Dust Mite Avoidance Video

This 10-minute video shows you what dust mites are, where they live, and how they cause allergy. It demonstrates the simple steps you can take to decrease your and your family’s exposure to their allergy-causing substances. It is essential viewing for anyone suffering from allergic asthma, nasal allergy, or allergic eczema, where dust mite allergy is a contributing factor.

You will see that dust mites do not live on hard exposed surfaces, but instead are burrowed deep into soft fabrics such as pillows, mattresses, blankets, carpets, upholstered furniture, stuffed toys, clothing, and other soft materials where they can get away from the light. Wipeable surfaces can simply be wiped to remove mite allergen from their surface. Blankets and clothing can be washed in hot or warm water to remove dust mites and their allergens. Pillows, mattresses and boxsprings, which are neither wipeable nor washable, should be encased in special covers made from a very tightly woven barrier-fabric that prevents the escape of the tiny dust mite allergen particles. Carpeting, upholstered furniture, and other items that cannot be wiped, washed, or encased, should ideally be removed from the bedroom. And because dust mites need adequate humidity to survive, the use of air-conditioning and dehumidifiers will decrease dust mite and mite allergen levels.

After watching this video:
to see live house dust mites in Hi-Definition, see Dust Mites Under the Microscope
to learn about the anatomy, life cycle, and allergens of dust mites, see House Dust Mites and Allergy