http://www.dustmiteprotection.com/dust-mite-control/how-do-you-get-rid-of-dust-mites-in-mattresses/#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:07:55 +0000 admin http://www.dustmiteprotection.com/dust-mite-control/how-do-you-get-rid-of-dust-mites-in-mattresses/ Getting rid of dust mites in mattresses can be a daunting task. This is largely due to their dense populations and prolific breeding habits. Each female dust mite can lay from 20 to 30 eggs every week. There may be millions of dust mites living in your mattress and depending on the age of your mattress there may be even larger amounts dust mite waste and other by-products of their existence. It’s not the dust mites that cause allergic reactions in many of us, it’s the by-products of their existence that create the problems so just reducing their numbers will not solve your problem. You will still have to contend with the remaining allergens that become airborne every time you move.

According to an article written by The Johns Hopkins Hospital the highest concentrations of dust mites can be found in our bedrooms and making some simple changes can help get rid of them. Mites feed on dead skin that we shed at all times and like all things they need food and water to live. If you take the necessary steps to separate them from their food supply they will starve and die. Removing them from our environment will help to reduce or even eliminate asthma and allergy reactions in many people.

Some steps you can take to get rid of dust mites in your mattress

  • Wash all bedding in hot water every 7 to 10 days
  • Dusting the furniture in your house including walls, closets and ceilings
  • Use an encasing or mite free mattress covers on your bed
  • Avoid down and feather pillows
  • Use pillow encasements
  • Manage humidity levels
  • Reduce room temperatures

Washing bedding in hot water 130 degrees F or higher removes all allergens and will kill these pests. This alone will not be enough to provide any lasting benefits, you must use dust proof pillow and mattress covers. The removable mattress cover will keep the mites that are in your pillows and mattresses from getting out and reinfecting your bedding. Dust mites and their waste can account for up ten percent of the weight of a two year old pillow.

A mattress can have from 100,000 to 10,000,000 mites living in it at any time. Although these pests are microscopic, imagine that many little creatures living, defecating, dying and decaying in your mattress.

Managing temperature and humidity is also an important part of dust mite control. Temperatures below 70 degrees F and humidity below 50 percent are less than desirable for dust mites and helps to reduce their populations in your home.

]]> http://www.dustmiteprotection.com/dust-mite-control/how-do-you-get-rid-of-dust-mites-in-mattresses/feed/ 0 How Many Dust Mites Live In the Average Bed http://www.dustmiteprotection.com/dust-mite-control/how-many-dust-mites-live-in-the-average-bed/ http://www.dustmiteprotection.com/dust-mite-control/how-many-dust-mites-live-in-the-average-bed/#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:03:14 +0000 admin http://www.dustmiteprotection.com/dust-mite-control/how-many-dust-mites-live-in-the-average-bed/ If you have landed on this page you are obviously curious about how many dust mites may be living in your bed and you may be suffering from allergies or asthma as a result of these common little pests. The thought of little spider like creatures crawling all over you while you are sleeping is probably not a comforting thought and most of us feel the same way. We spend as much as 1/3 of our lives in bed and we share this space with dust mites. Your bed is the dust mites home and you are their food source. Your mattress is where they live, eat, lay their eggs, deposited their fecal matter and it’s also where they die and decay.

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.

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