It can be really hard to keep the dust down in your house. It’s not impossible though! So here are over thirty ideas to help reduce dust in your home.
1) Brush your pets more frequently
Pets are one of the major causes of dust in our home. Not only is their hair a challenge to deal with, but they also have dust caught and hidden on their bodies between their hair.
Especially if you have a very furry pet, you want to be dusting your pet as often as possible to help to get rid of some dust from your home.
2) Ditch the carpet and rugs
Carpets and rugs keep dust hanging around in your house. If you use less or get rid of these totally, you will be providing fewer places for dust to reside in your home.
3) Keep mat at the doorway
A mat at the entrance of your home will save you a lot of headaches. You don’t have to use one with fabric or material that is hard to sanitize.
You can even use a plastic mat just for the sake of being able to dust your shoes before entering your home.
4) Don’t wear the same shoes inside and outside
If you wear the same shoes outdoors and inside of your house, you will simply be carrying the outside right on the inside of your home, which includes a lot of dust. Make sure to have a different pair of shoes to be worn only on the inside if you need or prefer to wear shoes inside your house.
5) Give visitors socks to put on
For those visitors who do not want to go barefooted, give them a pair of socks to wear while at your home. You will be keeping out dust while making your visitors comfortable.
6) Don’t put on shoes until you are ready to leave out when getting ready
While getting ready, you can get your house messed up with dust if you choose to put on your shoes before you are ready to go through the door.
Especially if the bottom of those shoes have dust on them, do wait until you are ready to take your leave before putting of your shoes.
7) Let maintenance guys put shower cap over their shoes
Maintenance guys don’t usually like to take off their shoes. There is an easy fix for that by giving them shower caps to put over their shoes so they don’t take in dust and bacteria on their shoes.
8) Dust more frequently
Of course, this is a part of this list. If you do not dust frequently, you will have a build-up of dust in your home which can make you very ill. So make sure to dust frequently as this is one of the most effective ways to reduce dust in your home.
9) Use mesh doors and windows
If you want to keep windows and doors open, you might want to consider installing mesh windows and doors. This will allow you to get fresh air by opening your windows and doors, but also preventing dust from getting in at the same time.
10) Prevention
Prevention is the best way to help keep away dust in your home. It is best to stick to a daily cleaning routine, so that dust will not pile up day after day. By dusting each day, this will help to keep the dust bunnies away. Prevention is better than cure.
11) Keep Tidy Closets
Clothes tend to carry a lot of dust. This might seems impossible because they are locked away in the closet. Dust travel in the air, so they will gather on anything, that they can cling to.
12) Floor Cleaning
Work situation may cause you to be too busy to give the house a daily cleaning. What you can do, is to try and make a quick sweep each day. Sweep the areas that have the most dust, like the hallways, kitchen floors, and doorways.
13) Vacuuming
Make sure to vacuum every room once per week. Whenever there is a lot of people in the household, you may have to vacuum more than once per week. Vacuum high traffic areas every other day. This will help to reduce the dust population.
14) Changing Bed Linens
Pay attention to your bed. This is where dust likes to accumulate, because of it’s exposure to the open air. Change your bed linens once per week.
Run the comforters and pillows through the dryer to get rid of the dust out of them. It is also advised to beat the mattress. By beating the mattress, you would be shocked to see the amount of dust that comes out of it.
15) Filters
Many people forget all about those filters. If you are one of those people, try to remember to change your filters every three months, or more often. If you need to change them more than once every three months, you may buy the inexpensive disposable ones, which will be much cheaper than the other types of filters.
16) Feather Dusters
These dusters look so pretty and very attractive. You will love to brush away on everything with your feather duster. These dusters can also do a bad job too.
You may wonder why and how. When you dust, all the dust gather on the feathers. So as you walk across the room, the dust drops off the feathers.
17) Microfiber Cloth
Microfiber cloths are made to trap dust and hold it right there. When dusting large surfaces, it is best to wet the cloth first. By doing so, the cloth will hold a large amount of dust. You don’t need to throw the cloth away after dusting. Wash properly and it’s brand new again.
18) Clean From Top to Bottom
Dust will accumulate on your walls. You may not clean your walls weekly, but whenever you decide to clean your walls, start dusting from top to bottom. Never clean from bottom to top. Start cleaning and dusting from the top of the wall, and make your way down to the bottom. Doing it this way will help you to collect the dust, as you dust and clean.
19) Mopping Floor
Whenever you are mopping your floor, wet the mop before you wipe. You should always sweep first, and then mop the floor after with a wet mop. The wet mop will collect all the dust that you may have missed when you sweep the floor.
20) Fireplaces
Always check your fireplace for any cracks or openings. Cracks or openings accumulate a lot of soot and ash, which in turn would be formed into dust. If you are not sure what is happening with your fireplace, get an expert to check on it.
21) Seal All Cracks
Dust will enter your house through any little crack and hole. You may turn a blind eye to your window frames and door jams. But If you check these places, you are might just find some opening or cracks somewhere there. It would be best to seal around these places with caulk. After sealing all theses places, keep a watch on your electricity bills and heating bills for a significant decrease.
22) Thermostat
This tip might sound so funny, but it helps to reduce dust. Whenever you are vacuuming, turn your thermostat to ‘fan on’. This idea will help to filter the dust that settles on surfaces. After you have finish vacuuming, leave the fan running for about 15-20 minutes.
23) Check for Lint
Many times, you may forget to clean the lint in your dryer. This gathers lots and lots of dust. An excessive amount of dust can cause a fire. It depends on the amount of laundry you do each week, but do try to clean the lint at least once per week.
