One of the most frustrating things, as far as home cleaning goes, is the ever recurring dust. It doesn’t seem to matter how often you dust, it’s not long before the dust reappears.
Obviously, where you live affects the amount of dust in your home and if you tend to have your windows open more often, the probability of dust coming in to your home increases.
There are many mechanical solutions to help filter dust from your home, steps that you can and should take to remove dust manually, and other options which you may have never considered as solutions to cutting down on dust in your home.
Air Filtration Systems
Many HVAC manufacturers and installers offer air filtration systems that work in tandem with the rest of your homes heating and cooling system. Whether or not you have an air filtration system, you can’t neglect your furnaces air filter. It is very important to replace your air filter often. Some professionals suggest once per month, while others suggest once per season. The reality is that the amount of dust coming in to your home can fluctuate, so timing the replacement isn’t the best practice. We recommend that you visually check the filter often to ensure it has room to “breath”. If it’s dirty and clogged, replace it. Ultimately replacing the filter means that your system will trap more dust. And while you’re working to cut the amount of dust and allergens in the home you will also increase your systems efficiency.
Dusting Tools
Now that you have your mechanical system working to remove dust from your home, it’s time for you to chip in. Most often we see people using a feather duster, or a micro-fibre duster, or all sorts of dusters and leave it at that. The fact is that even the best dusting tools, including lambs-wool – which is considered the best – won’t remove dust. Dusting tools just tend to push the dust around, generally causing it to float in the air, and ultimately it settles back where it came from. We’re not suggesting that you don’t use a dusting tool. We’re recommending that you use it sparingly – for the hard to reach or out of reach spots in your home.
Manually dusting, with the goal of removing dust from the home is best done as a two stage process. Use one cloth as a “wet” cloth and another as a dry or “buffing” cloth. In this application it’s best to have a high quality microfibre cloth that can trap the dust. Then, using a soluble (preferable environmentally friendly) surface cleaner, spray a small amount on your wet cloth and use that to trap the dust and wipe down surfaces. Then follow it with a dry cloth to ensure that it doesn’t dry streaky.
TIP: Always wipe in one direction, that way the dust is trapped. If you reverse directions, the cloth with release the dust that was already collected.
Many oil-based furniture polishes do a great job of leaving your furniture with a glossy finish, but they also tend to attract dust. We recommend ditching the polishes.
Don’t Sweep
After you’ve knocked all of the dust down, be sure to vacuum the floors, even hardwood, tile and laminate floors. This ensures that any dust pushed to the ground is removed from the room and won’t be kicked up when you walk through the room. Keep in mind, while sweeping is a great way to gather up junk and debris that may have fallen on the floor, it isn’t a useful way to remove dust. In fact if you dust your room, then sweep, you’ll likely have to re-dust.
When you finish dusting, wash your dusting cloths after each use. We find it’s best not to use fabric softener when washing your cleaning cloths. Most fabric softener removes static cling, but static cling on your dusting cloths will help you pick up more dust.
Introduce Live Plants to Your Home
Although Scientists haven’t been able to conclusively explain why it’s so, they have proven that live plants in your home can reduce dust by up to 20%. This can be the most cost effective, and easiest way to reduce dust in your home as well as adding many other benefits.
Keep in mind, unless you have a completely air-tight home without access to the outside, it will be impossible to say good-bye to dust forever, but using these techniques will help reduce the amount of dust in your home, making it healthier for you and your family.