How Dust Mites Affect Your Indoor Air Quality
It is easy to overlook household dust and assume it is only a nuisance. However, a dusty home leads to poor indoor air quality and can even cause problems in your HVAC system. Here is why and what you can do about it.
Dust Mites and Indoor Air Quality
Dust mites feed on skin cells and other components in dust and the mites and their waste products become components of dust. While dust mites sound disgusting, they are too tiny to see and few people are aware how many mites might be living in a home. However, they significantly compromise indoor air quality. The mites do not bite, but many people develop allergic responses to the waste products of the mites. There are several ways to keep dust mite numbers down. One way is to reduce dust in the home, as dust provides food for the mites.
Another very significant option is to control humidity levels. When humidity is too high, dust mite populations increase. When humidity is too low, everything dries out and dust is more easily airborne. Use a whole house humidifier or dehumidifier to keep humidity between 40 and 60 percent.
How Dust Affects Your HVAC System
Your air filter will catch some, but not all, of the particles in your indoor air. A dusty home leads to dusty components within the HVAC system. This hinders airflow and interrupts the normal exchange of heat within the system, reducing its efficiency and sometimes its lifespan.
Controlling Dust
Get a handle on dust in the following ways:
- Change the HVAC filter every month
- Vacuum all floors, drapes and furnishings every week
- Use doormats at all exterior entrances
- Keep pets well groomed
- Wash all pillows and bedding every week
- Damp mop floors weekly
- Use an air purifier
At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.
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