Is your home a Dust Mite Bonanza and a Dead Skin Buffet?

This hideous creature is a microscopic dust mite ; one of the two million that infest the average home (like yours). They hide in your carpet, upholstery, drapes, mattress and pillows.

What do the experts have to say?

Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills, head of Allergic Medicine at the University of Virginia Medical School, estimates that somewhere between 500,000 and a million hospital visits are made each year by patients allergic to biocontaminants such as fungi, mites, and bacteria. Dr. Michael Berry of the EPA states that "Carpeting and fabrics not cleaned and properly maintained have the potential to cause a variety of health problems inside the building environment."

Will your children develop lifelong allergies because you didn't get your carpets cleaned?

The average person spends 90% of his or her time indoors. Worse, recently the EPA put into the Congressional Record the fact that indoor air is more polluted than outdoor air. Americans are literally giving themselves and their children lifelong allergies with our disgusting indoor air. Every time you walk into your house, you bring lots of pollutants in with you—pollens, chemicals, soil, tar, dirt, car exhaust, cigarette smoke, and thousands of other things. Then you shut the door, and these pollutants have nowhere to go except where gravity takes them—into your carpet! How bad are these pollutants? Well, for example, the day after you spray for bugs, the concentration of insecticide is 10 times stronger in your carpet than it is outside where you put the poison. Can you imagine your child or grandchild crawling across a carpet that has 10 times the insecticide needed to kill bugs, putting their hands in their eyes and mouths?

From the Environmental Protection Agency EPA

What Are Dust Mites?

Dust mites are tiny animals you cannot see. Every home has dust mites. They feed on skin flakes and are found in mattresses, pillows, carpets, upholstered furniture, bedcovers, clothes, stuffed toys, and fabric or other fabric-covered items. Body parts and feces of dust mites can trigger asthma in sensitive individuals.

Actions You Can Take

• Wash bedding (such as sheets, bedcovers, and blankets) once a week in hot water.
• Choose washable stuffed toys, wash them often in hot water, and dry thoroughly. Keep stuffed toys off beds.
• Cover mattresses and pillows in dust-proof (allergen-impermeable) zippered covers.
• Have carpets and furniture cleaned regularly
• Maintain low indoor humidity ideally between 30-50% relative humidity. Humidity levels can be measured by hygrometers which are available at local hardware stores.

What should you do to take care of dust mites?

Call Buff N' Shine Inc. today at 517-351-3436. We will clean your carpet not only for appearance, but also for the health of you and your loved ones. You'll be glad you called.