Echoey walls and dust mites


I expect this question is beyond normal discussions here.  I’m looking for solutions to deal with an echoey listening room.  My problem is that I have a severe dust mite allergy and normal anti echo solutions won’t work.   

Floor is hard wood, walls smooth — not what you’d want for best listening environment.  Carpets, curtains and the like are breading grounds for dust mites.  Steam cleaning doesn’t work as the mites survive.

Are there hypoallergenic sound baffling thingies that might be wall/ceiling mounted that anyone is aware off.

BTW.  I had explored sound deadening paint and that’s not really a solutions (yes that does exist).

Ideas?

TIA for ideas.

 

— Eric

efronberg

I would start with a large wood diffuser on the front wall.  Vicoustics makes some full absorbers that should work on the ceiling.  

Here ya go!

How To Get Rid of Dust Mites

You can't completely eliminate dust mites. They may end up in almost all homes: Around 80% of U.S. homes have at least one bed with dust mite allergens.1

Getting rid of dust mites isn't a one-and-done treatment. They come back, which is why regular cleanings are important. If you follow the tips below and still have allergy symptoms, it may be time to see an allergist. They can learn more about your allergies and provide treatment options.

1. Buy Toys You Can Easily Wash

Dust mites can affect soft toys.4 If you have children who play with them, consider only keeping toys you can throw in the washer and dryer.5

2. Choose New Bedding

You can regularly clean your bedding, but some may be difficult to keep free of dust mites. Large, bulky duvet covers are often hard to wash. Consider swapping a duvet cover for a washable blanket or quilt.

Decorative bedding, such as bed skirts, throw pillows, and throw blankets, provide additional environments for dust mites to settle. You may want to skip these while making your bed.

3. Maintain Low Humidity

Humid environments—like a steamy bathroom—attract dust mites. Make sure the humidity inside your home is lower than 50%.2 Use a dehumidifier or air conditioner to keep humidity inside your home low. You can also purchase a hygrometer to keep track of humidity levels.

4. Remove Carpeting

Carpeting is a breeding ground for dust mites. Carpet tends to catch and trap flakes of dead skin cells. Wall-to-wall carpeting attracts dust mites and is particularly difficult to clean.6 Consider replacing wall-to-wall carpeting with hard surface floors, including tile or wood.

5. Use Allergen-Proof Mattress and Pillow Covers

Allergen-proof covers can protect your mattress and pillows from a dust mite infestation.5 Covers with zippers that keep them tightly shut around your bedding trap dust mites and prevent them from multiplying. The dust mites inside the covers will eventually die, and others will be unable to enter.

It's still important to clean your bedding if you have allergen-proof dust covers. Be sure to wash your covers regularly.

6. Use a Damp Cloth To Remove Dust

Using a damp cloth to clean your house can efficiently remove dust by preventing it from escaping into the air and resettling in a different area. Use water or disinfectant to wet your cloth. Toss dirty clothes in the washer or shake out the collected dust outside your house.

7. Vacuum Often

Vacuum your carpet and upholstered furniture regularly to get rid of dust. Add double-layered microfilter bags or high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to your vacuum to efficiently clean the dust off your carpet and upholstered furniture. Consider replacing your upholstered furniture, which attracts dust mites, with washable covers.6

Vacuuming is not the most effective method of removing dust, but it can decrease dust allergy symptoms. If it makes symptoms worse, you may want to forgo this option.

8. Wash Your Bedding

Dust mites thrive in bedding. You shed flakes of dead skin on your bedding, which dust mites use as food. It's important to change and wash your bedding frequently.

One of the best ways to get rid of dust mites is to wash all your bedding—including sheets, blankets, pillowcases, and duvet covers—on a hot cycle of at least 130 degrees.2 If you can't wash your bedding in hot water, place it in the dryer for 15 minutes at 130 degrees.

You can also try freezing any unwashable items for 24 hours if you cannot wash or dry them. Freezing your bedding will not get rid of the allergens, but it kills dust mites.2

What Does Mold Smell Like?

A Quick Review

Dust mites are microscopic insects that eat skin flakes you and your pets shed. Dust mite allergy symptoms are your body's reaction to the dust mites' feces.

The best way to treat a dust allergy is to get rid of the dust where the pests hang out. Change and wash your bedding often, remove dust from upholstered furniture and curtains, and vacuum frequently.

Wow. I never heard of dust mites being on anything other than beds. This is hard to believe.

Thank you all for your comments.   I’ll look into Vicoustics products and see if my wife buys into this approach.

 

Those UV lamps you see on tv work well my wife isa RN and they use them all the time to sanitize a room  just make sure no pets or people are in the room 

for 30 minutes you can do every room itworks !

When I saw the topic, for a second I was thinking dust mites as sound absorbers.  lol  Rock it hard and maybe that will take care of them.  But then goes the absorption as well.  Dust mites are mostly prevalent where there's dead skin.  Dead skin is mostly prevalent where you tend to be naked.  Hmmm....

 I would not imagine dust mites could live in most acoustic treatments as they are manmade products. I take antihistamines every day for my allergies, so I feel your pain. 

Dust mites are an indoor problem.  They thrive in dusty areas and it’s their dander that is the issue.  I’ve heard that much of indoor dust contains dead skin cells.  I guess an electrostatic sound absorbing service “could” do the trick (at least one that repelled dust).

Again thanks for that ideas!