So you want to slay the little dust mites!

[canadian gardener]

But you don't want to kill yourself in the process, either from chemical warfare or overwork.

Ok here are some techniques I've used with some success.

The little blighters have some chinks in their armour. They feed on dead skin cells that we slough off daily. They love humidity, and normal indoor room temperature.

They die in quantities when it's too hot, too cold or too dry and they are slowed down when you vacuum them and their food source up regularly.

You can kill them dead by freezing and Australian researchers found that you could kill them by exposing carpets and bedding to hot sunlight for a day or two and that after a kill like that it takes a long time for them to grow back.

The places they live in biggest numbers? The carpet! Followed by the MATTRESSES! Other soft furnishings like pillows, stuffed toys, cloth curtains, and soft furniture (couch, chairs) are also homes for dustmites.

Their population spikes in the late fall and early winter followed by a serious decline in January dry indoor air.

AND another surprising bit of research showed that people who use antidandruff shampoos have fewer dustmites living in their homes. (whatever the reason, less skin cells flaking off, or making the cells poisonous to the mites).

So

Physical changes:

Buy a good vacuum. Either a Hepa filter with beater bar head, or an in house system that exhausts the air outside as you vacuum, trapping the dust in a large can in the garage or somewhere OUTSIDE the normal living space.

Put an electronic filter on the furnace or commit to changing a disposable filter once a month or washing a reuseable sponge pad filter once a month. This cleans the air nicely.

Doesn't have to get every last dust mite. THE AIM IS REDUCING THE LOAD, NOT PERFECTION!

Use a good thick mattress pad that you can take off and wash monthly. It keeps the mattress in good shape and is very comfy.

Try to get a mattress cover and pillow cover that is dust mite proof. I don't bother with the covers. They are VERY expensive where I live.

I aim to reduce my dustmite load, not achieve perfection. I do what I can and don't sweat the stuff I can't.

I vacuum my mattress monthly, and hang my pillows out in the sun and wind monthly or freeze in the freezer along with the duvet, and wash them annually.

if you have serious problems take the carpets out altogether but if not then vacuuming every 2 to 3 days well help using a Hepa filter vacuum with a beater bar head.

Pop the beater bar up onto the furniture as you do your big serious vacuuming once a week.

Once in a while leave stuff like couch cushions, stuffed toys, etc out in the freezing cold of winter under cover, to freeze the mites to death, then bring in and vacuum well to suck out the dead mites.

you can use your freezer for small items. Follow up with a hot dryer and a clean tennis shoe to beat the dead mite particles out of the item.

SCHEDULES:

Daily stuff:
Dust FIRST, then vacuum to suck up the dust that you just hopefully deposited by the floor for the vacuum to do it's thing.

I am asthmatic, and I find the best duster is my ostrich down duster (it's NOT a feather duster) used properly does it fastest and easiest and doesnt' cause me trouble. I can do the whole upstairs in about 5 minutes or less.

The proper way is a slow steady stroke across the item, no flicking in the air after. Carefully bring the duster down to your ankle and crack the handle gently on your ankle to release the dust near the floor where the vacuum can suck it up.

Vacuum and dust every 2 to 3 days if it's bad. Carefully dust an allergic persons bedroom daily when they aren't there, and vacuum it daily.

Once a week do a big careful vacuum but the quickie catch up vacuum every 2 to 3 days keeps the dust levels down. Doesn't have to be perfect, just grab and go.

I leave my vac out ready to use, where I left it last, and pick up and do it thru the house till I'm tired. If company comes I put it away.

Weekly: Change sheets, Wash in HOT WATER. That kills them, and takes out the skin oils that hold dead cells to the sheets.

Want to save money? rinse in COLD water. I use a double rinse but unless your family has skin allergies it's usually not necessary.

Do the serious vacuuming once a week. I just work my way thru the house, leaving it sit where I quit, picking it up when I have energy again.

Monthly:
CHANGE THE VAC BAG once a month OR OFTENER if you have allergies to cope with. Wash or change the vacuum pre filter per schedule. I have one you can wash out every time, it pre filters before the air gets to the HEPA filter.

My sister changes her bag once a week. She just loves the way it sucks with a fresh bag and she has a huge house. She doesnt' have a HEPA vacuum, but she gets the microfilter bags and just changes them weekly. She is asthmatic and it's helped her so she doesn't wheeze when she vacuums.

Vacuum the mattress monthly. When the pad comes off for washing. It's an ideal time to flip or rotate the mattress for even wear.

I take the pad off to wash it and the duvet cover, and hang the duvet and pillows out on the line to freeze or cook the mites, and freshen things up. Exception? Pollen season! I don't then.

But I still take that pad off and wash it, shake the duvet and pillows outside and vacuum the mattress once a month, pollen or not.

Clean, wash, vacuum or change the furnace filter.

Vacuum the furniture if you didn't get to it with the weekly vac.

REMINDER:
I use the first of the month as a reminder to do the monthly stuff, and try to do it during the first week of the month. NOT all in one day. I'm not able.

gotta run, more later

[paelthom]

Thanks Margery.

[canadian gardener]

Oh and for some reason unless you are actually allergic to feathers and down, they don't have the mites as bad as synthetic pillows and bedding.

Once a year I wash my feather pillows and down duvets in HOT water with ordinary detergent and hang out on the line to dry, bringing it in to dry a little in the dryer, then back out on the line. It's an all day process but it's wonderful.

Don't do all of them in one day. You will die of overload. 2 pillows a session, till the pillows are done, then the duvets.

[guest2]

Good tips Margery! Thanks!

[canadian gardener]

hmm really gotta move but one last thing

Pillows. When the kids were very very asthmatic as kids, I would roll up big bath sheets as pillows and use them.

Our allergist told us that the mite levels in pillows go from zero to asthma in 6 weeks so either I washed the pillows once a month or took to tossing them that often.

THIS IS NOT NEEDED FOR NORMAL HEALTHY PEOPLE OK, just a point of interest if you have severely asthmatic kids and need help.

I couldn't afford that so we encased the mattresses in plastic which I scrubbed down once a month, put mattress pads on, which I washed once a month and used bath towels for pillows which I washed weekly.

Stuffed toys were limited, and NONE were allowed in bed with the kids. They were quite asthmatic and they understood. They played with them in the rest of the house.

Switching from cloth curtains to metal blinds that could be dusted weekly or roller blinds that you could wipe clean were the other things we did.

HTH

[canadian gardener]

Oh one last thing

No clutter on horizontal surfaces. It makes cleaning faster anyway and opens up the look of a room.

These tend to hold dust, but the real problem is that they make dusting more difficult so it gets done less and the dust builds up. They aren't as bad as mattresses and carpets though.

Those are your two biggest dust mite homes in your home. Deal with those two items and most of the problem is gone.

[Guest1]

Just ran the vacuum over my mattress prior to reading this - eh - least I know I'm on the right track....

Great tips Margery ~ thanks!