Dusting tips
In April, a reader posted the following question in an open thread on Lifehacker.com:
How do I handle dust in my apartment? I dust everything and 2 days later it’s back to the same level. Is there some magical something or other out there to help me control the dust? I live in the city on a 2nd story apartment. No one above and only carport below. Help!
There are some really terrific answers to the question in the remainder of the comments. If you struggle with dust, I definitely recommend checking out the conversation.
The piece of advice I most agree with is getting rid of carpets. I don’t know what it is about carpets, but they really seem to increase the amount of dust in a place.
Also, check out my article “Dusting in the 21st Century” on RealSimple.com for even more dusting tips.
(pictured is an electrostatic duster)
15 comments posted
Posted by FrightenByPenguins - 05/07/2009
I found wooden floors to be a bigger pain for dusting than carpets to be honest. The constant herds of dust bunnies we had to deal with every time a slight draft blew through the house setting them free from whatever small area of covered floor space they were dwelling just became too much to handle.
Moving to a place with carpets was a relief after that.
Posted by Michele - 05/07/2009
I live in a second-story apartment with front windows that open to a very busy street. Between the sooty air pollution, a cat, a child, and carpets (that for a few reasons I’m not getting rid of right now), I find I have to dust at least twice per month. During pollen season I’ll dust once per week.
I use a sort-of electrostatic duster and start from the top of the room. I don’t do the spiraling thing mentioned in one of the articles there, but I do finish the chore with vacuuming the carpet.
One trick I’ve found is to follow the duster with the hand-held attachment to the vacuum cleaner, pretty much brushing the dust into the vacuum. It’s not as clumsy as it sounds, and it helps keep the dust from just flying into the air, hovering, and then settling back down after I’ve vacuumed the floor.
Posted by gypsy packer - 05/07/2009
Dust with a wet rag, if you can.
Get rid of box springs/foundations–they are dust pits, often stuffed with cotton or polyester lint and the slightest tear in the fabric will generate hordes of dwellings for dust mites.
Use the electrostatic duster, and be certain to dust curtains and all house plants. Wait 15 minutes for the dust you stirred up to settle., and run an electrostatic air cleaner if you have one. At that point, wet dust and mop if you have wood or other floors.
Curtains, cotton quilts (and I love the darned things!) and fabric upholstered furniture all generate dust. Cigarette and other smoking substances produce ashes and dust. Carpet padding deteriorates, mildews, and sheds dust and mildew spores into the air–carpet padding actually uses ground rock for a filler substance!
Vent your dryer outside, or into a water vent kept full with a little chlorine bleach added. Sweats and cotton towels create dust and it will disperse into the rest of your dwelling space.
As a commercial cleaner with dust-mite allergies, a dust-resistant house for me would be furnished with wooden deacon’s bench and chairs with washable cushions, fake or real leather furniture, satin sheets and comforters, the dreaded nylon sheers over premium roller shades, and a platform bed. I’m still looking for winter work clothing in Gore-Tex instead of cotton, and truly want a walk-in closet with a sealed-off door, heat filters to kill dust mites and mildew, and electrostatic filter for dust prevention.
Posted by TL - 05/07/2009
Get your ducts professionally cleaned and get good air filters and change them regularly.
Pulling up your carpet seems expensive, wasteful, and impractical.
Posted by John @ Hard Work Blogging - 05/07/2009
A air ‘purifier’ like the Ionic Breeze help reduce dust. None work as they claim and most turn the wall where plugged in black with the dust and dirt. The black spot would need washed weekly or biweekly but it reduces the amount of dusting needed elsewhere. Also ceiling and box fans seem to attract dust and turn black as well. Two places to wash once a week vs dusting once a ever other week. You decide.
Posted by adora - 05/07/2009
I read that taking shoes off by the entrance and employ a good doormat can cut down dust in the homes by half.
