One of the most overlooked cleaning jobs has got to be cleaning all the built up dust and grime off of the fan blades. Ceiling fans can become a breeding ground for dust mites if dust is allowed to accumulate.
“According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), dust mites are one of the most common allergy triggers.”
If you have your fan constantly running you may be scattering dust mites all over your furniture, or bed.
The point of a ceiling fan is to circulate air down into the room, if air is constantly being pushed down to the floor, more than likely dust is being blown onto your carpet.
Ceiling fans are one of the most common hosts to dust mites.
There are approximately 100 to 500 dust mites in a typical gram of dust, which can be as much as 100,000 in a square meter of carpet (GROSS!). That’s a lot of gross microscopic little bugs. The harmful allergens dust mites come from dust mite fecal matter and their body fragments. Each dust mite can produce about 20 poop droppings every day, and the droppings will continuously irritate allergic symptoms even after the dust mite has died. Around Fall and Winter when we close up our houses, dust mites and allergens become an even bigger problem with more dust accumulation.
How to Recognize Symptoms of Allergies to Dust Mites
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Itchy and watery eyes
- Hay fever
- Asthma and difficulty breathing
- Facial pain or pressure
- Coughing
- Nasal congestion
- Infant eczema
- With a child, a frequent upward rubbing of the nose
- Itchy nose, throat, or the roof of your mouth
The Easiest Way to Clean Those Dusty Ceiling Fans
Things you will need: an old pillowcase, a ladder or step stool (depending how tall your ceiling fan is).
- Take the pillow case and slip it over the fan blade carefully.
- Carefully pull the pillowcase grabbing the dust, and slide it off the fan blade.
- All you need to do is repeat this process for the remaining blades.
- When you’re finished empty the dust into the trash/outside, and throw the pillowcase into the washing machine.
Voila! Now You’ve got a spotless ceiling fan, free of dust!
If you routinely clean your ceiling fan, you are doing yourself a very big favor by not only keeping a healthy home, but a happy one!
To get rid of dust mites in your carpet, vacuum your carpets with a high filtration system
(A vacuum with filters capable of retaining a high quantity of the smallest particles i.e a HEPA filter/ S- Class filter) frequently. Also, when you use a high- temperature steam cleaner over your carpets, this is guaranteed to kill dust mites effectively. Vacuum all upholstery furniture at least 2 or 3 times a week.
Basically what it boils down to is, if you keep your house, fans, carpets, etc. clean, you will greatly reduce the amount of allergens and dust mites.
Host reduces dust mites significantly.
