subject: Indoor Air Quality - Does It matter? [print this page] Indoor Air Quality - Does It matter? Indoor Air Quality - Does It matter?
This is for anyone who think that they live in a healthy home. You may be in for a big surprise.. The tiny Dust Mites are microscopic critters (up to 0.3 mm in size) related to ticks and spiders. The mites are turtle like creatures with eight legs and are they can't be seen with the human eye. They thrive on the decaying dead skin flakes in household dust skin that we shed every day. There is hardly a house in the USA or Europe that does not have them.
The fascinating thing is the amount can vary wildly between houses in the same street, some containing huge numbers and others hardly any. The Mites' survival depends, not on the amount of dust, but more vitally, on how humid the house is. They can only survive in conditions of high humidity.
When the have these optimum conditions, Dust Mites are able to survive for anywhere between 3-4 months. With females laying as many as 25 to 50 eggs, with a new generation produced every twenty one days!
Incredibly, it is not the Mite itself that is the problem. It is their droppings that are the problem. They need help (a chemical method) to break down the shed skin before it can be digested. This is the problem (or rather what happens when the digestion is completed). The chemical along with the digested skin passes into the droppings.
Bear in mind that the mite is so microscopic and its droppings will be many times smaller yet. Each mite will produce maybe twenty droppings every day. Each of these droppings holds maybe 10-12 smaller sub pellets roughly about 2-10 micron in size and contain their left over enzymes. Once disturbed, by a gust of wind or someone walking through a room, these droppings become airborne. They are so light that they can stay up in the air for hours.
Unfortunately, this is right where your nostrils are pulling in their air from.As we breathe, we also inhale the mite droppings. Unfortunately, these contain those powerful protein enzymes that digest our skin. The trouble is that these enzymes do not know the difference between live or dead skin.
These enzymes start to attack the linings of your nose and bronchial tubes (in other words what you breathe through).
Over time this carries on unnoticed until you become "sensitised". By this time the linings have become swollen and reduced in size. You are about to have an attack. These can be triggered by various things pollen, pollution, car fumes, paint, VOCs (volatile organic compounds). This is when the body decides it has had enough and throws up an allergic reaction. What can we do to stop it?
Two things help. Ventilation and good vacuum cleaner filtration. Increase the ventilation of the house and make sure the bag is replaced regularly
If possible, use a water filtration vacuum cleaner. They pass the dust over a tank of water. The dust and dirt gets captured by the water and is not sent back up in the atmosphere like it is with some systems. Have your carpets professionally cleaned. Make sure they are done properly and dried off quickly (a poor cleaning job will leave the carpets warm and damp ideal conditions for mites to multiply). Ask your carpet cleaner to use mite killer and then apply an anti mite protector. This way you'll have year round protection.