Posted by infmom - 05/07/2009
Microfiber cloths. Can’t praise them enough. Get them in the automotive department and you’ll pay less than half what you’ll pay in the cleaning-supplies department.
Dust adheres to them like nobody’s business and you can just snap them outside to get rid of most of it and start over as often as necessary. They will clean your TV screen, your eyeglasses and your cat. You can toss them in the wash with your towels and they’ll be ready to go again.
(Not kidding about the cat, our 15-yr-old hulk-o-cat has dandruff and after ending up in the ER after a three-person, one-cat melee the one time we tried to bathe him, finding that microfiber cloths do a dandy job of de-flaking cat fur was like manna from heaven.)
Posted by Karolina - 05/07/2009
I second the vacuum cleaner recommendation. I don’t dust any more; I vacuum clean every horizontal surface of the apartment once a week (I live in a studio so it’s easy to do). I have a dyson vacuum with a dusting attachment but I bet any other will work too. It seems to me that it takes out a lot more dust than you could just wipe off with a dry cloth.
Posted by Melissa - 05/07/2009
Dust surfaces and vacuum once a week: wipe down surfaces with Enddust or damp cloth. We do window sills and baseboards regularly as well. Vacuum floors/carpets, then go back over and dry mop hard floors (electrostatic is good). Remember to vacuum fabric furniture and curtains if you have them – rubber squeegee is good for pulling up pet hair etc. on furniture, curtains (we have a special pet one since we have 2 cats) before you vacuum. This might sound like overload but our cats big shedders and use clay-based litter, all of which increases our dust exponentially.
Posted by tammy - 05/07/2009
“I found wooden floors to be a bigger pain for dusting than carpets to be honest. The constant herds of dust bunnies …”
i hate to tell you this, but those same dust bunnies are all over the carpet, and they get beat down into it every time you vacuum. you can’t see them as easily on carpet, but you also don’t get rid of them as thoroughly with carpet.
Posted by Lynne - 05/07/2009
Yes, microfiber cloths are great for dusting. But they should be washed separately. They will retain their dust- grabbing ability longer if you do this. Get about two dozen of them. Start a bag for the used ones and keep adding them until they are all used and ready to launder. Then wash with nothing else. Dry them at a low temperature. Here’s a link that explains further.
http://www.cleanlink.com/cp/ar.....#8211;9279
Posted by Quatrefoil - 05/08/2009
I just don’t dust
. The dust is only a problem for allergies etc if you swish it around, and after 2 months it seems to reach stasis levels. If I do dust (for example, if my mother is coming to visit), it just builds up again within days, so I don’t see the point.
Posted by katie - 05/08/2009
“A air ‘purifier’ like the Ionic Breeze help reduce dust.”
These may be great for dust (I don’t know for sure), but if anyone in your household has asthma, please avoid them. They emit ozone, which can exacerbate asthma.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/asthma/AN00443
HEPA filters are the best option. They are much more expensive, but they also work best.
Carpets are Satan’s floorcoverings. If it were up to me, carpeting would be illegal. (Including the carpets in my own home I can’t afford to replace). Between the offgassing and allergen-retaining properties, they’re just unhealthy.
Posted by twosandalz - 05/10/2009
“I don’t know what it is about carpets, but they really seem to increase the amount of dust in a place.”
Carpets hold on to dust. I tore up worn out carpeting this Winter. It released clouds of dust. We opened all the windows despite the 20 degree temps. The dust getting through the carpet into the pad too, and can work its way back into the carpeting.
@adora — I wouldn’t be surprised that removing shoes at the door dramatically cuts down on dust. I’ve experimented with wearing outside shoes in the house and notice the floors need cleaning a lot more often when I wore shoes inside.
Posted by Dust - 07/13/2009
I have tried numerous “home-made” solutions for cleaning the house and it was a lot of work and extremely time consuming. After all the efforts I called it quit and fired a cleaning agency and was extremely pleased with the results. That is the best an easiest way to have a spotless home.
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