Does Alcohol Kill HDM?
6It’s likely that your sneezing and red eyes may be due to allergies, and the dust mites living in your house may be behind it all.
They live in your bed, your carpets, couches, soft chairs, clothes, and anywhere else dust gathers. In its life, a dust mite “can produce up to 200 times its own body weight in waste produce,” and this is what causes humans to have allergic reactions to them.
There are dozens of ways to reduce the number of dust mites living in your home, and alcohol has been touted as one of them.
Using five tablespoons of rubbing alcohol and mixing it with one gallon of water can kill dust mites. If you do that, however, make sure that you test that the fabric won’t stain by spraying it on a small area first.
You can also try store-bought dust mite sprays to get rid of the pesky creatures. These are typically available at a hardware store. Here are some other methods you can try
1.) Spraying five tablespoons of liquid dish detergent mixed with one gallon of water can kill dust mites.
2.) You should wash your bedding weekly in hot water to significantly reduce the number of dust mites in your sheets and blankets. You can also put them in a tumble dryer afterwards.
3.) Cover your mattress and pillow with plastic covers after you clean your bedding.
4.) Use an anti-allergy mattress and mattress cover.
5.) Hang up your comforter or duvet to get rid of excess moisture from your body in the mornings. Dust mites thrive in moist, humid environments.
6.) Get rid of feather covers and pillows as they are better environments for dust mites to thrive in than synthetic ones.
7.) Replace carpets with hard flooring. If you can’t do that, then vacuum a few times a week.
8.) Keep your house around 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) because dust mites do well when the temperature is between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (24 and 27 degrees Celsius). This won’t kill them, but it can slow down their proliferation.
Keeping track of the humidity in your home can also be helpful. When the humidity is lower than 70 percent, it reduces the rate at which they produce. Aim to keep it lower than 50 percent. Open windows, and use vents and fans to reduce humidity. You can also use air conditioning units and dehumidifiers.
9.) Have pets sleep in other areas of the house, or limit them to one or two rooms. It’s especially important to keep them out of the bedroom.
10.) You can also get rid of curtains and fabric furnishings.
11.) Steam cleaners can also kill dust mites in objects that can’t be put in the washing machine. This is good for carpets, curtains, surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom, and many other places.