Better Air Quality Indoors: Evicting Dust Mites

Better Air Quality Indoors: Evicting Dust Mites

There are the pets we love and invite into our homes and beds, and then there are those uninvited guests like house dust mites.

These creepy, crawly microscopic critters are the most common cause of allergies from house dust. They can be found where you sleep (your pillows and mattresses), where you relax (upholstered furniture), and where you walk (your carpeting). What’s more, they float into the air when you vacuum, walk on a carpet, or ruffle your bedding.

What can you do? Plenty!

Dust mites love humid air, so keep house humidity below 30 or 35 percent. “House dust mites don’t tolerate dryness well, so you don’t want to run a humidifier in the bedroom to encourage their growth if you are allergic,” Nelson says.