| Issue #33, November 10, 2006 |
A Mite-y Big Problem
As we begin to close our windows and shut the doors to keep cold air outside where it belongs, we must also think about what we are keeping inside. Warmth, toasty socks, hot food, steaming cups of tea, and dust mites? It’s true. Dust mites are certainly unwanted house guests and although they have a year-round presence, the colder months are when they seem to do the most damage as there tends to be greater dust build-up and less fresh air circulating around the house. Don’t worry, you don’t have to keep your doors open, there are a few ways to hunt and combat those tiny predators so you can stay warm and clean.
You may be thinking that you just scrubbed, sanitized, and scoured your house of all the dirt you could possibly find and that not once did you come across any creepy-crawly insects (besides the handful of daddy-long-legs behind the washer and dryer). That’s the hard part. Dust mites are living, spider-like, microscopic insects that can travel through the air and are too small to be seen. They feed off of dead skin cells from humans and animals, as well as spores and, unfortunately, they are almost everywhere. Dust mites, like other biological contaminants, contribute to poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and may be a major cause of days lost from work and school because they can make you sneeze and trigger all sorts of allergic reactions, causing watery eyes, coughing, dizziness, lethargy, breathing difficulties, and digestive problems. Yet, I wouldn’t suggest calling in sick to work from a bad case of dust-mitus.
Because of environmental and feeding requirements, dust mites prefer living in humid conditions, anything above 55% humidity with a nice room temperature in the 70’s or 80’s. This explains why they can easily be found in mattresses, pillows, house dust, bedding, carpets, sofas, stuffed chairs, and drapery. A typical profile of dust mite allergen location might be 10,000 nanograms per gram (ng/g) in a mattress, 8,000 ng/g in a upholstered chair, 2,000 ng/g in a carpet, 1,000 ng/g in the draperies. As many as 2,000,000 live mites may inhabit the average mattress. With the average pillow having 30% of its weight comprised of dead human skins cells and dust mite allergens, can you imagine how much heavier your bed has become?
There you stand, with your rubber gloves, tool belt choc-full of anti-bacterial sprays, eye protectors and operating mask on, vacuum, mop and a roll of paper towels, ready to abolish the staggering population of dust mites in your home. Unfortunately, only the mop may help you rid your furnishings of dust mites, the rest of the supplies, including the vacuum, may just help spread them around. The dust mite’s life spans about 30 days. People are not allergic to the mites themselves, but thier droppings. Here is a list of what you can do to keep those dust mite levels down in the upcoming winter months.
1. Keep the house aired out and dry. Try to keep the humidity level below 50%. Dust mites do not do well in dry conditions. This may be difficult for some people, who like to keep the humidifier on to reduce dry skin in the winter months, or even those who keep plants and fish tanks around (which contribute to humidity).
2. Dry vacuuming doesn’t pick up dust mites. Consider steam cleaning carpets whenever possible. In addition to cleaning the carpet, the heat of the steam kills dust mites.
3. You can buy chemical pesticides to use on carpeting and furniture known as ascaricides that kill dust mites. However, many experts do not consider them effective enough to be worth the trouble and expense.
4. Wash bedding, including pillowcases and mattress covers, in hot water [130° F (54.4° C)] every two weeks. Or, replace comforters and pillows made with down feathers, kapok, and cotton with ones made with synthetic fibers such as Dacron and Orlon. Do not use fuzzy wool blankets, feather or wool-stuffed comforters, or feather pillows.
5. You can limit your contact with dust mites by using allergen-proof covers on your mattress, box spring, and pillows.
If you’re like me, you enjoy spending time in your bedroom to find peace, comfort and a little cleanliness. Experts believe that adults and children spend at least one-third of their time in the bedrooms, so it’s important to keep this area clean and dust mite free. Go ahead, shut the windows, close the doors and stay warm. Just be sure you aren’t running the bills up too high for those unwanted house guests.
–Victoria L. Cooper
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