The hidden Health Threat In Every Home

Written by: alfonzo.groesbeck.birminghamcarpetcleaning
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010

Could the very home you live in be dangerous to your health? Could it be that the very air you breathe in your home is more polluted than outside? Surely not? Well, in many cases, indoor air quality is much worse and is on a par with some industrial locations.

The biggest problem is that you will not even see it happening. You cannot smell it like you could with say, smoke pollution, but it's there; slowly chipping away at yours and your families' health. They are so small you will never see them but you will see their effect when your kids start coughing.



The humble Dust Mites are tiny critters (as much as 0.3 mm in measurement related to ticks and spiders). These nasties are turtle like creatures with eight legs and are so miniscule they can't be seen with the human eye. They gorge themselves on the discarded, dead skin flakes in household dirt - skin that we lose everyday simply moving around. They are common too. There's virtually not a home in the USA or Europe that doesn't have them. The bizarre thing is the numbers can fluctuate enormously between homes in the identical street, some containing huge numbers and others hardly any. That means the problem is not down to local or geographical factors.

The Mites' survival depends on, not the quantity of dust, however but very much on how humid the house is. They need high humidity just to survive. Once they find these optimal circumstances, these Mites will live for up to three-four months. The females can lay up to 25 to 50 eggs, with a new "crop" born every three weeks!

Strangely enough, it is not the Mite itself that is the problem. It is their faeces (droppings) which are the danger. They need help (chemical assistance) to break down the discarded skin before it can be digested. For this it uses an enzyme. That is the problem (or rather what happens when the digestion is completed). The enzyme together with the waste skin, passes into the droppings.

Don't forget that the mite is so incredibly tiny so its droppings will likely be many times smaller yet. A mite will produce around 20 droppings every day. Any of these droppings holds round 10-12 smaller sub pellets that can be about 2-10 micron in measurement and include their left over enzymes. As soon as disturbed, by a gust of wind or somebody strolling through a room, these droppings float up into the air.

They are so tiny that they can stay airborne within the home environment for hours. The trouble is that, this is just the place your nostrils are pulling in their air from. As we breathe, we also breathe in the mite droppings. Sadly, these include the highly effective protein enzymes that digest our skin.

The trouble is that these enzymes do not know the difference between dead or live skin. Immediately, they go to work on the linings of your nostril and bronchial tubes (in other words, what you breathe through).

Over a time period this carries on unabated until you become "sensitised". By this time the linings have become damaged and reduced in size. You're about to have an attack. These attacks can be set off by numerous things such as... pollen, air pollution, car fumes, paint, VOCs (unstable natural compounds).

That is when the body reacts to it and begins off an allergic reaction.

What can we do to prevent it? Do you remember earlier, how dust mites need humidity to survive? We need to reduce that humidity. Be certain that your home is properly ventilated. Open the house windows whenever you can.

Maintain you home as clear and dust free as you can. Be sure that your vacuum cleaner has clean filters and if applicable, change the bag when it's lower than half full.

If possible, use a water filtration vacuum cleaner. They cross the mud over a container full of water. Dirt and debris will get captured by the water and is not sent back up in the atmosphere like it does with some systems.

Get your carpets cleaned by a professional. A good pro will thoroughly clean them and (more importantly) have them dry quickly. If a "cowboy" leaves them wet and soggy they'll become the perfect breeding floor for mites.

Ask your carpet cleaner to use mite killer and then apply an anti mite protector. This way you'll have twelve month protection. These place a residual treatment on to the carpet and upholstery fibres that kill dust mites on contact.

Now that probably sounds a bit worrying and you are probably (rightly) concerned about chemicals. The active ingredient that kills the mites is the same one that does the work in children’s' lice shampoos. In other words, gentle on kids ... deadly to mites. This treatment is actually built into the carpet protector so you get double protection. Don't let your health suffer needlessly when there is a an easy solution.


Chrissy Webb writes on various health hygiene and and cleaning subjects for
Birmingham carpet
cleaning at href="http://www.carpetcleanerwestmidlands.co.uk">www.carpetcleanerwestmidlands.co.uk

Chrissy Webb

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