Dusting is one of those chores that never seem to end. As soon as you finish, the dust has already started accumulating again. There are many things you can do to make sure your house stays as dust-free as possible.
You might be wondering, does opening the windows reduce dust? The truth is, it will often do the opposite. Opening windows can increase the amount of dust in your home!
Opening your windows allows fresh air to blow in, which can make the space feel fresh. However, it can also let dust to blow in from the outside. Dust is made up of any particles of waste that are small enough to be picked up by the wind. When you open your windows, you allow dust to blow into your home from the outside.
Dust 101
Most dust that originates in your home will consist of the following:
- skin particles from you and any pets you may have,
- hair,
- fibers from clothing, carpets, other textiles
- mites and other insects,
- and mite eggs.
There are many sources of dust that can come from outside your home as well, including:
- dirt/sand
- spores
- air pollution (especially in urban settings)
Leaving windows open can allow these outside contaminants to blow into your living space. Some of them can even contribute to health problems, especially pollen, air pollution, and dirt. So, you want to keep as many pollutants out of your home as possible.
Is Dust Bad?
Aside from being an unsightly mess in your home, there are many other reasons to keep your home dust-free. Dust can cause damage to electronics when it settles inside. In extreme conditions, it can cause overheating, which will damage electronics and could even start a fire.
Even more important is your health. Dust on surfaces can become disturbed and thrown into the air; the airborne dust is then breathed in by the people in your home. This airborne dust causes an increase in allergy and asthma symptoms. It can also contribute to breathing problems and deteriorate the health of your lungs.
Keeping Windows Closed Helps Prevent Dust
Of course, it is enjoyable to open your windows on a sunny day to get some fresh air, especially if you cannot get outside to enjoy the weather. However, keeping your windows closed, when possible, will prevent the wind from blowing dust into your home.
More Ways to Prevent Dust
Air purifiers are one way to cut down on dust; they will filter it out of the air before it has a chance to settle on the surfaces in your home. Amazon has a great selection of air purifiers that can help. Air filters are especially important if you or anyone in your home has allergies or asthma.
Increased filtration for your heating and cooling units can prevent dust from circulating in your house. If your home has central heating or cooling, there will be filters inside of these units through which the air passes. Keep them clean and buy the best replacement filters you can afford.
Avoid carpets as they can hold onto dust, which is then flung into the air when walking on the carpet. Hard surfaces like wood flooring are more manageable to keep clean, cutting down on the dust in your home.
Clean carpets, mats, blankets, duvets, and pillows regularly. Mites thrive inside these items and lay their eggs in them, so the items should be cleaned a minimum of once per week. If you can, take them outside to beat them clean to keep the dust from spreading around your house.
Adhering to a cleaning schedule of at least once per week will stop mite populations from growing too large in these everyday household items.
Keep closets and wardrobes clean. A lot of dust in your home will come from the fibers in your clothing. When you open their doors, these fibers are picked up by the disturbances in the air.
Keep clothes that are hanging in your closest in garment bags to reduce the spread of fibers. Better yet, keep clothes in drawers or plastic bins, if they are not used often. Ziploc storage bags are a great way to store off-season clothing.
Don’t use feather dusters! These classic cleaning tools do a better job of throwing dust around than they do of cleaning it up. Instead, use a microfibre cloth.
Check out this video for more ideas on how to dust-proof your home.
How to Clean Up Dust
There are a few tips you can follow to keep your home as dust-free as possible. As I previously mentioned, feather dusters are not great cleaning tools so, avoid them altogether.
Make sure you have the right tools. Amazon has a great selection of dusting equipment to keep your home clean, including:
- Duster with telescopic handle (don’t forget the refills!)
- Microfibre hand duster
- Microfiber dusting cloths
- Flat mops (for hard-surface flooring)
- Vacuum cleaner (for wall-to-wall carpets)
- Dusting sprays (for furniture or electronics)
Once you have the right tools, you want to make sure you follow proper cleaning procedures. Whenever you are cleaning, you should always start at the top and work your way down.
Dust high surfaces first and work your way down. You want to do it in this order because when you are dusting, some dust will fall from the surface you are cleaning. Eventually, you will have dusted all taller surfaces, and the only thing left will be to clean the floors.
If you start at the bottom, when you finally get to clean the top surfaces, you will now knock dirt and dust down onto the lower surfaces, requiring you to clean them twice!
Use microfibre cloths & dusters to dust your home instead of feather dusters. They trap the dust better than any other option out there.
Take carpets and mats that you can remove, out into the open for cleaning. Taking them outside and beating them will keep dust from flying around inside your home and eventually settling on your surfaces.
Wall-to-wall carpeting can be cleaned with a vacuum. Not all vacuum cleaners are created equal. Make sure you get a high-powered vacuum with a high-quality filter to prevent it from blowing dust around.
Use a flat microfibre mop on floors. These mops are a quick and easy way to clean the last bits of dust up off of your floor. They trap dust particles effectively, and you can then take the microfibre pad off and pop it in the washing machine.
Here are some great tips for dusting your home!
How Often Should I Dust?
To keep dust at a reasonable level, you should dust at least once a week. This schedule works well for most of us who do not suffer from health problems. However, if you have allergies, asthma, or other health concerns affected by dust, you should clean every 2 to 3 days to keep your space healthy.
Another One Bites the Dust
There are many things you can do to cut down on the amount of dust that accumulates in your home, but opening your windows is not one of them. Open them for fresh air when needed; otherwise, close them up to keep dust from blowing in.
