10 Effective Ways to Get Rid of Dust Mites

House dust mites, their body parts and droppings are the most common household allergens . They are the source of sneezing, wheezing, coughing, itchy and watery eyes, runny nose, stuffy nose, eczema and asthma.

Get rid of dust mites once and for all! If you're reading this, chances are you or someone you love has recently been diagnosed with a dust mite allergy. These newly-diagnosed people can experience a wide variety of feelings. Some are in denial (how can a little bug make me sick?), some are overwhelmed, but the vast majority are against dust mites and are ready to declare war on them.

The first rule of war is to know your enemy.

So here's some basic information about mites:

  • Dust mites, their body parts, and their feces are the most common household allergens.

  • These allergens are the source of sneezing, wheezing, coughing, itching, runny nose, stuffy nose, eczema and asthma.

  • Dust mites are microscopic creatures that feed on human skin cells.

  • Mites don't bite.

  • You can't see mites , and you can't smell them.

  • Mites prefer areas where it's dark, damp and there's plenty to eat.

  • Their bodies are covered by a hard shell (like a carapace), and this shell and their feces contain a protein that causes the allergic reaction.

  • Fiber surfaces are their favorite place.

  • The bedroom is the most heavily infested room in the house.

  • Your mattress, pillow and blanket provide the ideal environment for their every need.

  • When we sleep, we warm the mites with our body heat, exhale moisture and sweat; this provides them with moisture and the dead skin cells provide them with food.

Clearly, dust mites are not welcome in the home. Here are seven highly effective ways to get rid of dust mites and their allergens.

1. Starve the enemy with a barrier

When it comes to your pillows, mattress and box spring, it's not practical to wash these items every seven days in hot water... Because of their thickness, denaturing sprays and powders are of limited effectiveness. Since it's impossible to remove dust mites and their allergens from your bed, you need to put a barrier between you and the mites.

You want to kill the mite, so do it in a way that will provide allergy relief. Starve them out! Yes, you'll kill the mites over time by starving them out.

So how do you starve them out? Cut off their food supply. This is the natural way to get rid of mites and their allergens.

Encase mattresses, box springs and pillows in anti-dust mite zippered covers. This puts an anti-allergen barrier between you and the mites. Their food supply will be limited to what's already in the bed or pillow. Slowly and over time, they will starve. From the very first night you sleep on dust mite covers, you'll get relief. You won't be exposed to mites, their body parts or their droppings!

"I've had this on my bed for only a few days now, and I feel a huge difference in the quality of my sleep. Perhaps my foam mattress had been slightly toxic to me. Whatever the reason, this mattress allergy protector has been well worth the investment... and it was easier to put on than I expected. "Eveline Rousseau, Quebec, Canada.

Here's Laura talking about her purchase of a dust mite cover from Protech Allergies:

Anti-dust mite zippered covers for mattress, pillows, and box spring will keep you from breathing in dust mite allergens found in your bed. Simply insert them over your mattress, pillows and box spring, then cover them with your sheets and pillowcases. High-quality Protech Allergies dust mite covers will last for years. So don't waste money on the cheap ones. The cheaper ones only last a year or two and will need replacing, as well as often being uncomfortable.

Also, you can hang your comforters, bedspreads and blankets outside in the sunlight (especially if you have wool or silk). The sun will kill dust mites, or you can leave your bedroom blinds open during the day.

Thinking of changing your sheets? Opt for 100% bamboo sheets.. Those sold in supermarkets are often made of 50% bamboo, 50% polyester. By choosing 100% organic bamboo sheets, you'll make the most of their anti-mite and temperature-regulating properties. You'll be less likely to feel hot in summer and cold in winter, and it's rare that people go back to cotton sheets after trying them.

Here's Sophia from Quebec talking about her bamboo sheets:

As for pillows, memory foam pillows are the ones that provide the least space for dust mites to lodge, and are therefore recommended to reduce their presence as much as possible.

