Household air quality can have a substantial affect on the health of your
family. Along with mold, dust mites are a common irritant found within our
living spaces. While they are found throughout our natural environment,
problems can become exacerbated by the artificial conditions found
indoors in which they thrive upon.
Health Effects
Dust mites are linked and declared to be responsible for some of the many
health problems we as a society battle with everyday. The list includes fatigue,
hay fever, allergies, eczema, depression, rashes, itchy skin and eyes, insomnia,
bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory ailments. Dust mites and their
excrement or fecal matter can easily float around on the air currents in a room
or attach themselves to your clothing and be transported to another area and
start a new infestation. One dust mite lives for approximately 3-4 months and
can produce up to 300 eggs a month.
Location
Dust mites also thrive among moist conditions, with bedding, upholstered
furniture and carpeting providing the most preferred housing for colonies.
Fortunately many of the steps taken in mold reduction overlap those of
dust mite control.
Dust Mite Fact
In our beds, a prime habitat (where 1/3 of life occurs), a typical used mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside. Ten percent of the weight of a two year old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings.
