Reducing/eliminating Dust Mites

[Guest guest]

1) Indoor relative humidity.

Reducing indoor relative humidity can significantly reduce dust mite

density. However, I suggest 40% is more effective than 50%, if it can be

achieved in your location. The attached graph is rather dated but shows

direct correlation between indoor relative humidity and dust mite density

through three seasons.

2) Vacuum everything.

My suggestion is to try minimising not just the dust mites but the feces

and body parts. Don't believe you have dust mites? Vacuum your bed or the

floor in your bedroom and place the dust under a microscope. You will

likely see shiny body parts of dust mites and fecal matter. Dust mits

spread everywhere. Thus brush vacuum all surfaces in the bedroom,

furniture, contents, etc. Unfortunately the portable vacuum cleaners

discharge the dust mite feces and small body parts into the air.

3) HEPA vacuums not regulated.

We tested HEPA vacuum cleaners and found several who are not true HEPA.

There is no government regulation who can claim to manufacture HEPA vacuum

cleaners - just like no gov't qualifications for IAQ/mould consultant. In

some " HEPA " vacuum cleaners, you must replace the filter if it is opened.

The gasket does not seal properly afterwards. That is costly and most

people do not replace it.

4) Central vacuum is most effective.

The best vacuum is a central vacuum with an outdoor discharge. However,

the gasket in the canister often leaks (see dust around the canister lid).

An easy fix is to duct tape the lid. The best option is to install the

canister in the garage or an outside porche or shed. This keeps the dust

out of the house during operation and cleaning, and the noise.

Hope this helps with the discussion.

Tang

--

Professor Tang G. Lee

Environmental Design

University of Calgary

Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4

CANADA

Tel: 403-220-6608

[Guest guest]

> Elyse,

>

> The suggestions you've received so far are simple and cheap to

> accomplish and they will work -- IF YOU HAVE DUST MITES. I don't know

> if you do or not and I'm not suggesting you are wrong in how you are

> going about this. It's just that your e-mail is similar to a report

> I'm writing (and I'd rather continue my procrastination!)

I have allergy to dust mites. If that is it, then damp dusting every surface,

and washing

everything in hot water above 140 deg F will kill them and rinse them out. I

read a report

that warm water with bleach also kills them (+borax is a well known bug killer.)

I have

covers on the mattress and pillows. I think that dollar for dollar, covering the

mattress

with polyethylene film over the top and duct taping it to the underside is

as/more effective

than some of the expensive covers. But, getting the room squeeky clean (think

window

sills, tops of windows, doors, moulding, any surface that holds dust) and the

bedding

done does wonders for us.

I also have come to have allergies to many other insects, like Asian Ladybugs,

or what ever

happens to cohabit with us, I get allergic to it. I am beginning to wonder if I

have some

kind of insectoid parasite that is causing these types of allergies? I may

wonder for a long

time.

>

> Something we don't emphasize enough is that if the several known

> remedies aren't successful, perhaps we are focusing on the wrong

> cause, the wrong location or the wrong techniques. Or a combination.

This is so true. If the whole dust free routine doesn't work for you, then it

may be

something else, like a spike in the ragweed pollen count locally, or spike in

some new kind

of mold, like I ran into yesterday.

>

> A client is reacting to the ammonia in the water the restoration

> company used on her kitchen floor. She told them to not use ammonia

> but they " forgot. " Kind of like the car accidents where the driver

> runs into the vehicle they see stopped on the side of the rode. They

> had to deviate from their intended path to cause the harm they had

> just noticed or been warned about.

I REALLY hate it when this happens, and it happens far too often.

> Mopping the surface would remove a slight amount of dirt in the

> cracks so it would eventually reduce a noticeable amount of odor.

> Scraping the dirt out of the cracks removed the ammonia that had

> soaked into the dirt. THEN we mopped the floor. Once.

>

> The agony is in the details. But so can be the solution.

This is a very good reminder about the details...... thanks, Carl.

> -----

> > iI,

> > I'd

> > really appreciate the neame of a brand that has helped

> > people.

I just saw a dust free pillow at National Allergy. It is synthetic, though, and

new.

You can just wash your pillow in hot water, like I used to do every 2 weeks.

Just make sure

you have time to get it really dry, it takes a long time.

