Dust mites are one of the most common allergy triggers in homes. Feces and body fragments of dust mites can induce severe allergic reactions in some people. The best way to avoid allergic reactions to an allergen is to remove or reduce the amount of allergen you're exposed to. But, how does an allergy sufferer remove the offending allergen from their home without exposing themselves to the allergen in the process? Here are a few tips on how to remove dust mites and their feces from your home.
Hire a Professional Deep Cleaning Service
If you have been diagnosed with a dust mite allergy, the best thing you can do for your health is to have your home deep cleaned by a professional service. That way, you won't put yourself at risk of being exposed to a heavy amount of allergen during the process of cleaning to remove the allergen from your home. Here's how the deep cleaning service can effectively remove or reduce the number of dust mites and their remnants in your home:
Declutter
Your home will accumulate less dust, which is where dust mites live. Decluttering your home will also make it easier for you to quickly clean your home in the future so you can prevent dust from accumulating and, therefore, prevent dust mites from living and multiplying in your home. A deep cleaning service can help you declutter. If necessary, you can have them move items outside for you to go through and separate into 'keep', 'toss', or 'donate' piles.
Steam clean
After your home has been decluttered, the deep cleaning service can then go through your home and steam clean all the fiber, such as your upholstered furniture, carpeting, and the box springs of all the beds. The drapery should also be washed or cleaned according to the manufacturers cleaning instructions. However, if the drapes call for dry cleaning only, you may want to consider replacing the drapes with ones that can be steam cleaned. The reason for this is that dust mites can survive dry cleaning but are less likely to survive steam cleaning due to the heat that is involved in the process. Your mattresses can also be steam cleaned. However, you should still encase your mattresses in an allergen dust cover to prevent them from burrowing into your mattress to feast on the skin cells that are in your mattress.
Wipe
The hard surfaces will also need to be deep cleaned to remove the feces, body fragments, and decomposed dust mites. The cleaning solution used by the deep cleaning service will obviously depend on the type of surfaces being cleaned. But, you should inform the service of any other allergies or sensitivities you may have to various cleaning products. If you prefer to have organic or green products used to deep clean the hard surfaces of your home, the service will cater to your needs.
Additionally, have your HVAC ducts cleaned. You may need to hire another service to clean the ductwork. If so, allow the two services to coordinate with each other so they don't interfere with each other's work.
Install Equipment to Help Reduce Dust Mites
In addition to having your home deep cleaned by a professional service, install several pieces of equipment to help you keep a handle on the dust mites in the future, such as an air filtration unit and a whole-home dehumidifier. The reason to install a dehumidifier for your entire home is that dust mites thrive in humidity as they need moisture to survive. At the very least, change your HVAC system's filters more frequently in lieu of installing a new air filtration unit.
Contact a local home deep cleaning service to get more tips.
