Skin always itchy? Your house may be infested with dust mites

What happens when you jump on your mattress? A cloud of dust whooshes out and fills the room, right?

For many people, these dust particles can irritate your skin and nasal passages, causing itchiness, redness and sneezing.

Prolonged exposure can also trigger chronic skin conditions like eczema, dermatitis, and rosacea.

Even if you don’t jump on your bed violently, your skin may still feel itchy in the middle of the night. Or you may wake up in the morning with a runny nose.

In this case, the problem is may not be the dust cloud, but the dust mites that live in your mattress.

The source of skin irritation could be living in your bed

More and more Malaysians are suffering from sensitive skin and allergies. In fact, it is believed that 1 out of 5 Malaysians suffer from atopic eczema (itchy and inflamed skin).

Most of the time, the advice given is to avoid certain foods (like prawns), and avoid harsh soaps and laundry detergents.

However, another cause of skin irritation could be lurking in your own bed.

Research has shown that your carpets, sofas, and mattresses may be infested with thousands of dust mites.

In their 10-week life span, a single house dust mite will typically produce approximately 2,000 fecal particles and an even larger number of partially-digested dust particles. These droppings can irritate your skin and nasal passages.

So if you or a family member are constantly falling sick, feeling lethargic, or suffering from asthma and skin problems, getting rid of these dust particles could be a possible solution.

Regular deep cleaning of these fabrics using specialised equipment is the best way to avoid itching, sneezing and coughing. If investing in your own home treatment system is simply too costly, why not hire a sofa, mattress and carpet cleaning service that will leave your fabrics almost as good as new?

What are dust mites?

Dust mites are tiny spiders that live in your mattress and sofa. They survive by feeding on your dead skin cells . They don’t bite, but they do crawl on you at night.

After eating your dead skin cells, they will leave behind their feces and eggs.

It is these dust mite droppings that irritate your skin and nasal passages, causing itchiness, redness and sneezing.

The droppings are easily embedded in the fibers of mattresses and sofas, and when inhaled during sleep, are a source of asthma attacks, allergies, respiratory problems, rhinitis, itchy eyes, headaches, and fatigue.

Vacuuming daily and changing your bedsheets often are not enough to get rid of these dust mites as they lie deep within the stuffing of your sofa and mattress, or deep into the carpet.

So how do you get rid of these pesky dust mites and their particles? It’s not easy as they can’t be eliminated completely, but you can reduce the amount and prevent them from building up.

How to reduce dust mites in your home:

1) Use Small Area Rugs

It may feel good on your feet, but if you suffer from dust mite allergies, don’t carpet your floor from wall to wall. It’s advisable to get rid of carpets and big rugs that can hold lots of dust and dirt.

Instead, use small rugs that you can wash in hot water often. Wash them in hot water (at least 60 degrees C) to kill dust mites.

2) Get rid of heavy drapes and curtains

Thick and heavy curtains will also hold lots of dust. Instead, use light washable curtains that you can clean and remove easily, or roll-down shades that are easy to clean. You can even order custom-made blinds that fit your window dimensions exactly.

3) Remove “dust collectors”

Anything made from fabrics will collect dust after a while. Avoid keeping lots of things that dust can easily stick on to such as teddy bears, tapestries, books, and artificial flowers in places where you spend a lot of time, such as the bedroom.

4) Use a dehumidifier

Dust mites thrive in humid conditions which is why it they are so prevalent in Malaysia. Invest in a dehumidifier to keep the humidity level at 50% or below.

You can also set your aircon to “dry mode” that dehumidify the room.

5) Get your mattress and sofa professionally cleaned

You could invest in your own advanced home treatment system that has powerful vacuum suction with HEPA filtration. But these could cost several thousand ringgit.

You can also get an air purifier, but they only help to filter the air in the room, and cannot physically pull the dust mite dropping out of the mattress.

To really get your mattress cleaned, you can hire a professional mattress and sofa cleaning at affordable prices, every few months. These pros are equipped with the proper water-based machines to get the job done thoroughly.