Dust accumulation in your home is a product of airflow, either because too much dirty, dust-filled air is floating around your home or because not enough air is spreading through the home, allowing dust to settle.
Additionally, outside dust is a major contributor to indoor dust. It finds its way into your home through unsealed windows and doors. Shoes, clothing, and pet paws can also bring in sand, gravel, and soil that contribute to further buildup.
If you're struggling to control all the dust in your home, you're not alone. Homes can get dusty quickly, and a dusty home is often not a reflection of your cleaning habits. Rather, a dusty home is often due to other factors like old filters, shedding pets, and even drafty windows.
The short answer is yes, most air purifiers on the market are designed to remove large dust particles from the air. Many feature mechanical filtration, which is a method of capturing pollutants on filters. Either the particles are meant to stick to the filter or be trapped within the filter fibers.
Textiles generate a lot of dust.
“Some rooms may have a tendency to collect more dust due to the contents of the room. Bedrooms are often heavy on things like curtains, rugs, throw pillows, plush chairs and even stuffed animals, ” said Mariliee Nelson, the co-founder of cleaning company Branch Basics.
In order to keep your home's air quality top notch, you should be dusting at least every other week, if not weekly.
Exactly where these particles come from depends on the home. Unfortunately, keeping your windows open will not reduce the amount of dust in your home; in fact, doing this could increase it.
A mild case may cause an occasional runny nose, watery eyes and sneezing. In severe cases, the condition is ongoing, resulting in persistent sneezing, cough, congestion, facial pressure or even a severe asthma attack. People with asthma who are sensitive to dust mites face an increased risk of asthma attacks.
Dry vacuuming doesn't pick up dust mites. Consider steam cleaning carpets when possible. In addition to cleaning the carpet, the heat of the steam kills dust mites. You can buy chemicals (ascaricides) that kill dust mites and that you can use on carpeting and furniture.
Q: What is the difference between dust and dust mites? A: Dust is made up of many different particles, a variety of which can cause allergies. The dust mite is much smaller and can leave behind more than 100,000 of its waste particles in a gram of dust, making it a main cause of allergy symptoms.
House dust mites are translucent to white in color and have been described as “globular” in shape [3]. Although young bed bugs (called nymphs) are translucent to yellow before they have fed, once they have a blood meal they are red.
Even in closed-up homes, it will still settle from the indoor atmosphere, leak from the ceiling cornices and attic spaces, and seep into your living areas through cracks around windows and doors. Any particles of dirt, smoke, fibres or crushed materials that go into the air eventually come down as dust.
Use fans to improve air flow
Even without an open window, fans can improve air flow. Point fans away from people. Pointing fans toward people can blow contaminated air directly at them. Use ceiling fans to help improve air flow in the home whether or not windows are open.
Once again simply keeping a window open for a few hours a day can help reduce the build-up of mould and nullify the health risks associated with this. Better ventilation also has a number of secondary benefits aside from health. It can reduce your energy costs in summer and help get rid of bad odours in your home.
Dust before vacuuming
We recommend dusting before vacuuming, this is because dust particles usually get moved around the room when you dust, meaning all your hard work will go to waste. A top tip is to wait at least 2 hours after dusting to get the vacuum out.
Exposure to dust inside homes can have adverse health outcomes, such as respiratory problems, asthma, allergic reactions, and lead poisoning (if the dust contains lead).
Our recommendation to keep dust out of your home is to give it a good dusting/cleaning at least once per month for easy-to-reach areas, like your ceiling fan and upholstery. Tackle more difficult spots every three to six months, like high windows and ceilings, small items like picture frames, and shelves.
Dust can include components of particulate matter that contain harmful chemicals, phthalates, and flame retardants. Exposure to these substances has been linked to asthma, cancer, and reproductive problems.
Increased moisture in your indoor air soaks the airborne dust particles, making them heavier and unable to stay suspended. While humidifiers don't get rid of dust, they do reduce the amount that remains airborne in your home.
Rugs and carpets act like dust collectors that attract dust, and allow them to accumulate in and around your room. Dust mites also thrive in carpets where the fibers can provide them with the perfect hiding spots during your cleaning and vacuuming sessions.
Dust from vents affects the air quality. This can be a major concern if your house has people with allergies and breathing-related conditions like asthma and bronchitis.
But if you never exchange the air inside your home for fresh air, it can get stale and potentially lead to health issues. Have you ever heard of sick building syndrome, or SBS for short? That's when you spend a lot of time inside a space that is tightly sealed and with little ventilation.
Diatomaceous earth is a natural fine powder made from silica rock that you can sprinkle on surfaces where dust mites live (beds, pet beds, furniture, carpets...) to kill them. It works by piercing their exoskeleton as they pass through it, which will kill them instantly.
You can pick up an inexpensive microscope from any store that sells toys, a hobby store, or a thrift store and use it to discover whether your home has dust mites. First, you need to gather a sample of dust. Some of the best places to do this include: Bedding, including pillow and duvet.