Although spring is considered to be the best time to do your annual deep carpet cleaning, the autumn months are when your office space should be cleaned thoroughly. This is because autumn is a time when allergies increase due to an increase in carpet dust mites and harmful bacteria. With autumn coming, the weather becomes cooler and drier and employees cease to regularly ventilate their offices and start to gradually increase the central heating. By reducing ventilation in the office space employees are increasing moisture in the atmosphere which makes the perfect breeding ground for potentially harmful microbes and dust mite allergens. Dust mites thrive in temperatures of 68-77°F and relative humidity levels of 70-80%. When humidity raises dust mites reproduce even more intensively.
What Is a Dust Mite?
Dust mites look like tiny white, eight legged bugs that live in colonies in dark and damp environments. They cannot be seen with the naked eye because one dust mite measures only about one-quarter to one-third of a millimetre. There are more than 13 species of mites. They feed primarily on the flakes of human skin that people normally shed each day. These flakes of skin work their way deep into the inner layers of furniture and carpets.
What Is a Dust Mite Allergy?
More than 20 million Americans have dust mite allergy. It is becoming a serious health problem. But, what exactly causes allergic reaction? The waste products of dust mites are what activate allergic reactions in sensitive individuals, not the mites themselves as you might have assumed. Throughout its short life span, a single dust mite may produce as much as 200 times its body weight in waste products. Dust mite waste contains a protein that is an allergen. An allergen is a substance that causes an allergic reaction. Both the body parts and the waste of dust mites are allergens for many people.
According to Asthma and Allergic Foundation of America dust mite allergy symptoms include: sneezing, runny nose, red or watery eyes, stuffy nose, itchy nose, mouth or throat, postnasal drip (a flow of mucus from behind your nose into your throat), cough. If dust mite allergy triggers asthma, your employee may also experience: difficulty breathing, chest tightness or pain, a whistling or wheezing sound when breathing out, trouble sleeping caused by shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing.
How to Limit Allergens at the Workplace?
In order to limit allergens you need to manage your work environment properly. You can minimize the problem by changing the filters in air systems to high-efficiency filters and ventilating offices when convenient. Also, regular vacuuming is one of the most effective methods of removing dander, hairs and dead dust mites. However, in order to completely remove these troublesome allergens, a deep professional carpet clean is essential at this time of year. The dry extraction method is the most appropriate for people who are sensitive to indoor allergens. It is the lowest moisture cleaning method and it leaves carpets clean (without stains, dirt, grit, sand and allergens) and dry, ready to be walked on right away.
