Dust mites are common where there is dust and cause poor indoor air quality. Unfortunately, their size makes getting rid of them tricky. Also, they make your office environment hard to work in as they trigger allergic reactions.
The good news is that you can get rid of dust mites, especially when you consult an expert here to know your options. However, you can also play your part in reducing their population through regular ductwork maintenance. This guide provides tips to help you eliminate dust mites.
How to Eliminate Dust Mites in Your Ductwork
Dust mites can compromise the air quality in your home when not eliminated. Besides, it can pose significant health risks to your family. The good news is that there are many ways to eliminate dust mites, including routine cleaning and installing air purifiers.
Here are the tips to get rid of dust mites in the ductwork.
1. Routine Duct Cleaning
If there is dust in the ductwork, it’s best to assume that dust mites are present too. Their microscopic nature makes it easy for the draft to float them around. Regular duct cleaning helps clear the dust before it accumulates enough to accommodate dust mites.
Duct cleaning has better results when done by an expert. That is because there are corners and crevices in the ductwork that only an expert would know how to reach.
2. Install Antimicrobial Air Purifier
An antimicrobial purifier has a mechanism to catch microscopic contaminants like dust mites. It’s highly effective in ensuring good air quality in your office. Although your HVAC system already has a filter, you can add an air purifier in your office to eliminate dust mites.
Usually, it’s possible to attach an additional air filter to the rest of the HVAC system. It ensures that the filter mechanisms catch the mites as soon as they appear. Ensure you find a filter/purifier compatible with your HVAC system.
Having the air purifier in place will have to notice a reduction in allergic reactions by dust mites. Besides installing an air purifier, it’s essential to ensure that you replace and clean the HVAC filter as often as is recommended.
3. Get Rid of Heavy Window Covers
Just as you would do at home, changing and cleaning office curtains and covers at least once a week is essential to eliminate dust mites. Neglecting office window curtains encourages dust mites. The same thing applies to your workspace.
It happens that the curtain traps dust where dust mites would thrive. You may have filters in place and clean the air ducts, but if you fail to remove heavy window curtains, your dust mite problems will always reappear.
Replacing heavy window curtains or covers with machine-washable ones or wooden blinds could help your case. They are easy to change and clean. Machine washable curtains or wooden blinds would serve you just as well as heavy curtains by providing privacy and minimizing light entry.
4. Vacuum and Mop the Floor Often
Vacuuming your office space at least once a day is another effective way of removing dust mites in the ductwork. Once a week could also work if you find it more convenient. Besides the floor, vacuum the carpet as well using a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
A steamer is also effective in eliminating dust mites in the carpet as well. If you choose to state your rug, you can keep out dust mites from settling in the ductwork in the future through vacuuming. Apart from vacuuming, introduce a damp mop to your daily floor cleaning routine.
A dry mop will not do since it only stirs up the dust, while a damp one catches it and the dust mites. Be gentle when opening, so you don’t blow away the dust mites. Once done, shake the dust mites from the mop outside, away from your office space.
5. Introduce Dehumidifiers in your Office Space
Dust mites thrive in humidity as much as in dust. Therefore, you must look for ways to minimize humidity levels in your home. For instance, you can repair leaky windows and faulty ductwork to prevent humidity from entering from the outdoors.
Introduce a dehumidifier in your office space to check humidity levels there. If you don’t agave a dehumidifier, opening a window when it’s windy and running fans can also keep excess moisture away—the ideal humidity level in a closed space of 50 percent.
6. Get Rid Of Clutter
Clutter attracts dust which harbors dust mites. For example, it’s common for office spaces to have old files or discarded furniture. Since you don’t move these items, dust often accumulates in such clutter. It happens gradually, and you might notice it when the mites have invaded.
See how much of the stuff you have piled up is disposable. Only leave behind the items that you can dust quickly from time to time if you can designate storage space for particular items. If you can’t throw such things away, you can find ways to make dusting them easier.
7. Spray Natural Oils in Your Ductwork
Chemicals might not eliminate dust mites. As a result, you might spray unproblematic parts of your office space. Use a natural oil diffuser to spray dust mite-killing compound-rich oils in your ductwork. For instance, concentrated clove oil can help eliminate dust mites.
All you have to do is combine the oil with water and put it in a diffuser or manually spray it in areas you suspect have dust mites. You can also combine it with baking soda and spray it before vacuuming. Ensure you give the natural oil enough time to act on the dust mites.
Final Words
If you find yourself experiencing an allergic reaction every other time you are in your office, chances are that you have a dust mite problem in the ductwork. Unfortunately, waiting for the moths to leave alone only leaves an opportunity for more to grow. It calls for you to start talking about ways of eliminating them. Inviting an expert on the matter is always the best idea.
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