There is more to dusting than just picking up a feather duster and brushing it all over your house. Remember that dust may linger in your furniture, fridge, and walls.
Surprisingly, not many people know how to dust correctly. Even though we regularly clean our homes or offices, most of us still make plenty of mistakes.
Tiny dust can be dangerous to your health when not clean. Fortunately for you, today, we listed the essentials when it comes to dusting.
What comes to your mind when you think of dust? Probably, you think of pollen, dead skin, human and animal hair. But that’s not all.
Dust also contains several toxic chemicals from your furniture, plastic, and machines around your home. When inhaled, these chemicals can significantly affect your health. And the effects of dust are more severe to children.
Because of these reasons, it is necessary to deal with dust appropriately. The good news is, cleaning dust is very easy provided you know how to do it correctly.
How to Dust Properly
Here is a quick guide on how to clean dust. Follow these four steps to get your house clean more efficiently.
Step 1: Gather Essentials in Dusting
Most dusting tools are affordable and accessible in your local store. Include a dusting wand made with a microfiber cloth, a specialized dusting cloth (we will expound more on this below), an air purifier, a vacuum cleaner, and a dust mop in your list.
Step 2: Ensure That You Remove all Items in Your House
When it comes to dusting, there is no shortcut. Set a cleaning schedule. Dust when you have some free time. The first step is to remove dust in all the items. If it’s a sofa, remove the cushions and push them from the wall. Be very thorough.
Step 3: Invest in Dusting Cloths
The thing about rags is that they don’t get rid of dust, they only spread it to another area. Dust is no match for dusting cloths. These are specialized microfiber cloths that attract and hold on to dust. With this, you will capture all the dust and particles that won’t be left lying around.
Step 4: Get to Work
With each item separated, use a dusting cloth to dust everything in your house. Create a sequence so that you don’t leave some parts undusted. During dusting, it is normal for particles to fly around. So make sure to clean the areas surrounding your furniture. A vacuum cleaner can help with this.
5 Useful Tips to Help You in Dusting
- Always dust from the top going down. Clean beginning with the ceiling going downwards ensures dust doesn’t fly into the air and later settles back when done.
- Dust your home at least once a week. We are not talking about deep commercial cleaning in Sydney. However, your house deserves to dusting schedule once a week. To help you with that, you will need plenty of dusting cloths.
- Some force is needed to remove dust from furniture. Light brushing won’t cut it with dust. Rub the surface of the area to create static which attracts dust to the surface.
- Pay a lot of attention to your mini-library. Dust is attracted to books more than it is to any other thing. If you have a bookshelf, you should focus on it when dusting your home.
- Wrap up the dusting process with the floor. If you follow the top-down approach, most of the dust will have accumulated on the floor. You can get rid of it using a vacuum cleaner.
Places That Most People Forget to Dust
Now that you are familiar with the art of dusting your house or office, you must use these tips in cleaning your entire home. Unlike other dirt, dust can find its way into every corner of your home. And some of these areas may not be easy to reach or noticeable.
Failure to clean these areas can cause the dust to spread and make you or your family members sick. To help you avoid such scenarios, here are places that most people forget to dust.
- Bedding and pillows – Yes, you do change your sheets regularly. But are you doing the same for your sleep pillows or beddings? If you are constantly sneezing, dust your pillows and beddings or wash them.
- Underneath and behind furniture – We often pay more attention to the cushions and forget that dust can also settle underneath and behind home furniture.
- The walls – dust loves to cling on walls because most of us rarely clean them, especially if the wall is out of reach. If your walls look flurry, they need dusting as well.
- Inside drawers – When performing a deep clean dusting, always look inside the drawers and dust those well.
- Air filters and vents – Have you ever opened your air vents and seen how much dust piles up in there? If not cleaned, the dust ends up being blown back to your house. We do not want that.
- Plants – Even though plants are living things, they can’t wipe the dust off their leaves. Dusting plants is essential because plants may not be able to photosynthesize, and they may die.
The Importance of a Deep Clean Dusting
For starters, whether you are doing a light or deep clean dusting, stick to the above process. Like regular dusting, deep clean dusting is also necessary. But, it will depend on how prone your home is to dust. So always schedule to give your home a deep clean dusting at least once a month.
Pro tip when dusting: Always be on the lookout for noticeable areas. Places such as behind the bed or on walls are a priority when cleaning.
Dusting may not be the most fun house chore. But just like other chores, it’s something you can’t avoid. A buildup of dust in your home can leave an unsightly mess, and it’s dangerous to your health.
With the above tips, you can now eliminate dust in your home. It is advisable to know how to prevent dust from getting into your house by sealing windows, vents, and doors. You can also get an air purifier to trap dust particles in the air. And leaving your shoes behind can also prevent the entry of dust particles.