IS YOUR HOUSE KILLING YOU?

THIS IS A DUST MITE...

Click the photo.

FACT: You are sharing your bed with anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million dust mites.

These microscopic organisms, which are related to spiders, live in all homes. Too small to see with the naked eye, dust mites thrive in warm, humid environments — eating dead skin cells and nesting in dust-collecting bedding, fabric, carpet and furnishings. Click the photo to see a timeline of scientific discoveries about these little monsters.

House dust mites are microscope bugs that primarily live on dead skin cells regularly shed from humans and their animal pets.

Skin cells and scales, commonly called dander, are often concentrated in lounging areas, mattresses, frequently used furniture and associated carpeted areas, may harbor large numbers of these microscopic mites.

A typical mattress can contain tens of thousands of dust mites. Nearly 100,000 mites can live in one square yard of carpet.

A single dust mite produces about 20 waste droppings each day, each containing a protein to which many people are allergic. These droppings are small enough to actually float in the air with other house dust.

The proteins in that combination of feces and skin sheddings are what cause allergic reactions in humans.

Allergic reactions can range from itchy eyes to asthma attacks. With snoring, sneezing and coughing in between. Unlike other types of mites, house dust mites are not parasites, since they only eat dead tissue.

Little, itty bitty dead flesh eatin' zombie bugs!

Dust mite allergy is one of the most common allergies that Americans suffer from. It is estimated that 80-90% of allergic people are allergic to dust mites.

The most common symptoms are stuffy nose, runny nose, snoring, teary eyes, dry cough, and even aches and headaches. But more symptoms are discovered as more research is done.

Most people suffer from dust mite allergies without even realizing it.
If you tend to wake up in the morning congested there is a very good chance you may suffer from dust mite allergies.

Beds are a prime habitat (where 1/3 of life occurs). A typical used mattress (over a year old) 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.)

Mites prefer warm, moist surroundings such as the inside of a mattress when someone is on it. So living in a dry or moist climate doesn't make much difference to them.

A favorite food is dander (both human and animal skin flakes).Humans shed about 1/5 ounce of dander (dead skin) each week. About 80 percent of the material seen floating in a sunbeam is actually skin flakes.

Bedroom carpeting and household upholstery support high mite populations.

DANGER, the medical threat of house dust mites arises because their microscopic cast skins and feces are THE major constituent of house dust that induces allergic reactions in some individuals.

Biology and Life Cycle Adult females lay up to 40 to 80 eggs singly or in small groups of three to five. After eggs hatch, a six-legged larva emerges. After the first molt, an eight-legged nymph appears. After two nymphal stages occur, an eight-legged adult emerges. The life cycle from egg to adult is about one month with the adult living an additional one to three months.

The diet is varied with the primary food source, consisting of dander (skin scales) from humans and animals. However, needed nutrients can be provided from fish food flakes, pet food, fungi, cereals, crumbs, etc. Many mite species live in bird's nests, in barns, among stored grain, straw, etc.

For those individuals, inhaling the house dust allergen triggers rhinitis allergica or bronchial asthma. People with allergies to house dust usually also have allergic reactions to house dust mite fecal material and cast skins.

Studies have shown that the MOST potent house dust allergens can be extracted from the feces produced by dust mites.

Visit your allergist to see if you are allergic to dust mites or take a few simple dust mite elimination steps to see if you start feeling better.

It wants to eat you! What Can You Do?

There are two solutions.

The best solution, like Occam's Razor, is also the easiest.

Suck 'em up and drown 'em!

EMAIL moneyworks@cox.net and set a date for a demonstration of amazing US industrial technology like the CSD that is available to home owners. I can arrange a free, no obligation demo of the home version of this technology anywhere in the world.

I searched the Internet for the commonly recommended solutions to dust mite infestations. Here are...

“…a few dust mite elimination steps.”

Control measures and Sanitation

Recommendations focus on "dust control." One must reduce the concentration of dust borne allergens in the living environment by controlling both allergen production and the dust which serves to transport it.

