• Use a pillow & mattress covers then wash regularly.
• Wash bed linen in hot water to kill the mites and remove their allergens.
• Remove fitted carpets, as they are a popular breeding ground for mites.
• Replace soft furnishings such as curtains, soft toys and sheepskins.
• Regularly put your rugs and other soft furnishings out in the sun.
• Improve ventilation to reduce humidity and open doors & windows to circulate air.
• Vacuum once a week to keep the mites at bay.

The levels of dust mites in carpet and furniture that had been steam cleaned & vacuumed stayed low for up to eight weeks after the treatment, compared to four weeks for vacuuming alone. Zeldin said: "We believe that the hot, dry steam kills the mites and the vacuuming removes them from the carpet." House dust mite allergy is one factor known to increase the frequency and severity of asthma. Dust mites live off human skin scales and thrive in warm humid climates. The protein found in their droppings is what causes an allergic response in humans.

Hotter is better for removing allergens in laundry

ATS 2007, SAN FRANCISCO -- A new study finds that the heat setting you choose when doing laundry makes all the difference when it comes to killing dust mites. The researchers found that washing laundry in hot water--140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 ºC) or higher--kills all house dust mites, compared with just 6.5% of dust mites in laundry washed at 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 ºC), or warm water. The study is being presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Sunday, May 20.

Hotter water temperatures are also more effective in removing dog dander and pollen, says lead researcher Jung-Won Park, M.D., Ph.D., of Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea.

There is an alternative to washing in hot water that’s also effective, Dr. Park found: washing at a lower temperature (between 86-104° F, or 30-40 ºC), then rinsing the laundry twice with cold water for three minutes each.

In the study, researchers compared allergen levels on cotton sheets after they were washed in various temperature settings. They found that since more pollen was left on the sheets when they were washed in cooler temperatures (86° F, or 30ºC), rinsing the sheets was especially important when using this temperature setting.