I used to do 2 pillows at a time, in a top loader, to balance the spin cycle. I

put the hot

water in, and a little soap (not much) and then stopped the machine and added

the

pillows, making sure they were under water. Then I let them soak for at least 20

minutes;

next, spun them out, then put in a rinse load of cold water, and let them soak

again for as

long as I felt like it. Agitated them by hand, carefully, then spun them dry

again. It kinda

ruins the pillows if you let the machine agitate them. They just get lumpy, I

use them

anyway, as they are at least clean.

If you have a front loader, it is less work, or if you can do them at a

laundromat with front

loaders.

[Guest guest]

Tang,

Your suggestion for keeping relative humidity low is correct, but most dust

mite infestations are in mattresses, pillows and frequently used cushioned items

such as sofas, easy chairs and computer chairs. Since these infestations subsist

on moisture from human bodies and NOT moisture from the air, the colonizations

are independent of indoor relative humidity.

I have looked at thousands of dust samples and it is not easy for a

non-microscopist to see mites or their leavings. Dust mites are not everywhere

and do not have to be anywhere.

The only way to control house dust mites is through the use of proper

encasings: those that are not porous. The newer cotton covers are expensive and

not necessarily effective. The holes allow body moisture into the mattress (thus

" feeding " the colony) and allow some of the allergens out (some of which are

smaller than the holes in the cotton weave).

Due to the danger of aerosolizing allergens, bare, contaminated mattresses

should NOT be vacuumed (HEPA or otherwise), since, as you correctly noted, most

so-called HEPA vacuums are leaky.

Encasings, once placed on a mite-infested mattress, should NEVER be removed

for cleaning, as disturbing the uncovered mattress aerosolizes allergens. For

children, a second cover can be used and removed for washing. (For families in

which encasings are a financial hardship, polyethylene moving covers, about $5

at Budget Rental, can be used; but they must be covered with a mattress pad

that MUST washed every other week.)

Futons with encasings can be used instead of couches; leather computer

chairs instead of cushioned ones, as leather never develops a mite problem.

Treatment of rugs or carpets with " dry steam " (steam vapor, NOT steam

cleaning, which uses hot water) is 100% effective in killing mites. DeLonghi,

Fogacci and Jiffy manufacture steam vapor machines.Unfortunately, no one

provides this service and equiment has to be purchased.

If you think that a particular piece of cushioned furniture is a problem,

cover the cushions temporarily with Pro-Tect (www.pro-tect.com) adhesive

polyethylene film; this will seal in allergens. (This is a great test for

carpets also.)

May

www.myhouseiskillingme.com

May Indoor Air Investigaitons LLC

Cambridge, MA

>Message: 1

>Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2005 07:45:16 -0600 (MDT)

>From: " Prof. Tang Lee " <lee@...>

>Subject: Reducing/eliminating Dust Mites

>1) Indoor relative humidity.

Reducing indoor relative humidity can significantly reduce dust mite

density. However, I suggest 40% is more effective than 50%, if it can be

achieved in your location. The attached graph is rather dated but shows

direct correlation between indoor relative humidity and dust mite density

through three seasons.

>2) Vacuum everything.

My suggestion is to try minimising not just the dust mites but the feces

and body parts. Don't believe you have dust mites? Vacuum your bed or the

floor in your bedroom and place the dust under a microscope. You will

likely see shiny body parts of dust mites and fecal matter. Dust mits

spread everywhere. Thus brush vacuum all surfaces in the bedroom,

furniture, contents, etc. Unfortunately the portable vacuum cleaners

discharge the dust mite feces and small body parts into the air.

>3) HEPA vacuums not regulated.

We tested HEPA vacuum cleaners and found several who are not true HEPA.

There is no government regulation who can claim to manufacture HEPA vacuum

cleaners - just like no gov't qualifications for IAQ/mould consultant. In

some " HEPA " vacuum cleaners, you must replace the filter if it is opened.

The gasket does not seal properly afterwards. That is costly and most

people do not replace it.

>4) Central vacuum is most effective.

The best vacuum is a central vacuum with an outdoor discharge. However,

the gasket in the canister often leaks (see dust around the canister lid).

An easy fix is to duct tape the lid. The best option is to install the

canister in the garage or an outside porche or shed. This keeps the dust

out of the house during operation and cleaning, and the noise.

Hope this helps with the discussion.

>Professor Tang G. Lee

>Environmental Design

>University of Calgary

>Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4

>CANADA

>Tel: 403-220-6608

--

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