How to Reduce Indoor Dust

Vacuum twice a week. Use a vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA (high-power particulate filter) filter to ensure maximum suction of indoor dust. Vacuum all carpets in your home and focus especially on areas where dust accumulates the most. You can also vacuum the floors. Regular vacuuming will significantly reduce dust build-up under furniture and in corners. After vacuuming, you will notice an immediate difference. ^[2]

• Make sure to change the vacuum cleaner filter regularly.
• Make sure the vacuum cleaner is still working properly. A broken vacuum cleaner just pushes more dirt into the air and causes more serious dust.

Sweep the house every few days. Using a broom or dusting brush to remove dust from unvaccinated floors is another effective way to reduce dust. Regularly sweep areas that tend to accumulate a lot of dust, such as entryways, hallways, and kitchen floors. Empty dust in the trash to prevent dust from flying back into the house.

Regularly clean the floor. Wet mopping is an effective way to help collect dust that is left behind after sweeping. Regular mopping can help reduce dust. If you have not cleaned the house for a long time, the process of cleaning dust and dirt becomes more difficult, even you have to scrub to remove the dust.

Wipe dust with a microfiber cloth. Not all dusters are created equal. If your home has a dust problem, you should look to buy dusters made from microfiber. The duster is designed from microfiber that can catch dust and keep dust inside. Using a regular T-shirt or towel can spread dust around instead of collecting it. Likewise, using a feather duster can help clean furniture, but it can push dust out into the air.

• Use a microfiber towel to dust all dusty surfaces such as fireplaces, desks, wall-mounted tables, etc. Wet wipes help collect dust more effectively than dry towels. So you can wet the towel before dusting non-wood furniture.
• Wash the microfiber towel immediately after dusting to remove all the dust in the towel. However, you should not use fabric softeners when drying the wipes in the dryer; Fabric softeners can reduce the dust holding capacity of towels.

Wash bedding regularly. Bed sheets, blankets, comforters, and pillows are all dusty items that can cause a stuffy nose after you wake up from breathing in dusty air all night. Every time you get in and out of bed, you accidentally push dust into the air. The best solution is to clean the bedding regularly, especially when someone in the family has dry skin or when a pet sleeps in bed.

• Wash sheets and pillowcases once a week if there is a lot of dust in the house.
• Wash blankets and other items in bed every 3-4 weeks.

Smash pillows and rugs once a month. Like bedding, pillows and carpets are also places where dust accumulates over time. Every time you sit on a chair or walk across a carpet, you introduce dust into the air. Every 3 months, you should take pillows and carpets out and bang them hard to reduce dust as much as possible.

• An old broom handle is the ideal carpet and cushion hitter.
• Smash all sides and not just focus on one spot.
• Beat the carpet and cushions continuously until no more dust particles can be seen in the air after each blow.

Wipe the wall from top to bottom. During the general cleaning of the house after a few months, you should use a microfiber cloth to clean the walls, plywood and skirting boards. Start cleaning the top of the wall first, then gradually wipe down the bottom of the wall. This helps to collect all the dust from top to bottom during the cleaning process.

Clean up small decorations. Small decorations, if placed haphazardly in each room, will make dust control more difficult. You should go around the house and remove all unnecessary items that can accumulate dust. This makes the surfaces easier to clean.

• For items you want to keep, you might consider moving to a room you don’t use often in your home. This way, it will be harder for the main room in the house to collect dust.

Get rid of piles of magazines and books. Books and magazines will degrade over time and produce a lot of dust. Piles of magazines and books in the house will create a lot of dust in the air. You should put your books on the shelves as well as regularly bring magazines and paper supplies for recycling. Store paper items you need to use in a plastic bag to reduce dust production in your home.

Limit the use of fabrics in the house. ^[3] Limit home textiles. Blankets, pillows, tablecloths, and cotton home furnishings also contribute to dust generation and dust retention. If you reduce the number of cloth items, you will find the amount of dust in your home will be significantly reduced.

• Instead of buying fabric furniture, you should buy leather or wood furniture. When a piece of old furniture decomposes and produces dust, you should dispose of it immediately.
• Wash blankets and pillows regularly.

Clean out the closet. Each time the cabinet door is opened, small fluctuations in air pressure cause bits of yarn to separate from fabrics and clothing, thereby accumulating on the ground. If the closet is too messy, the ability to clean the cabinet floor during the cleaning process will be greatly limited. A clean cabinet floor makes cleaning easier and prevents dust from accumulating in the closet and flying around.

• Hang clothes neatly instead of piled up or stacked.
• Set aside a place to store shoes instead of tossing them in the bin.
• Vacuum the closet floor regularly to reduce the amount of dust inside.

Store unused clothing in boxes or bags. Clothes not used during the season should be put away rather than left out and waiting until next year. Clothes and fabrics stored in closed containers are less likely to be touched, which in turn results in less dust build-up.

• You should store unused clothing in a transparent box or bag so that it is easy to see where it is inside.
• When dust accumulates on the carrying case, you can easily wipe it away.

Ask everyone to take off their dirty shoes and leave them outside the door. Mud and dirt that follow into the house will eventually contribute to the accumulation of dust as it dries. On rainy and winter days, you might consider asking people to take off their shoes and leave them outside the door. That way, dust from shoes will be compacted into one place for regular cleaning.

Brush your pet regularly . Dog and cat skin and dander can cause dust in the home. Regular brushing of pets is extremely helpful. Brush pets in the bathroom or laundry room rather than on the living room chair or in the bedroom as these areas are more difficult to keep clean. You should also regularly wash your pet’s bedding.

Most of the dust in the house comes from outside. You should use glue to seal cracks around door frames and windows. This also helps reduce electricity bills due to heaters and air conditioners.

Check the fireplace chimney for ash and soot. You may need to hire a chimney cleaner.