2. Washing and cleaning with hot water

Remove and wash all sheets once a week (while your anti-dust mite cover remains in place as your anti-dust mite barrier, which you wash once or twice a year in hot water, or only as needed if you've put your refreshing mattress cover over it).

Regular washing will not eliminate dust mites and their allergens. Water in a washing machine should be at 55 degrees Celsius (which corresponds to hot water in Canada) to kill mites and eliminate the allergen. Most water heaters are not set at high temperatures for safety reasons. Also, water hot enough to kill mites and denature their proteins is hot enough to damage fabrics and colors.

So how can you get rid of mites without damaging your fabrics? Wash with Protech Allergies detergent.

Made with natural botanicals and citric acid as the active mite-eliminating ingredient, this detergent will safely eliminate mites in the washing machine without the need for hot water. By using Protech Allergies detergent you can eliminate mites from your bedding by washing in hot or cold water. Not only will you eliminate dust mites, but you'll save on energy costs by using cooler water temperatures and thus preserve your fabrics longer.

Here's Marianne from St-Hyacinthe talking about the product:

Steam cleaning will also kill dust mites. If you have bedding that can't be washed, steam cleaning is natural and better than dry cleaning. Both steam and dry cleaning will take care of surface soiling, but dry cleaning won't kill dust mites. Steam cleaning can be an alternative for your comforters that can't be bleached or dry-cleaned.

Steam clean carpets on a regular basis. Once again, cleaning will at least kill dust mites, even if it doesn't eliminate allergens. See our C5 high-performance steam cleaner by clicking here.

3. Make their environment uncomfortable

Dust mites seek out places that are dark, warm and filled with their favorite food, human skin cells. Consequently, they love fiber surfaces. Fabrics give mites a hiding place, and fibers provide them with food and trap moisture. Also, fiber surfaces are not easily cleaned. So, over time, more and more dust mite allergens collect in fibers and fabrics.

To get rid of allergens, you need to get rid of their hiding places and their homes. Dust mite elimination requires a multi-faceted approach.

Carpets: Carpets hold dead body skin parts that are present in house dust as well as dust mite droppings. Try it, but you can't completely clean the carpet and eliminate all these residues.

You can spend money on carpet cleaning and your carpet will be cleaner, but you can't really get rid of all the allergens in the carpet. Even when you "steam clean" your carpet, you can kill the mites, but you won't be able to remove the allergens. A dead mite is just as bad for you as a live one. That's why allergists agree that the best surface for flooring is a hard surface, not a carpet.

Small rugs that can be washed in hot water every week are acceptable. Get rid of all other fiber-based floor coverings. Replace them with tile, hardwood, laminate, parquet, vinyl or concrete. Hard surfaces can be effectively vacuumed and mopped regularly. With hard-surface floors, you'll actually remove dust mites, their feces, and their body parts.

Furniture: Like carpets and blankets, fabric-covered furniture is a big hiding place that can't be cleaned completely. Replace upholstered furniture with hardwood, leather or synthetic leathers. These hard surfaces don't collect allergens and are easy to clean.

Can't get rid of your sofa, curtains or carpet? You can apply denaturing agents. Denaturing agents are available as sprays and powders. You'll find them labeled "Protech Allergies anti-allergen spray".. They work by breaking down the protein that causes the allergic reaction. So, denaturing agents don't get rid of allergens, but prevent or limit the allergic reaction. If you rent a house and can't remove upholstered furniture or carpets, Protech Allergies antiallergen sprays can provide some relief and are more effective than doing nothing.

Window coverings: Remove draperies and replace them with hard-surface blinds. If curtains and valances remain, they should be washed or vacuumed and treated with an anti-allergen spray.

4. Vacuuming with a HEPA filter

Dust with damp cloths and always start at the top of the object and work your way down. In other words, dust top items before bottom items. Do not dust with products that leave a residue; this creates and attracts dust.

