The control of house dust mites in rugs through wet cleaning.

Abstract

Nine rugs from the bedrooms of seven private homes were cut into strips. Half of the strips were wet-cleaned according to a commercial procedure, and the others were kept as controls. Subsequently the cleaned and noncleaned strips were stitched together again and returned to their respective bedrooms. After 0, 1, and 3 months, parts of the strips were taken to the laboratory for tests. The tests were designed to measure the suitability of the rugs as a habitat for house dust mites. To do this, a number of house dust mites were introduced into fragments of the rugs, and the number of survivors and offspring after 4 weeks was determined. Immediately after cleaning, the habitat was markedly less suitable than before. After 1 month, the habitat suitability was partly but not totally recovered. After 3 months, no effect of cleaning could be discerned.