At the end of a long day, as you snuggle into your pillows and sheets, you may not realize how happy you’ve just made several million dust mites.  More dust mites live in your bed than any other area of your home.  During the day, they mull around in your mattress, waiting for you to return—because you are their absolute favorite environment!  Your body supplies them with warmth, food and water which is everything they require to flourish and raise their hordes of offspring.

Certainly the idea of your bed being a dust mite metropolis is disgusting, but it can also cause your health to suffer.  It is nearly impossible to avoid mites, but if you are sensitive to the allergen that they produce, there are many ways that you can reduce allergy symptoms.  Your bedroom is the best place to start—eliminating the surplus mite population here will help you to feel better throughout the day.

For Bedding:

Hot Water Wash

Washing bedding once a week is recommended for anyone with dust mite allergies.  For severe allergies or allergic asthma, you can try washing your sheets and pillow cases at a higher temperature (104-140 degrees F) as there is research that reveals this can kill dust mites and basically render the allergen harmless.  Certain delicate or brightly colored materials may not hold up well if they are constantly washed at high temperatures.

•  Never go to sleep with freshly-showered, damp hair—the ever-thirsty mites will crawl out of your bedding and flock to your head to wet their whistle.

The Freezer Treatment

Putting porous items (like blankets, sheets, pillows, stuffed animals, etc) in plastic bags and putting them in the freezer for 48 hours will kill dust mites.  Just keep in mind that once the mites are dead, you should wash the items to rinse away the mite bodies and droppings.  Without washing, the residue from the mites will still cause allergic reactions.

Anti-Mite Detergents

Several companies sell anti-dust mite laundry detergents that eliminate the need for washing in hot water temperatures.  Typically they use one of several natural, essential oils to kill the mites, such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil or lavender oil.  There also is a chemical called benzyl benozoate, which is used in laundry additives and is known for eliminating dust mites.

• Curtains should be washed as often as you wash your bedding.  Long curtains harbor the most mites, but there are ways to give up curtains without throwing away your style: consider hanging some sophisticated bamboo or wooden blinds.

Allergy Bedding and Encasements

 Another valuable tip for keeping mite out of your room would be investing in some anti-dust mite bedding.  The fabric used to make this sort of bedding has pores that are woven tight enough so that mites can’t penetrate them.  Using encasements for your mattress and pillows work as a barrier between you and dust mites.  At night, when dust mites emerge from your bed and pillows, this sheet keeps them from making their way through the sheets to you.

For the rest of your bedroom:

• If you have severe dust mite allergies, your wall-to-wall carpeting may end up being your worst enemy.  It may be worth it to invest in hardwood or laminate floors.

HEPA Air Filter

It is recommended that you run a HEPA quality filter, like a Dynamic Air Cleaner to remove airborne dust mite waste and the mite’s food source—dead skin cells—from the air.  Make sure that you only use an air purifier with a HEPA filter—ionizers (which are often claimed to be good for allergies) will cause dust mite allergen particles to stick together, but because of their tiny size, they do not become heavy enough to fall out of the air or be attracted to collection grids.  HEPA is endorsed by most all allergy and asthma associations as it is the safest for use by asthmatics and allergy sufferers.

Vacuuming and Steam Cleaning Carpets

It has been found that sweeping with a regular vacuum may not actually remove dust mites, but rather redistribute them and cause more allergens to become airborne.  Using a vacuum with rotating brushes does give substantially better results than one relying simply on suction—but now most HEPA filter vacuums are becoming increasingly affordable and are best suited to the job of cleaning up allergens.  It is also suggested that steaming carpets every 2 months can greatly reduce dust mite numbers in carpets.  It is important to use steam as opposed to hot water vacuums, because hot water vacs allows moisture to seep deep into the carpet and padding beneath.  This extra moisture will create a population boom for the mites.

•  Vacuuming increases airborne for about 20-30 minutes—so if you have allergies, have someone else do the vacuuming and step outside until all of the allergens settle back down.

Starting an anti-dust mite revolution in your bedroom can greatly reduce the amount of dust mite allergens you encounter.  In turn, you may find that you rely on medications less and less.

Have any feedback, comments, suggestions?  Please feel free to post them!