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Mattress Cleaning is the newest in home cleaning service that provides what no other service can. We eliminate the root problem of in home dust mite allergens.
Dust Mite Habitats
Dust mites do not live in air ducts in homes. Many people spend much time and money cleaning the air ducts to reduce dust mites. This is not necessary because dust mites need about 70 percent relative humidity or higher to live, and they need food. Areas where people spend much time, like a bed or a favorite plush chair, are prime sites for dust mites. The top part of mattresses containing fibrous material is a favorite place for dust mites during warm and humid times. The deeper parts of mattresses may provide protected areas for the dust mites during unfavorable conditions. Clothing is used by dust mites as a means of transportation from room to room or even from house to house.
Beds
85% of dust mite populations exist primarily within the padding of Mattresses. We shed up to 10 lbs of skin each year. With 1/3 of our time spent sleeping we shed significant amounts of skin cells that percolate into the mattress. Because of shedding and perspiration, your bed is the best habitat for dust mites, and attention should be given to make sure the infestation levels are low or eliminated. Anywhere from 1 to 5 million dust mites may be living in your bed due to the plentiful food and moisture source they receive on a nightly basis. Mites only eat skin cells and drink by absorbing moisture through their bodies making your mattress about 85-90% of your dust mite issues.
Cleaning the infestation or buildup of skin, mites, mite fecal droppings and other pollution that accumulates over time is the best way to start from a clean beginning. It's hard to believe these little creatures are so pervasive but they do find their way into the bed more then any other location.
Bed Linens
While you sleep, your skin sheds leaving behind scales for dust mites to feed on. Research shows that putting fitted sheets on your bed helps indirectly reduce dust mite populations by reducing the accumulation of skin scales. However, fitted covers do not reduce any of the accumulated skin and mite allergen that exists in the mattress. Also, washing your sheets every week in hot water will kill them.
Pillow covers/cases require as much attention as the rest of the bed linens. Wash your pillow cases once a week in hot water with the rest of your bed linens to kill dust mites living on your linens. Replace pillows that have feathers as a filling material with cotton or synthetic materials. Alternatively, you can put allergen-impermeable covers over your pillows, but these covers are only available at specialty stores.
Many covers are not effective because companies know they can sell any fabric, calling it mite proof, you will never know the difference. Mite proofing products have become, whether they work or not, another part of the Box retail landscape, so you have to be very careful your not wasting your money. Due to a lack of professional cleaning services, numerous manufacturers are producing many gimmicky products to make people feel good. Fear is the biggest motivator so please be wise in what you invest in.
Carpeting
Second to the Mattress, carpets are the next breeding ground and habitat for house dust mites. By some estimates there can be approximately 100,000 dust mites living in a square yard area of carpet in your home. Because dust mites need 70% relative humidity to survive the carpets may not be as ideal a place to live but they can still be plentiful around beds and heavily used furniture.
Furniture
Dust mites also love upholstered furniture such as the couch in the picture to the left. The reason a couch would be an area with a high infestation level is because it is usually a high-traffic area. People tend to eat from couches, pets may lay there, and dead skin cells will also be left behind from humans sitting or laying down on couches. You can reduce the population in rooms where couches or similar furniture would be located by replacing fabric upholstered furniture with leather or even wood (generally furniture that does not have a lot of padding). Also, you should have as little possible furniture in areas where a dust mite infestation could be potentially high. Mites do eat skin shed from animals so areas where the animals spend time can have large mite populations.
Smooth Surfaces
Again, dust mites are everywhere, even in the dust on the smooth surface throughout the house. In addition to dust mites, dust contains substances such as cigarette ash, mold spores, and cockroach droppings which can cause allergies. To control dust mite populations in areas such as the one shown, it is important to damp dust regularly. Cluttered surfaces are also another breeding ground; it is recommended you keep smooth surfaces uncluttered and clean to prevent the accumulation of allergy causing substances. Dust mites can never be eliminated from the house, but steady maintenance can keep population numbers low. With a low mite population, the the body has sufficient immunity to the allergen, thus reducing or eliminating the effects. Over all the the greatest breading ground and habitat is the mattress.
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