Eradication
House dust mites reproduce quickly enough that their effect on human health can be significant. Since dust mites depend on moisture to survive, they are most often found in bedding such as pillows and duvets. Dust mites numbers can be reduced by replacing carpets with flat surfaces that are easier to vacuum and maintaining relative humidity below 50%. Existing mites can be eradicated by regularly cleaning and washing items that harbour them, exposing them to temperatures over 60 °C (140 °F) for a period of one hour or to temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F), through ten minutes' exposure to the lethal temperatures – near 105 °C (221 °F) – in a household clothes dryer, or using disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT) powder. A side-effect of DOT is irritation of eyes.
Read more about this topic: House Dust Mite
Famous quotes containing the word eradication:
“As to a thorough eradication of prostitution, nothing can accomplish that save a complete transvaluation of all accepted values—especially the moral ones—coupled with the abolition of industrial slavery.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)