Dust Mite Allergy
Avoidance Tips

My daughter is allergic to dust mites. Years ago, Dust Mite Control became a focal issue with my family. Her allergies got really bad at times. They still do when she doesn’t pay attention to her lifestyle.

Eliminating them became essential for us. Below is a list of things that we learned about prevention. Not all of them worked for her.

But of all the many things that we tried, I think my daughter would tell you that encasing her mattress and pillow was the number one thing that she benefited the most from.

I hope you too find something below useful that you can use and benefit from. It’s not always easy.

When it comes to avoidance, the bedroom is always the first room to take care of. More house dust mites live in your bed than any other place. Carpets and upholstered furniture is a close runner up for providing the ideal living conditions.

We are never going to eradicate all of them from our home. Dust mite control does not mean to eliminate the population. As long as you have a bed to sleep on, you are going to have dust mites.

The objective is to bring down the level of the allergens so that your symptoms are at a minimum. This is accomplished through avoidance and reducing the production of allergens.

Three things about your home that makes them thrive.

1. They prefer temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (24-30 Celsius).
2. They like humidity around 75-80 %.
3. They like that we provide them an ample supply of food.

Controlling dust mite allergies usually involves adopting several strategies because a new generation is born every month.

How many changes you make and which strategy you adapt depends on the severity of your allergies.

By adopting some of the suggestions below and adopting the attitude of determination and perseverance, improving the quality of your life through less allergy symptoms is definitely possible. Making a few changes in your lifestyle can yield big rewards in finding relief.

Bedroom

The bedroom is always the first room to direct your attention to when addressing allergic rhinitis. More dust mites are going to live in your bedroom than any other room.

While sleeping in your bed, you are providing the three main resources that they need to thrive: warmth, moisture, and food.

The food source that we are providing for them is our skin (dander) that we shed at night while we sleep. Thus, it is the bedroom that the most rewards can come, from the least amount of effort.

The bed is the first place to direct your attention to. You could buy a new pillow and buy a new mattress but without encasing them, you would have a large population within 6 months. The answer is to encase them with an allergen impermeable material.

Allergen impermeable material is different from the terms ‘non-allergic’ or ‘hypoallergenic’. Allergen impermeable material means that the allergen cannot pass through it. This is also important to prevent dander from getting through and getting down to the area that they live. The terms non-allergic and hypoallergenic means that the material themselves do no cause allergy symptoms.

With having dust mite allergy, you need both concepts. You need the material to not trigger symptoms and you need the pore size of the material to be so small that the allergen cannot pass through to trigger allergy symptoms.

Dust mites can range in size from 100 to 200 microns. They are not the problem. The problem is that the allergen that they produce is around the size of 10 microns. To have effective bedding, the pore size of the material must be smaller than 10 microns.

• Encase your box spring, mattress, and pillows.
• If you're using a pillow that is non-washable and you don't want to change it, consider putting it in the freezer over night. This will kill the dust mites but not eliminate the allergens. Even so, less means less allergen production. A washable pillow is important to wash out and neutralize the allergen.
• If you are not ready to part with your pillow and it is full of dust mites, encasing the pillow will help tremendously because you will trap them and their allergen inside the pillow. Encasing the pillow will put an impermeable material between your nose and the allergen.
• Wash your bedding once a week.
• Letting the sheets air out before making the bed helps reduce the moisture that they like.
• Keep your bedroom as clean as possible. This is your room of sanctuary. By keeping the allergen level low and the dust mite population under control, this room allows your body to rest and to recharge. Getting a good night sleep is an important part of this.
• Remove upholstered furniture from the bedroom and replace with furniture that can be wiped down.
• Keep pets out of this room. Pet dander just adds another food source.
• Books are not good items to store in the bedroom. The tops of books collect a lot of dust and it is a place that is not often cleaned. Store them in another room or keep them in a drawer.
• Limit the number of toys that cannot be washed. Toys that can be washed should be washed every other week. You can freeze toys that cannot be washed but that only kills them and does not neutralize the allergens.
• Look around your bedroom and try to eliminate those items that collect dust such as throw pillows, book shelves, stuff animals and the alike. Reducing clutter is the key to minimizing dust.
• Keep under your bed clean with a vacuum so that it does not become a safe haven.
• It is best if a non-allergic person does the cleaning. If the person who has allergies does the cleaning, they should wear a mask while cleaning. Since dust is always stirred up while cleaning, don't clean too close to bedtime so the dust has time to settle.
• A room of oasis involves clean air. There are two ways that the allergen can get propelled into the air. The first way is by walking on the carpet. The second way is by compression which happens when you sit on your bed or fluffing your pillow. A small air purifier in your bedroom is beneficial for people who have allergies.

Laundry

How you wash and how often you do the washing is an important strategy. To kill dust mites, the water temperature needs to be over 130 F (54.5C) and it is better if it is closer to 140 F (60 C).

To test your water temperature, you can use a meat thermometer or a candy thermometer from the kitchen. It is not always feasible to have your hot water heater turned up this high.