If you're dusting with microfiber cloths, always do so in one direction; otherwise, you'll continually release dust that the cloth has picked up.

Make sure your vacuum cleaner has a HEPA filter.

Use the same rules for vacuuming as for dusting. Vacuum top items before bottom items. Don't vacuum your room if you go to bed within two hours. Clean early in the day. Any dust you stir up will have a chance to settle before bedtime. It's also important to clean ceiling fans and air vents.

Here's Julia from Quebec City the very popular V8006 lightweight vacuum cleaner from Protech Allergies.

5. Equip yourself with a HEPA-filtered air purifier.

The HEPA-filtered air purifiers filter are an excellent tool to use, especially in winter when all doors and windows are closed. The air in the home is about five times more polluted than the air outside, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But not all air purifiers can do the job of stopping dust mites, since these are tiny creatures measuring 0.2 to 0.3 millimeters.

Protech Allergies purifiers all feature a medical-grade HEPA filter to eliminate micro-organisms and allergens. They are also equipped with the latest technologies (UVC, photocatalysis, ionizer, carbon filter) depending on the model. From 215 to over 1076 square feet can be sanitized with one of our air purifiers every hour. All have a good CADR (which corresponds to the air treated in the room). According to allergists, a CADR of 100 m3/h is the minimum to ensure minimum efficiency. The P1211 has a CADR of 120 m3/h, the P3001 310 m3/h and the P6006 has a powerful motor handling 510 m3/h of air. By far the most powerful on the market!

Here's Linda from St-Constant talking about her P1211 purifier from Protech Allergies:

Do not remove dust before going to bed. Always wait at least two hours before sleeping in a room that has been dusted. Even if you dust with damp cloths, some dust will become airborne and you want to give it time to settle before you go to bed. You don't want the dust to settle slowly on you, and you don't want to breathe it in while you're in bed. A HEPA filter purifier is a wise decision to remove as much dust and pollutants from the air as possible. What's more, you'll benefit from the fact that less dust will settle on your furniture, so you'll have less cleaning to do, as well as breathing cleaner air. It's amazing how much dirt can collect in a filter after just 3 months of use! And to think that this dust would collect in our lungs! 😱

Here's Marianne from Ste-Hyacinthe talking about her P3001 purifier:

6. Use a dehumidifier

Dust mites don't drink water; they absorb the moisture formed in the environment around them. That's why they like damp areas that prevent them from feeling thirsty. Dehumidifiers remove moisture from the environment.

If humidity reaches 60% or more, it encourages the reproduction of dust mites and the growth of mold. By keeping humidity levels below 60% in rooms, all these elements will be eliminated to a large extent, leading to a healthy atmosphere in your home. Leople tend to use dehumidifiers in their bathrooms or basements.

Dehumidifiers can make a major contribution to reducing the symptoms of allergy sufferers and improving the quality of life of asthma sufferers, because one of the advantages of a dehumidifier is that it can eliminate most of the problems caused by mold, fungi and dust mites, which are at the root of most of the symptoms of many respiratory illnesses.

7. Air your home

Air your home at least once a week (except during pollen season, if you're allergic to pollen, and get an air purifier). This will help rebalance the air in your home (C02 and other pollutants) and you'll feel all the better for it!

Unfortunately, you can be the cleanest person in the world and still have a problem with dust mites. So, if you wake up every morning with itchy eyes, a runny nose and a cough, you may be under attack from these microscopic adversaries.. They're at the heart of most allergies , and it can be hard to fight them off, but now you know better. you can learn more to combat these little bugs!

Got questions? We've got the answers!

If getting rid of dust mites in your home is confusing, don't worry! We've got solutions!

Protech Allergies has helped thousands of allergy and asthma sufferers since its inception. We can help you select the products you need to live a healthier, allergy-free life. Just call customer service at 1-833 776 2553 or write to us at info@protechallergies.com.

We look forward to hearing from you, and wish you good health and a great life!

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