Let’s talk dusting!
What is dust? What effects can it have on our health? And just how often should you dust your house?
We are here to help!
All of these questions are answered in this post. We also provide you with the necessary guidelines to dust your house the right way.
So, if you haven’t dusted your house recently, you’ll want to make dusting your top cleaning priority after reading this article.
*This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure here.
What Is Dust?
In reality, household dust is made up of substances like human skin cells, clothing fibers, pet hair, dust mite feces, as well as dirt and debris dragged indoors.
Most household dust is made up of dead skin cells, dander, and fabric fibers. However, when your windows are open, and the pollen count is high in the spring and summer, you’ll notice an increase in dust collecting in your house.
Although windows, vents, and doors can let pollen and other contaminants into your home, most dust is generated inside your house. You’ll notice that your house accumulates dust more quickly if you have a pet, children, and a big family.
Why Do You Need to Dust?
There is more than one reason why it’s important to prioritize dusting in your house.
Surfaces might appear dingy and unclean when they are covered in dust. In fact, dust can harm and scrape household surfaces. Many people are also affected by allergies and lung issues caused by dust. Regularly dusting can protect family members and the surfaces in our homes.
Health Effects of Dust.
Dust can be potentially harmful to your health, especially if you have allergies. Dusting can also lead to breathing problems.
If you already have underlying respiratory conditions like asthma, dust can have a number of negative impacts on your body and health.
The typical allergic responses to pollen, such as sneezing and itchy eyes, are brought on by dust. Although having dust in your house doesn’t cause asthma, it aggravates the condition. Additionally, it might exacerbate the signs and symptoms of lung and breathing conditions like emphysema.
What’s more, dust exposure over a lengthy period of time might cause respiratory problems and possibly bronchitis. SO your own health in this area should help determine how often should you dust.
Not Dusting Makes Your House Look Dirty.
Regular dusting gives you peace of mind knowing that you are living in a dust-free environment. Additionally, a tidy house gives you and your family a relaxing space to decompress and looks and feels better.
As a general rule, make sure you pay close attention to difficult-to-reach areas like the windowsill and the tops of ceiling fan blades. Remember to vacuum your upholstery if you have pets because pet dander tends to spread more quickly.
Dusting, in the opinion of experts, prevents dust accumulation in your home, which simplifies daily tasks like cleaning.
Does Dusting Make More Dust?
No, dusting does not make more dust; but cleaning with typical rags or dusters will just scatter dust around back into the air. When you dust, try to use a damp cloth; this will help the dust settle and stick to the cloth, which will prevent it from getting airborne and spreading.
You can use fluffy feather dusters to reach high places like ceilings, fans, blinds, and unreachable lights. After dusting, just wait about 15-20 minutes for the dust to settle on lower surfaces and then dust as usual. You can also use a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment to de-dust the difficult-to-reach areas.
Take note that dust builds up faster on recently wiped-down surfaces because a clean surface makes the dust build up more visible to the eyes.
How to Dust
Like with any other cleaning task, we’ll need the right tools and cleaning products for the job. To de-dust your home, you’ll need a soft clean microfiber cloth or microfiber gloves to wipe down the surface.
You don’t want to use harsh chemicals that could damage the surface you are trying to clean. Dampen the cloth/glove with water for dusting. This will trap the dust and will prevent it from circulating again.
The first rule for dusting is to clean from top to bottom. So if you are getting rid of the cobwebs and dust on the ceiling fan and ceiling, do that first. This is what I use to reach my ceiling fans, it works like a charm! Then, wait a moment to let the dust settle, and then use microfiber cloths to dust them up. Vacuuming the floors should be done last, after all of the dust settles.
Because dust frequently combines with other pollutants, like food particles, it can be more challenging to remove. This is most likely in the bathroom and kitchen. The dust becomes caked onto the surfaces due to grease and moisture, making removal more difficult.
This is what we like to call grust. You may notice a mixture of grease and dust near your stove, in your range hood, and occasionally on the backsplash. To get rid of the grust, you’ll need to use some elbow grease, a degreaser, and perhaps a scrubber.
As an alternative, you could get a professional to finish the task!
How to Dust for Allergies
Pay extra special attention to dusting if you have allergies. There are a few things that you can do to prevent or minimize an allergic reaction.
You want to get rid of the dust, not just shuffle it about. You’ll also want good air circulation and better air quality by reducing the number of dust particles that you breath in.
Open windows and doors and turn on a fan facing one of those open spaces. As you clean, the fans will help blow the dust outdoors, allowing you to breathe more easily.
You may always turn on your furnace’s fan and let the furnace filter trap some of the dust in the air if the weather outside prevents you from airing out the house while dusting (whether that’s because it’s freezing outdoors or because it’s peak pollen season).
How to Clean Sticky Dust
When the dust settles, it starts to absorb moisture from the air surrounding it. If it’s not removed, the dust will eventually start to stick to the surface where it first landed. To get rid of this kind of dust, you should clean it using an all-purpose cleaner and a moist towel or microfiber cloth.
How Often Should You Dust?
A few factors contribute to the amount of dust in your home, such as where you live, how often you open your windows, the time of year, and how many pets you have at home. These factors all determine how frequently we need to dust off surfaces in our homes.
Where Do You Live?
Dry climates like the Arizona desert tend to accumulate dust more than humid ones, like a rainy Oregon forest. Therefore, if you reside somewhere with low humidity, you should dust more frequently.
You should try to dust once a week if you reside in a dusty area.
Do You Have Pets?
If you own a pet, you will need to dust more frequently than if you don’t. This is because pet dander generates dust. Pet Dander is primarily composed of combining dead skin and hair particles and can also attract dust mites that feed on the dander. This is significantly grosser that just dirt dust.
Other Factors
Other factors that will help to determine how often you should dust are:
Every 2 Weeks Is Fine.
Dusting every two weeks is a good frame of reference to work from. In most cases, this will be enough to maintain the dust build-up in your home.
However, if you live in a small living space, like an apartment, have allergies, live in a dusty area, have pets, or if it’s pollen season, you might have to up your dusting schedule to once a week.
Dust the More Difficult Areas Less Often.
It’s only necessary to dust out-of-the-way areas or difficult-to-reach areas, like door frames, ceilings, corners, and high shelves, every three to six months. You can use a feather duster to clean these areas and allow the particles to fall to the floor or lower surfaces before cleaning them up.
Make A Plan
The best way to ensure that you stay on top of things is to make a dusting schedule and then stick to it. Plan out what surface you want to clean regularly, like furniture, countertops, etc.
Also, decide what surfaces do not require frequent dusting, like ceilings, high ledges, fans, on top of the fridge, etc. decide whether you need to dust weekly or bi-weekly (depending on the factors that we’ve discussed above). And also determine how frequently you’ll want to clean the out-of-the-way areas.
Maintaining a regular cleaning schedule is one of the best ways to bring your A-game to any cleaning task.
The Bottom Line
Dusting can seem like one of the least important cleaning tasks when compared to dishes, laundry, and scrubbing the toilets. However, it’s actually quite important to dust on a regular basis.
Not only will your house be clean and more inviting to friends and family, but you’ll also reduce the chances of getting an allergy attack and other health issues related to dust, like asthma.
Hopefully, after reading this article, we’ve convinced you to prioritize dusting in your cleaning schedule.
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Happy cleaning!
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