For the bedroom environment:

1. The most effective means is to enclose the mattress top and sides with a plastic cover or other dust mite impervious cover, thoroughly vacuuming mattress pillows and the base of the bed.

Put an airtight plastic or polyurethane cover over your mattress. This tip is number one for a reason: it is in your bed that you are closest to the mites and their feces and enclosing the mattress and pillows in a dust mite cover virtually eliminates the mites here.

Mattresses covered with "fitted sheets" help prevent the accumulation of human skin scales on the surface.

2. Wash your sheets and blankets in very hot water at least every two weeks. Wash your pillow every week or put a plastic cover on it.(The pillowcase goes over the plastic cover.)

How hot is hot? The water used to wash your sheets and blankets should be at least 130°F (54°C). Set your washing machine to it's hottest setting. If the water doesn't seem to be coming out hot, you may want to check your hot water heater - you may not realize that most household hot water heaters have a knob that can adjust the temperature of the water it produces.

For fabrics that may not be washed in hot water; just pop it into the freezer for 24 to 48 hours to kill dust mites. (How many comforters can you fit in YOUR freezer?)

And for those who travel and stay in hotels (or with less hygienic friends and family): Take a dust mite impervious cover along for when you stay at hotels - just think how disgusting their pillows must be! (Think how much more the airlines are going to charge for those extra bags full of plastic sheets for you and the kids!)

3. Use Synthetics: Replace feather and down pillows with those having synthetic fillings. Replace woolen blankets with nylon or cotton cellulose ones. And don't forget the children's stuffed animals: be sure to get washable stuffed animals in the future! (Because they sure aren’t going to give up the dust mite infested ones that they are sleeping with now!)

4. Temperature and humidity: Keep the thermostat in the house below70 degrees and the humidity below 50 percent. Dust mites love warm,humid conditions.

A study (Feb 2005) by Kingston University (London UK) shows that simply by leaving your bed unmade each morning, with the sheets to be exposed to the air, allows the sheets to dry out, and substantially reduces the numbers of dust mites.

(I tried to explain the dangers of bed making to my mother… Slap!)

5. Clean daily: Daily damp dust the plastic mattress cover.

6. Clean weekly: Weekly change pillowcases, sheets, and under blankets, and vacuum the bed base and around the covered mattress.

Caution: The application of frequent vacuuming as a dust control measure may aggravate allergic asthmatic conditions because conventional (dry bag or filter) vacuum cleaners are very inefficient." - they blow the dust through the cleaner's bag into the air. Vacuuming helps remove the residue, as does washing, however vacuuming does not generally kill mites because they cling to the surface.

Dust collection by conventional vacuums results in a significant increase in air borne dust concentrations. Vacuuming is best accomplished by cleaners that entrain dust into a "liquid medium" such as water (rather than a dust bag).
Clean flooring: Use a damp mop or rag to remove dust.Never use a dry cloth or broom, since this just stirs up mite allergens.

7. Frequently wash all bedding (blankets, mattress pads and comforters) in hot water (130 degrees F [or 60°C] weekly). Cold and warm water won't kill mites. Also wash curtains.

8. Remove carpeting and replace with wood, tile, linoleum, or vinyl floor covering. Remove cloth drapes and blinds. (If you have carpet,vacuum every day.)

9. Freezing kills mites but does not remove their residue. In addition to freezing temperatures and washing items in temperatures greater than 130 degrees F, extended exposure to sunlight, and low levels of humidity also destroy the mites.

10. Children's soft cloth toys: Regularly place soft toys in the freezer for 24 hours before you wash them, or wash them in hot water. (Yeah right!)


Is it any wonder that people have live with these things for 10,000 years? The technology to get rid of them just did not exist for most of recorded human history.

Wet dust can't fly. Dust mites can't swim... Duh!

Isn't it time to celebrate Human Evolution?

Email moneyworks@cox.net for more information.