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 Air
Purification
Dust Mites
Dust Mites and
Allergies
6 Ways To Control Both of
Them
California Department of Health
Services Fact Sheet (Added 9/12/01)
 House dust mites are the most common
trigger of asthma. These are the mites that live in house dust. It is the feces of the
dust mite that is the actual allergen that causes breathing problems. Dust mites produce
feces about 20 times a day. Aside from being an allergen, the feces of the dust mite is
light enough to float in the air, so it is easily inhaled by those of us who occupy homes
and buildings. Then, when you consider there are about 40,000 dust mites per speck of
dust, you can imagine (even if you'd rather not) just how many of these dust mite feces
enter your respiratory system every time you take a breath.
Your indoor environment is especially
vulnerable to dust mites if you live in a humid area, or if your home is subject to humid
conditions for whatever other reason. Humid environments create the ideal habitation for
dust mites, primarily since they result in a greater food supply for dust mites. Staples
of a dust mites diet include plant materials, molds, and fungi, all of which thrive in
humid conditions. Dust mites also feed on a less commonly-known but very prevalent
airborne particulate: dead human skin, found in every home.
That "dust" you see in a shaft of
sunlight coming through your window? Yep, mostly dead human skin, and you just can't avoid
it. And dust mites love the stuff.
Based on the facts mentioned above, you can
see why it is so critical to take action for the specific purpose of minimizing dust mites
in your home, particularly if someone in your home suffers from asthma. In which case, we
have compiled a list of 6 ways you can reduce the dust mites that reside in your home.
6 Ways to
Reduce House Dust Mites:
1. Casings. Bedding is the favorite home of the dust mite. Half the weight of
the average pillow is dust mites! If you're allergy prone, you should encase your bedding
and pillows with impermeable rubber or vinyl plastic wrappings and clean them frequently.
2. Washing. You should wash clothes and bedding regularly. Washing in 60oF
water is effective, but 130oF water will kill all dust mites. Washing in cold
water kills about 90% of dust mites.
3. Dry Cleaning. Dry cleaning kills all dust mites.
4. Heating. Any type of heat will help minimize dust mites. Some examples
include steam-cleaning carpets, tumble-drying (drying machine), direct sunlight exposure,
and electric blankets.
5. Air Conditioning. Air conditioning will dry out your indoor environment, which will
reduce the food supply for dust mites, resulting in reduced dust mite populations.
However, air conditioning strips beneficial negative ions from the air.
6. Air Purification. In spite of your best efforts to remove dust mites from your home or
other indoor environment, dust mites are simply too numerous and reproduce too frequently
to keep their numbers lowered without the aid of a quality air purifier. It's important to
know that an air purifier is MUCH different from an air filter (e.g. HEPA). HEPA and other
filtration-type air cleaners will not make much of a difference. First of all, most dust
mites are too small to be captured by even the best of filters - even a really good filter
can only get particulates larger than .3 microns. In addition, most dust mites will not
even pass through the filter's screen anyway. Despite manufacturer's claims that their
units complete so many air exchanges per hour, or filter so many square feet per hour,
these are mostly based on theoretical calculations. The reality is that most pollutants in
a given room or home will not pass through a small, stationary filter.
You are better off with a more advanced
air purification technology that uses oxidation, which is considerably more effective at purifying air than any filter.
Hydroxyl ions, hydro peroxides, oxide ions or negative ions remove pollutants from the air that are as much as 300 times smaller
than the smallest particle a filter can remove. Plus, oxidation technology
air purifiers can be emitted throughout your
home, so they are more thorough in the area they cover. Oxidizers are also
capable of penetrating upholstered furniture, bedding, etc. to destroy dust mites and their
feces.
NOTE: The last paragraph in this article has
been updated with text written by the author of this web site because the
information was obsolete and incorrect.
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Find
the Right Air Purifier for Your Unique Problem |
It's no mystery that the air inside our homes, offices and nearly every
building we enter is contaminated with air pollution problems. But wading through the
plethora of air purification technologies and models to make our living and
working space free of pollution can be a daunting task, especially with the
misinformation presented by so many salespeople and web sites.
There are many different air purification technologies and air filters on
the market, but no one air purifier technology can solve every air pollution
problem, which is why we carry different brands.
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