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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffAvoiding exposure to dust mites is the best strategy for controlling dust mite allergy. While you can't completely eliminate dust mites from your home, you can significantly reduce their number. Use these suggestions:
- Use allergen-proof bed covers. Cover your mattress and pillows in dust-proof or allergen-blocking covers. These covers, made of either vinyl or tightly woven fabric, prevent dust mites from colonizing the mattress or pillows. Encase box springs in vinyl or plastic covers.
- Wash bedding weekly. Wash all sheets, blankets, pillowcases and bedcovers in hot water that is at least 130 F (54.4 C) to kill dust mites and remove allergens. If bedding can't be washed hot, put the items in the drier for at least 20 minutes at a temperature above 130 F (54.4 C) to kill the mites. Then wash and dry the bedding to remove allergens. Freezing nonwashable items for 24 hours also can kill dust mites, but this won't remove the allergens.
- Keep humidity low. Maintain a relative humidity between 30 and 50 percent in your home. A dehumidifier or air conditioner can help keep humidity low, and a hygrometer (available at hardware stores) can measure humidity levels.
- Choose bedding wisely. Avoid wool or down bedcovers that trap dust easily and are difficult to clean frequently.
- Buy washable stuffed toys. Wash them often in hot water and dry thoroughly. Also, keep stuffed toys off beds.
- Remove dust. Use a damp or oiled mop or rag rather than dry materials to clean up dust. This prevents dust from becoming airborne and resettling.
- Vacuum regularly. Vacuuming carpeting and upholstered furniture removes surface dust — essentially the dust mites' food supply — but vacuuming isn't effective at removing most dust mites and dust mite allergens. Use a vacuum cleaner with a double-layered microfilter bag or a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to help decrease house-dust emissions from the cleaner. If your allergies are severe, leave the area being vacuumed while someone else does the dirty work. Stay out of the vacuumed room for 20 minutes after vacuuming.
- Cut clutter. If it collects dust, it also collects dust mites. Remove knickknacks, tabletop ornaments, books, magazines and newspapers from your bedroom.
- Remove carpeting and other dust mite habitats. Carpeting provides a comfortable habitat for dust mites. This is especially true if carpeting is over concrete, which holds moisture easily and provides a humid environment for mites. If possible, replace wall-to-wall bedroom carpeting with tile, wood, linoleum or vinyl flooring. Consider replacing other dust-collecting furnishings in bedrooms, such upholstered furniture, nonwashable curtains and horizontal blinds.
Air purifiers
Air purifiers collect airborne dust in your home and can help with controlling dust if you also maintain vigorous cleaning practices. But purifiers won't remove dust mites because the mites are too heavy to remain airborne long enough to be filtered through an air purifier. Some dust mites may be airborne right after cleaning, but they quickly settle again onto surfaces.
References
- Ferguson BJ. Environmental controls of allergies. Otolaryngology Clinics of North America. 2008;41(2):411-417,viii-ix.
- Platts-Mills T. Indoor allergens. In: Adkinson Jr. N, et al. Middleton's Allergy: Principles and Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Moseby, Elsevier; 2003. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/104827333-2/0/1183/241.html?tocnode=50745740&fromURL=241.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-01425-9..50041-1_1015. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Airborne Allergens: Something in the Air. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Bethesda, Md.: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; 2003.
- Fletcher R. Patient information: Rhinitis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 24, 2008.
- German JA, et al. Environmental control of allergic diseases. American Family Physician. 2002;66(3):421-426.
- deShazo R, et al. Epidemiology and clinical manifestations of allergic rhinitis (rhinosinusitis). http:/www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 24, 2008.
- deShazo R, et al. Diagnosis of allergic rhinitis (rhinosinusitis). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 27, 2008.
- Tips to remember: What is allergy testing? American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/whatisallergytesting.stm. Accessed Sept. 16, 2008.
- Tips to remember: What are "allergy shots"? American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/whatareallergyshots.stm. Accessed Sept. 16, 2008.
- deShazo R, et al. Patient information: Trigger avoidance in allergic rhinitis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 24, 2008.
- National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma - Summary Report 2007. Bethesda, Md.: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/asthma/asthsumm.htm. Accessed Oct. 8, 2008.
- Platts-Mills T, et al. The role of allergens in asthma. American Family Physician. 2007;76(5):675-680.
