'Bugs News

What is house dust? Obviously the answer depends on where you live and the season of the year. In general, however, house dust is composed of ash, cloth fibers, hair, plant pollen, human and animal skin, soil particles, and fungal spores. In many households, human skin flakes make up much of this flying debris. On average, an adult sheds about 1/2oz of skin every day! What are house dust mites? House dust mites are tiny, nearly microscopic mites that feed on the organic parts of house dust. The mites live in fabric and bedding and for many people go completely unnoticed. For some people however dust mites can cause moderate to severe allergy . The allergy is caused by bits of the mites themselves that become airborne, and mite feces. What goes into dust mites as a flake of skin and hair comes out the other end as an allergen that can stuff up your nose, launch a severe allergic reaction or even trigger asthma . House dust mites are not the only source of allergen in our indoor env...

Dust mites feed on the organic part of house dust (often, mostly skin flakes from us!) and then excrete an allergen , a substance that causes an allergic reaction, that can stuff up our nose or even lead to life-threatening asthma. Even if you could eliminate all dust mites, which is unlikely, their allergens would remain in bedding, carpets and other fabrics where dust mites live. When these fabrics are disturbed they release allergens into the air. One of the best ways to prevent an allergic reaction to dust mite allergen is to put a barrier between you and the allergen, especially at night. If the allergen never gets airborne, it can't end up in your nose! Since mattresses and pillows are a prime source of dust mites and dust mite allergen one solution is to cover them in special fabric that separates you from the allergens. Until recently these fabrics were made of plastic and tended to be very uncomfortable. Newer microfiber materials are more "cotton sheet-like"....