4 Ways to Get Rid of Dust Mites in Your Home – for Good

Dust mites are very small creatures that live in the dust on mattresses, bedding, upholstery, and carpets. They thrive in a humid environment and eat skin cells shed by people. Their waste is highly allergic and causes common symptoms of hay fever, such as sneezing and runny nose.

Here are 4 simple ways to get rid of dust mites:

• Use allergen-proof encasings. Dust mites' natural home is deep inside of mattresses, pillows, and box springs where they form colonies. Using allergen-proof, zipped covers for pillow, mattress, and box spring is the best way to fight off these creatures. The covers create a barrier between you and the mites, preventing them from passing through.

• Wash your pillowcases and other linens in hot water at 140 degrees Fahrenheit once a week. Dust mites have two ultimate weaknesses – heat and dry air. Washing and drying bedding in high temperatures will kill them.

• Keep humidity below 45 percent. Mites are composed of 80% water and require it to thrive. Setting up a dehumidifier is a great way to eliminate the irritant. By removing excess moisture from the air, a dehumidifier creates the unfriendly atmosphere to mites that cannot live in a low-humidity environment.

• Get rid of carpets. One of the natural dust mites habitats – carpets. They all trap dust, making dust mites’ control impossible. Treating carpets with tannic acid solutions can help but it isn’t nearly as effective as removing the carpet.