At first, you might not think that cleaning your home is as important as it is, but whether you simply do not like the appearance of dust or someone who lives with you has an allergy to dust, there is going to come a time when you find yourself needing to clean. This is when you will realize that there is a lot more to cleaning, even just dusting, than you might have thought before.
For instance, despite how popular they are in commercials and cartoons, feather dusters are one of the worst things that you could use to dust your house with. This is because feathers have no way of actually holding or absorbing the dust. They “work” by dissipating the dust into the air, which doesn’t really help anyone in the end. If you are looking to clean your home and turn it into a dust-free environment, then you are going to want to look for dusting cloths specifically.
Dusting cloths, to put it simply, are cloths that are specifically meant to be as good as possible at dusting without leaving anything behind. Thankfully, you will have a few choices when you go searching for the best dusting cloths.
Best Fabric for Dusting Cloths
To determine what kind of fabric is going to be best for your dusting cloth, you are going to need to do a fair amount of research. There are definitely some types of fabric that work considerably better than others. Typically, fabric that is absorbent is going to be your best bet.
However, with this in mind, you are also going to want to aim for softer cloths. Harder, harsher cloths run the risk of scratching or scuffing your furniture, and nobody wants this to happen either. This means that if you know your furniture is particularly prone to being scratched, you are going to want to pay close attention to the softness and fluffiness of the dusting cloth you plan to use.
This cuts down significantly on the number of options you have. The most common choice you will find is microfiber cloths, although there are plenty of soft cotton blends, electrostatic cloth, and disposable dusting cloths that you can choose from. This leaves you with plenty of variety to find something that works for your particular situation.
Disposable Vs. Washable Cloths for Dusting
Now, you are left with the final decision you have to make before you decide which type of dusting cloth is going to be best for you. You need to decide whether you are more willing to put up with the repeated purchase of disposable cloths, no matter how useful they might be, or if you want to simply take the time out of your day to wash a different dusting cloth.
One type of dusting cloth that is particularly useful is known as electrostatic cloth. As the name might suggest, it helps to attract dust to it through the use of static electricity. While these are incredibly effective, they shouldn’t be used more than once, meaning that you can only get one use out of them. On the other hand, there are washable cloths for you to choose from.
Washable cloths, as you might be able to imagine, include fabrics that you can simply throw into the washing machine when you are done with them. This means that you can get a multitude of uses out of them for years to come, even if they might be slightly more expensive up front. Unless you believe that you will only need to dust your home once, you should almost always go for the washable dust cloths.
Nonetheless, for the occasional situation where you need to dust an area on the go, such as a nasty hotel room, it might be a good idea to keep a pack of disposable dusting cloths on-hand.
The Disposable Dusting Cloth: Electrostatic Cloths
As mentioned earlier, these cloths work by using static electricity to draw the dust (and pet hair) toward the cloth. This makes it incredibly easy to clean off things that are known to be dust magnets, and they are safe to use on most TV screens and monitors. However, there are a few things to note about the disposable cloth.
For one, unlike most dusting cloths, you need to remember not to ever dampen this cloth. Because it works using static electricity, getting water on the cloth is going to weaken the electrostatic charge that it has, essentially making the cloth less useful at what it does. Of course, a few drops of water by mistake should be fine, but you shouldn’t intentionally try to get this cloth wet.
Additionally, these cloths cannot be reused, as the dust and debris tend to stick to the cloth considerably well. Since washing the cloth is out of the question, and there’s no way to remove all of the debris, you will be better off throwing out the disposable cloths when you are done using them.
They make for a wonderful addition to any travel pack, but for home use, you should stick to dusting cloths that you can actually reuse, such as one of the several washable options.
Why Choose Washable Cloths?
There are a few very good reasons why you should make sure that you invest in washable dusting cloths for at-home use. For one, you will be able to get more than your money’s worth out of them, since you will be able to use them more than one time.
Additionally, the quality of the cloth itself is going to be notably better. Because these cloths are meant to stand up to countless washing cycles, they are going to be thicker and more durable than your average cotton rag. This is something that many people who dust regularly can appreciate.
Washable cloths, while they might be slightly more expensive up front, also allow you to get high quality dust cleaning jobs done more frequently than buying packs of disposable cloths would. To put things simply, it is going to be significantly more cost-effective for you to invest in a good set of washable dusting cloths for your at-home use.
You have three main choices to choose from, with the most popular being the microfiber cloth. Other people might prefer to use a flannel cloth, as it has a different texture than microfiber does. There is also a separate option for much larger cloths, if you have large surfaces in your home that need to be dusted off. Out of these options, most people are going to prefer the microfiber cloth, and for good reason.
The Best Dusting Cloth: Microfiber Cloths
Just about anywhere you search, you are going to find that people prefer microfiber cloths for dusting. They are absorbent, they can hold a considerable amount of dust, they are inexpensive, and they are very easy to wash. There is nothing about them that would make them unacceptable for dusting. In fact, more often than not they are soft enough for people not to worry about dusting too vigorously with them.
With microfiber, you can do a basic job dusting things while the cloth is dry. Many people find that this is very efficient. However, if you really want to get a deep cleaning done, you can consider dampening the cloth slightly with a cleaning solution that is compatible with whatever you are cleaning. This versatility is another feature that many people appreciate in microfiber cloths.
There is also another degree of versatility in just how many options you have to choose from. Because microfiber is such a common fabric for dusting cloths, there are many different weaves that have been optimized for particular uses. There are extremely soft and fluffy microfiber cloths that are meant for holding the dust in without scratching anything, and there are flat weave cloths that can handle hard surfaces well.
With as many options as there are to choose from, you will surely find the microfiber cloths that suit your household. Unfortunately, flannel and large cloths do not offer this same type of versatility, so keep this in mind when you are searching for the perfect dusting cloth.
The Other Options: Fleece and Large Cloths
Of course, there is nothing wrong with fleece and large dusting cloths. They simply do not reach the same level of versatility as microfiber cloths do. Flannel can be thought of as a lesser version of microfiber cloth. It will absolutely get the job done, and it will likely do a very good job. You will just have to be extra careful to make sure that the flannel will not scratch the surface that you are dusting off.
Large cloths, depending on the material they are made from, can be incredibly useful if you have large surfaces that you want to dust off quickly. They are much better suited to areas such as a larger dining table, or a flatscreen TV. Large dusting cloths can come in all sorts of different sizes and materials, so you will want to do some searching for something that suits your needs without causing any damage to the surface you are dusting. If you are lucky, you might even find a good microfiber large dusting cloth to use.
Related: Best Dusting Sprays