How to Kill Dust Mites and Prevent Fall Allergies
Are you tortured by allergies? Do you connect your struggles with outdoor sources? If so, you could be ignoring the true culprit. Indoor allergens—specifically dust mites—are likely responsible for poor indoor air quality in your home causing undesirable problems such as runny noses, itchy eyes and even respiratory issues such as bronchitis and asthma. So if you’re hiding out indoors when pollen and mold are high, you could actually be making your problems worse.
The primary sources of indoor allergens are:
- Pets
- Wall-to-wall carpet
- Soft furniture
- Stuffed toys
- Bedding
- Damp areas
- Indoor plants
- Mattresses that aren’t in allergy covers
- Pillows and bedding you can’t wash in hot water
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recommends three ways you can improve indoor air quality including:
- Control your contact with indoor airborne allergens
- Ventilate your indoor areas well
- Use air cleaners to clean indoor air
So how should you go about eliminating dust mites and filtering out pollen, dust and other unhealthy bacteria invading your living space? High-efficiency whole-home air filters will eliminate pollen and other harmful particles from the indoor air and whole-home air purifiers can help purify the air. But to reduce or eliminate problems with dust mites you will need a different plan of attack. Dust mites generally thrive in warm, damp environments, making the summer months ideal for them. However, central air conditioners cool and dehumidify the home and will help deal with dust mites. During the summer months is also when air conditioners are running in homes, so a properly operating central air conditioner will reduce the impact of dust mites. However, when homeowners turn off their air conditioners in the early fall, relative humidity naturally grows, which builds a positive breeding ground for dust mites. Dust mites are also stirred up and fanned throughout your home when you first turn on your furnace on to heat your home in the fall.
Improving your home’s indoor air quality is not as difficult as it may sound. Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning has multiple options for battling allergy-inducing pollution inside your home.
A whole-home dehumidifier will control the humidity levels throughout your entire house, keeping you within the EPA’s suggested range of 30 to 50 percent. You can’t kill all dust mites in your house, but you can reduce them significantly, regardless of whether they’re in your mattress or carpet, or brought in by pets. The best part is that this solution doesn’t demand the use of any chemicals—it’s all natural. A whole-home central humidifier works to achieve humidity within one percent of your desired level throughout your home, which creates a healthier living space by reducing dry sinuses, itchy skin and sore throats, while keeping wood surfaces from cracking or warping. It can even diminish episodes of viruses and respiratory infections. Whole-home central dehumidifiers kill excess moisture, reduce dust mites and mold, and protect wood from damage. Another advantage is that they are less intrusive and easier to use than single room products.
When it comes to dehumidifying your air, it’s also important to understand what won’t work. When you raise the moisture content of the air in any given enclosed space above 40 percent, you’re welcoming trouble because mold, fungi, bacteria and other microbes tend to thrive with elevated humidity. So when you think of humidity in your indoor space, be careful to do it right to avoid doing more harm than good.
Ultraviolet Germicidal Lights are unique devices that safely give off the highest UV light intensity available, working to help reduce airborne biological contaminants like germs. They also help decrease concentrations of airborne bio aerosols by 50 percent in as little as 45 minutes. UV Germicidal Lights even help stop further accrual of germs in your home and inside your HVAC system.
HEPA—or High Efficiency Particulate Air—filters are top-shelf air filters that remove 99.97% of air contaminants, such as pollen and ragweed. HEPA filters are used in hospitals and science labs, where considerations about health and contamination are great.
HEPA filters with carbon filtration help eliminate:
- Tobacco smoke
- Pollen
- Allergens
- Dust Mites
- Odors and chemical vapors
- Dirt particles
By eliminating pollutants and contaminants from your indoor air, HVAC systems can help boost the indoor air quality in your home. Professional installation and annual maintenance is also crucial for them to be productive.
