Just how healthy (or unhealthy is your home? Could you tell if it was healthy or not?Who else thinks they live in a healthy home?. The humble Dust Mites are pocket sized critters (one eightieth of an inch long) related to ticks and spiders. The mites are turtle shaped things with eight legs and are too small to be seen with the naked eye. They thrive on the decaying dead skin flakes in household dust – skin that we lose everyday just walking around. There's hardly a house in the USA or Europe that does not have them.
The interesting thing is the number can vary enormously between houses in the same street, some containing huge numbers and others hardly any. The Mites' survival depends, not on the amount of dust, but more vitally, on the amount of humidity in the house. Without continuous high humidity (50+rh) their skin will cause them to rapidly dehydrate and they will die.
When they find these optimal circumstances, Dust Mites can to survive for anywhere between 3-4 months. The females can lay up to 25 to 50 eggs, with a new "crop" born every three weeks!
Strangely, it is not the Mite itself that we become allergic to. It is their waste that is the danger. They need help (a chemical method) to break down the shed skin before it can be digested. This is the problem (or rather what happens when the digestion is over). The chemical along with the digested skin passes into the droppings.
Remember that the mite is so incredibly small and its droppings will be much smaller yet. One mite will produce perhaps 20 droppings every day. Any of these droppings holds maybe 10-12 smaller sub pellets roughly about 2-10 micron in size and contain their left over enzymes. Once disturbed, by a gust of wind or someone walking through a room, these droppings become airborne. They are so light that they can stay up in the air for ages.
Unfortunately, this is right where your nose is gathering it's air from.As we breathe in the air, we also inhale the mite droppings. Unfortunately, these contain those powerful protein enzymes that digest our skin. The trouble is that these enzymes cannot differentiate between live or dead skin.
So they go to work on the linings of your nose and bronchial tubes (in other words what you breathe through).
Over time this goes on unabated until you become "sensitised". By this time the linings have become swollen and reduced in size. You are about to have an attack. These can be triggered by various things such as… pollen, pollution, car fumes, paint, VOCs (volatile organic compounds). This is when the body reacts to it and starts off an allergic reaction. How can we prevent this?
Remember, they can only survive in relatively high humidity. Make sure your house is well ventilated. Open the windows whenever you can. Keep you house as clean and dust free as you can. Make sure your vacuum cleaner has clean filters and if appropriate, change the bag when it is less than half full.
If you can, use a water filtration vacuum cleaner. They pass the dust over a container full of water. The dust and dirt gets captured by the water which stops it being thrown back into the air like it is with some systems. Use a professional carpet cleaner. They will remove the mites without leaving your carpets soggy. This is vital as a damp carpet can quickly become heaven for dust mites (remember, they love warm moist conditions). Ask your carpet cleaner to use mite killer and then apply an anti mite protector. This way you'll have twelve month protection.
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