24) Magazines and Books
Homemakers always try to stack a lot of magazines and books in places where visitors will be attracted to them for reading. This might sound like a good way of entertainment.
Books and magazines do accumulate a lot of dust, which will invade your entire house. A good idea to keep down the dust is to recycle regularly. If you have very important leaflets which are very informative, you may place them in plastic bags. This way they will be dust-free.
25) Eat At The Table
This idea will have your mind wondering what eating at the table has to do with dust in the home? By staying at the same place to have all of your meals, it helps to prevent dust from spreading.
Walking around with food causes debris to fall on the floor. This will attract all those cockroaches and other insects too.
26) Check Your Attic
Where can you find more dust than in the attic? Especially if it’s not occupied. There might be leaks with the ductworks in your home. This type of leakage will help to suck all the dust from the attic and distribute it all over the house.
27) Using The Right Vacuum Cleaner
Using the correct vacuum cleaner is very important. Those cleaners that only can suction your carpet is not good enough, as they are not removing the dust. I would suggest that you get a vacuum with a good, powerful agitator brush that can help to sweep the rug and remove the dust.
28) Non – Toxic Chemicals
There are many types of cleaning chemicals in the stores for purchasing. Look out for these two main chemicals, toxic and non – toxic chemicals. The toxic chemical has a lot of toxic acids, which can be harmful to your health. The non-toxic chemicals will help to reduce the amount of airborne toxins that might accumulate in your house and settle on the dust particles. The non-toxic chemical, will not interfere with your health.
29) Plants
A large number of plants can contribute to dust in your house without you really knowing it. One plant that really accumulates a lot of dust is the cactus plant. Also, plants that grow in sandy soft soil can add to the dust population.
29) Underneath Bed
Many times, you may try to turn a blind eye to the dust under your bed. But the dust underneath your bed will grow and make an army. Underneath the bed, is one of the safest places for dust to hide. Try mopping underneath your bed as often as possible
30) Fans
Having a fan or a number of fans in your home can be a good thing. There are different types of fans to help you keep cool, especially when the summer is blazing hot.
The most common ones are portable fans. They come in different sizes, and models. There are also standing fans and table fans. These fans will keep you cool, but they also accommodate a lot of dust in your home. To help reduce the dust in your home, you should wipe them with a clean microfiber cloth sprayed with a household cleaner very often.
31) Refrigerator Top
Have you ever stopped to think about how many times you have cleaned your refrigerator and forget all about the top? This is where some of the dust in your home hide. The next time you happen to clean your refrigerator, try to remember to clean the top of it.
32) Curtains And Drapes
Curtains and drapes can make a home look so beautiful. Many people spend a lot of money especially on their custom made curtains and drapes.
Have you ever thought about how much dust can be hidden in these curtains and drapes? A lot… More than you can imagine. Putting these curtain and drapes in the washing machine, and giving them a spin occasionally will help to reduce the dust in your home.
33) Baseboards
The baseboards in your home can accumulate a lot of dust. Spray some cleaning solution on a wet cloth. Wipe away the dust by running the wet cloth over the baseboards. Doing this regularly will discourage the dust from staying there.
34) Cushions & Pillows
One major source of harboring dust in your house is your pretty cushions and pillows. They may be adding some nice aesthetics to your home. But do remember to wash and clean them regularly. Also, you can do a little quick cleaning by beating them or using a lint roller to eliminate some dust from them.
35) Appliances
If you should notice, appliances tend to get dust on them very easily. The black-colored ones how up the dust quickly. When cleaning or dusting the appliances, make sure to dust in every corner and crevice. Especially the larger appliances. Dust particles like to hide in these places. Dust all the surfaces of the appliances, and also wipe the cords that lead to the outlets. Remember to unplug all appliances before dusting or cleaning.
36) Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans are attached to the ceiling so that they can cool an entire room. These ceiling fans house a lot of dust. All the dust that circulates in the air is gathered on the blades of the fan while spinning.
To clean your ceiling fan, have a step stool ready and cover anything that is below the fan to prevent dust from falling it while cleaning. Wet a paper towel and wipe all the built-up dust off the blades. With a damp cloth, wipe off the remaining dust. Remember to turn off your ceiling fan before cleaning.
37) Vents
You may have a window fan with a vent, and also other vents in the house which work with your air conditioner. These vents gather a lot of dust on them.
If you don’t clean these vents regularly, all the dust from them will be circulated in the house. There will also be a build-up of air in them because they are blocked with so much dust. To remove the dust from the vents, use a vacuum attachment to run over the vents. This will suck out all the dust. Wipe with a damp microfiber cloth. Remove all removable parts, and wash in warm soapy water. Dry properly before replacing them.
38) Air Purifiers
Many people suffer from severe allergies or asthma. If there is a household member who is suffering from these ailments, the dust in the house can help to cause an attack. Air purifiers are very good to have. You may place one in every room. An air purifier will filter the dust that has accumulated, but it doesn’t help to get rid of the dust mites. It will help reduce symptoms from severe allergies or asthma.
Easy steps you can take everyday to reduce dust in and around your house.
Practical Ways To Reduce Dust In Your Home
Instructions
2 Comments
Thank you for sharing I have done some of this but not all again thank you.
Great article! Most of us (especially women) think we know how to clean, and although many of us do know, we often forget those hidden or overlook places where dust accumulates, such as baseboards of curtains. And we also forget sometimes those elements that help reduce dust at home, such as screens or even our shoes (except on rainy days). Thank you for these important points reminding us so many ways to reduce dust to the minimum. Thank you again!!