Dust is often caused by pets or furniture that's not been cleaned regularly. If you have a pet, make sure to vacuum and clean their bedding on a regular basis. And if you have any upholstered furniture, be sure to vacuum it regularly as well. Poor ventilation can also cause dust to accumulate over time.
Leaky windows and doors are common culprits in dusty houses. Gaps and cracks around these areas allow outside dust to enter, increasing indoor dust buildup. To address this, it's important to seal and insulate windows and doors properly.
Around 60% of the dust inside your home actually comes from outside*6. Pollen and soil, as well as outdoor pollutants, are carried into your home through your shoes, clothes, and hair. As you'd expect, they also come in through cracks, windows and doors*7.
Reduce or eliminate any fabrics like rugs, carpets, draperies, upholstered furniture. Dust and wipe down all hard surfaces regularly. Sweep and mop floors. Fabrics attract and hold dust particles and odors. Do laundry in a well vented enclosed room and keep lint filter clean.
Skin flakes and mold. Considering the average household collects around 40 pounds of dust per year, that's a lot of food for mites.
"It's mostly made of dead skin cells, dust mites, dead insect particles, soil, pollen, tiny plastic particles, bacteria, hair, and clothing fibers," says Natalie Barrett of Nifty Cleaning Services.
Air purifiers assist in eliminating household dust by helping to clean and purify the air in the home. Dyson's advanced purification machines are engineered with technology that traps dust before it settles on your furniture and floors. Dyson purifiers capture 99.95% of dust and ultrafine particles1.
The Impact of Open Windows on Indoor Air Quality
One study by the University of Arizona found that opening windows increased dust and pollen levels in homes. In addition, the study found that when windows were open, dust and pollen from outside could enter the home and settle on surfaces.
All you need is vinegar, olive oil, and a touch of soap to recreate my grandmother's dust-repellant spray recipe. The coating the spray leaves helps more dust propel off surfaces and onto the floor, which means you'll have to clean those hard to dust places a little less.
There are many potential sources of dust including open windows and doors, pets that shed fur or dander, carpet fibers, clothing, shoes and more. If these are left unchecked, dust can accumulate rapidly.
Test Dust Levels with Our Sampling Kit
LCS Laboratory offers a professional-grade air sampling kit to help homeowners measure dust concentrations in their homes. If you suspect that your house is excessively dusty, our kit provides an easy and reliable way to confirm it.
Health Impacts
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). Dust comes from two sources. First, dirt and dust can be carried in from outside on shoes or blown in through windows and doors.
Duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems. Neither do studies conclusively demonstrate that particle (e.g., dust) levels in homes increase because of dirty air ducts. This is because much of the dirt in air ducts adheres to duct surfaces and does not necessarily enter the living space.
Every house will have air vents, and there are gaps in the closed doors and windows. Dust is so small that it can enter through the gaps. Because there is no human activity, the indoor and outdoor air is relatively stagnant, and the dust from the outside falls on the furniture and the floor.
Should you dust with a damp cloth? We at Castle Keepers find dusting with a plain, slightly damp microfiber cloth the best way to remove dust from the home, much superior to dusting with oils or sprays. “Damp dusting” is also much easier than dry dusting and more effective because it catches more dust.
My FAVE cleaning solution for dusting; 2 cups water, 1/4 cup white cleaning vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil, & 1 drop of Dawn Dish Soap! Shake & spray! This solution repels the dust to the ground rather than sticking to your furniture! Try it out, & thank me later!
Constantly running the fan and filtering the air in your home has huge benefits for the health of your home's inhabitants. 2. Reduced Dust. Running your system on constant fan will run air through your filter more often, reducing the amount of dust your family breathes in your home.
We change our clothes, brush our hair, and fluff our pillows and blankets daily in the bedroom—all spreading settled dust around the room even more. Bedrooms also get dusty because of poor air circulation and high humidity levels.
No matter how clean you keep your home, there will always be a buildup of indoor air pollutants if the windows aren't opened or the space isn't aired regularly. These take on a number of forms, but for all of them, the simplest solution is usually improving ventilation.
There are thousands of portable air purifiers that can help, but the best room air filter for dust is a HEPA filter. Unlike home air filters for an HVAC system, highly efficient HEPA air filters work very well in a standalone air purifier. A HEPA air filter traps 99.97% of particles in the air.
What are the downsides of air purifiers? There aren't a lot of downsides to having an air purifier in your home aside from the financial investment. Many ionizers, especially older models, can generate ozone when they are operating, which is known to exacerbate asthma.
Vacuum Regularly
Many people don't realize that sweeping actually kicks up more dust than it removes. When you're trying to figure out how to reduce dust in your home, you need to pick up the vacuum cleaner. Heavy-traffic areas should be vacuumed two or three times a week.