Six Ways to Feel Better When You're Allergic to Dust Mites

If you are suffering from consistent allergies at home, you may be allergic to dust mites. Dust mites are microscopic, insect-like organisms that live in common household dust. They survive on dead skin and dander of humans and their pets.

The dead skin and dander is deposited into your bedding and pillow when you make contact with them every night. Dust mites can also inhabit curtains, carpet, upholstered furniture and other plush areas in your home.

Replace your Pillow

If you have purchased a cheap pillow, you probably aren’t replacing it nearly as often as you should. Higher quality pillows can be replaced over longer intervals, about every 18 months. If you are suffering from dust mite allergies, it is important to change your pillow. Dust mites love living in your pillow.

The constant exposure to dead skin cells on a nightly basis compared with warm humid breath is like heaven to them. If you don’t want to replace your pillow, you can also stick it in the freezer overnight to kill the microscopic suckers or wash it following the laundering guide found on the pillow.

Upgrade Your Sheets

Along the same lines, you should take care to make sure you have hygienic habits with your bed sheets. Wash your sheets often with very hot water to kill the mites and remove the dead skin. To take it to the next level, consider upgrading your sheets to bamboo bed sheets.

These sheets are made from renewable material and are allergy resistant and moisture wicking. An added bonus? They are also super soft and comfortable.

Get a Dehumidifier

Dust mites prefer humidity levels around 60-70% and cannot survive below 50% humidity. Invest in a high-quality dehumidifier for your bedroom (the most common living place of mites) and keep the humidity below 50%.

Replace Your Mattress

Not exactly a cheap solution, but if it is time for a mattress replacement, it could help your dust mite allergies. It is common knowledge that mattress approximately doubles in weight every eight years. That is due to dead skin and moisture — a feast for mites. Prepare to replace your mattress every 7-10 years.

Get Rid of Wall-to-Wall Carpets, Curtains, and Drapes

Another drastic choice that may interfere with your home decor choices. However, if your allergies are serious it will be well worth it to get rid of another source of dust mite habitat. Consider switching to wood paneling and shutters for the windows to keep your mite population low.

Reduce Pets in the Home

This might be a hard stop for many families. If a pet is part of your family, they are contributing to the available dust mite feed in the home. So if there is an opportunity to slim down on the number of pets in the home it will make a big difference.

Dust mites are a very common allergen. They can often agitate other allergies and asthma, so if you are feeling considerable symptoms you should do all you can to mitigate your exposure. Luckily, there are many ways to manage dust mite allergies. If you cannot get your allergy under control, consider seeing an allergist to learn about your options.