Dust mites love your mattress because it's the perfect environment for them. It's warm, tends to be moist, and what's more, it's replete with their favorite diet - human skin flakes. The Mayo Clinic estimates that you may be sharing you cozy bed with anywhere from 1 to 10 million of the critters. And though they're microscopic (500 could fit on the head of a pin), they may be causing you big problems.



The reason why these tiny creatures are so virulent is that they are a source of allergens. These allergens come from many sources including the dried body parts of the mites themselves and their fecal matter. The typical dust mite excretes 200 times its boy weight in fecal matter.

One reason this is such a problem is that mites lack a stomach. So digestion occurs outside their bodies. The mites secrete enzymes and deposit the fungus Aspergillus Repens on dust particles. Then the fungus predigests the food for the mites. The dust mite's partially digested food, and fecal matter make up the most major sources of allergens.

The allergens then enter your body at night. As you shift in your sleep, the tiny allergen particles waft into the air and hence into your breathing passage, lungs and ultimately your bloodstream.

Perhaps you think you can clean your mattress or change your sheets and they're gone? Unfortunately this is not the case. Dust mites are tenacious creatures and they're very happy just where they are in your mattress or borrowed into any number of items in your home. Standard vacuuming doesn't work. Traditional household or commercial vacuum cleaners don't have the power to suck out the dust mites and their debris from deep in your mattress. Bleaches and strong soaps won't kill them either. So what will work? Fortunately, there are a few things that the mites hate.

Extreme temperatures, either high or low, are generally fatal to them. However they reproduce quickly and will soon return. They have a life spans of about 30 days and the female lays up to 300 eggs during that period.

Then there's sunlight. Mites hate sunlight because it's a natural form of ultra-violet light, which is harmful to dust mites and their eggs. That's why they like to burrow deep into your mattress where they're safe.

Ultimately, to successfully rid your life of pesky dust mites, you have to apply a rigorous eradication system, and so you really need professional help.

Europeans are much more proactive on the dust mite front (and incidentally have far few allergy clinics that we do here in the US). As a result, they began developing effective mattress cleaning and sanitizing procedures using specialized equipment over 25-years ago. Now, a vastly improved system and procedure is available in the United States.

The most effective system for cleaning and sanitizing mattresses, as well as for use on any porous, allegen collecting surface is from the company Hygienitech, which offers a multi-pronged attack against dust mites, bacteria, mold and fungal spores, common virus and a long list of other contaminants that are found in most homes, as well as multi-bed facilities. Firstly, they go over your mattress with a device comprising a high powered suction device working in conjunction with an electronically regulated germicidal UV-C light. This is ultraviolet light of the C band, a type of highly compressed light which penetrates the surface and functions as a completely green, chemical-free and dry, all natural purification system.

After completing the cleaning and sanitizing process, an all natural, chemical and perfume free citrus spray is misted throughout the area in order to cleanse the air above and surrounding the treated surfaces.

The result is that any mattress, chair, sofa, carpet or drapery is purged of both the dust mites and their debris in a safe and effective manner. It's fast, too. The whole process takes only around 22-minutes minutes for a king-sized mattress. It's recommended you have this procedure done twice a year to keep down the allergens in your home. It makes sense to get rid of your unwanted sleeping partners and create a healthier home for you and your family.