Your home should be a place where you can breathe.
Obvious, right? But in truth, not everyone’s getting good air. People are quietly suffering musty homes thanks to millions of tiny roommates that will never move out.
We’re talking about dust.
You might already know that dust is a combination of dead skin, pet dander, outside dirt, and other internal and external substances. It also contains potentially harmful compounds—a dust particle can harbour around 45 chemicals—that you’re breathing in every day.
And no one likes how it looks, either.
Dust is generally easy to get rid of, but the problem is that it keeps coming back. You’re always tearing books out of shelves, cringing at every windowsill coated with thick, grey fuzz, and thinking, “didn’t I just dust that?”
It’s an epidemic that you’re treating over and over again instead of preventing.
Don’t worry—we have solutions.
Trick #1: Whip up your own dusting spray
Wait, you’ve been dusting without spray? Thank goodness we’re here.
Dry dusting—especially with feather dusters instead of cloth—is like cleaning a wound with Kleenex. You really need the right substance to clean and disinfect surfaces. Otherwise, dust will return minutes after you wipe it off.
One Good Thing gives this DIY formula for dusting spray:
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 2 tsp olive oil (to shine and protect wood)
- 10 – 15 drops of lemon essential oil
Keep in mind that it’s best to use an amber glass bottle, since essential oils can damage plastic bottles.
Trick #2: Treat your bedding better
Tiny adjustments to the weekly cleaning you already do can make a world of a difference. Between washing and re-doing your bedsheets, vacuum your mattress and the bed frame underneath and around it.
It also helps to wash your pillows every four to six weeks—not just the pillowcases! You’d be surprised where dust can end up.
Trick #3: Borrow from the laundry room
It’s great to deep clean your vents. But they, like everything else in the house, keep collecting dust and grime. Vents are also guilty of spreading that dust.
Got dryer sheets? Unfold them and tape them over your vents. This will work as a filter without disrupting your ventilation.
Plus, your house will smell like an Irish meadow (or whatever your fresh laundry smells like).
Trick #4: Love your fans
Try running a finger along your ceiling fan’s blade. All that dust is slipping off the fan’s surface and onto your furniture all day long. A lot of that dust ends up in your carpet, which’ll add more cleaning grief. You start a dust snowstorm every time you turn the thing on.
You can prevent that crazy-thick film of dust using a pillowcase and that handy dusting spray you just made. Spray the inside of the case and place it on top of the fan’s blade, then wipe the blade clean.
Trick #5: Store more, and keep things minimal
Fewer items on your coffee tables, shelves and window sills means fewer things to remove when you’re dusting surfaces. You’ll also have to do less detail dusting, and your space will look less cluttered.
Put shoeboxes to good use as storage for knick-knacks and newspapers that don’t suit the room’s design. Put only your house’s best on display, and the rest will be safe from dust!
Trick #6: Purify the air
If you’ve been thinking about your lung health after all the dust talk, this tip is crucial. Air purifiers breathe in dust particles and pollen, then eject clean air into your home.
This means a lot less dust settles around your house.
They take a bit of work to maintain, but I wouldn’t them count out if your family has specific health concerns that dust can aggravate.
Truth be told, the only way to eliminate dust forever is to get up and leave. But since, you know, you need a place to live, it’s best you try to make peace with dust and integrate dust-busting habits into your home life.
And if you don’t have the time yourself, you can always ask for a hand. There are maid services for a reason!