Children can be scalded if the water temperature is higher than 120 F (48.9 C).

Some apartment buildings don’t allow for the water temperature to be turned up this high. If it is not appropriate for your household to have the water temperature this high, there are other things that you can do.

• Wash your bedding and blankets once a week. Along with washing out the dust mites and allergens, you are also washing out your dander (shed skin flakes) that we shed at night which is the food source.
• Wash your curtain and drapes once a month.
• Dry your clothes in a dryer. Drying them outside can bring in pollen and mold spores. Many people allergic to dust mites are also allergic to pollen. Make sure your dryer is vented to the outside.
• If you have something that cannot be washed, try putting it in the freezer for overnight. Freezing kills the bugs but it does not remove the allergens. Reducing the population slows down the allergen production.

Humidity

These microscopic animals do not drink water. They obtain their water requirements through the humidity in the air. They thrive and will multiply faster in higher humidity. Lowering the humidity will slow down their growth and reproduction rate. This will help reduce the production of the allergen.

Reducing humidity is a very important step.

• Keep the relative humidity levels in your home below 50%.
• Use a humidity monitor to keep track of your humidity levels. Using your central air conditioner does a good job at lowering the temperature and lowering humidity. Your air conditioner is addressing two of the three variables that dust mites need for survival.
• Use a dehumidifier if you don't have central air or if your air conditioner is not keeping humidity levels below 50%.
• It is not a bad idea to have a small dehumidifier in your bedroom. Most dust mite growth rates occur in your bed. Try to keep humidity levels in your bedroom below 45%.
• Two sources of humidity in the home is taking steam showers and cooking. In both cases, make sure you use your vents and make sure they are being vented to the outside.

Air Quality

One of the components in the fight against dust mite allergies is to maintain good indoor air quality. It is not the dust mites themselves that people are allergic to. What people are allergic to is the fecal waste matter, the cast skin (shed skin), and the decaying body parts from dead mites. As these allergens decay, they become smaller and smaller. The smaller the particle, the longer it will stay airborne.

Dust mites themselves are heavier and settle out of the air relatively quick. For dust mite allergies, buying an air purifier is a secondary line of defense. Allergy-proofing the bedroom should be done first. Air purifiers help clean irritants that trigger allergy and asthma symptoms.

• Use an air purifier with a HEPA filter.
• Keep the air purifier turned on while you’re in the bedroom. As you make the bed in the mornings or get ready for bed at night, you are sending dust mite allergens into the air. Allergens are also being put into the air through compression which happens when you sit on the bed or lay your head on the pillow.
• Keep the air purifier on the high setting as you clean to collect the dust and allergens that get stirred up. This helps to take them out of your environment instead of letting them settle back into the carpet.
• Keep your furnace filter cleaned and changed per the manufactures instructions. Try to use a furnace filter that will trap allergens and irritants before circulating them back though the house.

Cleaning

Cleaning is another important component to dust mite allergy avoidance. Dust mites find their food source in the common household dust. Eliminating their food source will slow down their growth rate and allergen production. Improved cleaning habits will also eliminate a lot of them and pick up the allergens.

In order to accomplish this, the vacuum that you use must have a HEPA filter. A regular vacuum will not work. In fact, a regular vacuum will make your allergies worse. Because this type of allergen is so small, the regular vacuum will not retain the allergens that they do pick up. It sends the allergens back into the air through its exhaust. These small particles get propelled higher into the environment which will take longer for them to settle out of the air.

Only a vacuum with a HEPA filter will retain these captured particles. A HEPA filter will remove 99.97% of airborne particles 0.3 microns in diameter. This is what is required in dust mite allergy avoidance.

• Vacuum the carpet weekly.
• Vacuum your upholstered furniture at the same time as the carpet. Where your skin touches the upholstery is a breeding ground as you leave tiny skin flakes and moisture behind.
• Use your vacuum attachments to get hard to reach places as allergens do settle there. Also many of the components of house dust are a food source.
• Because carpets are a place of sanctuary, consider replacing it with linoleum, wood, tile, or vinyl. Furthermore, not only do they trap the allergens, they also trap all the food that they like to eat such as human skin flakes. The carpet fiber provides them protection. Shag carpets are the worst. Short pile carpet is preferred over longer and deeper types of carpets. With allergies, the more you vacuum with a HEPA filter, the better. Carpets trap dust and make dust control impossible.
• Use a damp mop on non-carpeted floors.
• Cleaning is so important if you have pets because their dander adds to the food source.
• Do not use a feather duster. Use a damp cloth that collects the dust and not spread it around.
• Dust before vacuuming.
• Wear a mask which works great to keep out dust mite allergens and pollen while you clean.
• Use cleaning supplies that don't have harsh chemicals and irritants.
• Buy small area rugs that can be rolled up and washed.
• Use furniture throw covers that can be taken off and washed weekly.
• Consider replacing upholstered furniture with leather, wood, or plastic.
• Keep pets off from the furniture and especially off from the favorite chair of the person who has the dust mite allergy.

Go to the nasal allergies home page.

Back to Top