Allergies? Eliminate Dust Mites from your Carpets

House dust mites are mostly found in carpets and mattresses; their numbers are increasing because we provide perfect conditions - humid warm environments - in our centrally-heated, thermally-insulated, double glazed homes. They feed on dead skin that has been shed and forms part of general household dust.

They are a significant source of allergies, including: asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis and dermatitis.

There are a couple of ways to eliminate dust mites.

• Subject dust mites to extreme heat (60'C) or cold (0'C) for about an hour -  therefore hot washes or putting a pillow in a large chest freezer would be quite successful;
• Sofas, mattresses and carpets can be vacuumed with a high suction cleaner. Treat first with a mite powder.

And no, we are not going to use a magnified image of a mite, just for sensationalism. Nor are we going to use a boring photograph of a vacum cleaner. Here is a beautiful carpet of flowers instead.