Whether you are spring cleaning or suddenly noticed the bookshelves are a little dusty, there is no worse feeling than itchy eyes and a scratchy throat because some dust is floating in the air. But have you ever noticed that sometimes the more you clean, the more dust seems to fly around?
Most people don’t know how to get rid of dust or how to get rid of dust floating in the air. To get rid of dust, we need to vacuum it up and use the right products to clear off the surface. Sometimes the go-to idea is to use strong chemicals, but this can ruin your furniture in most cases.
If you want to learn how to get rid of dust in your room or your house, this article is for you!
What is the Best Way to Remove Dust?
There is no place that dust can’t reach. How pesky! So, how do we get rid of dust? Well, the first step is to ask why my house is so dusty? That may sound like an insult, but it’s not. Answering this question is the easiest way to figure out how to naturally get rid of house dust.
Reasons Your House May Be Dusty
- Your HVAC unit hasn’t been cleaned, or your AC blows dirty air and debris into your home each time it is turned on. Your vents can also be to blame if you have central air.
- Carpets and fabrics that aren’t cleaned let dirt, debris, and dander wrestle into the fibers. When it’s not carefully taken care of, dust mites occur. This goes for curtains and furniture as well.
- The open windows and doors are letting debris in. This is especially true on breezy days.
These are the most common culprits for having a dusty house. Addressing these with the tips listed below is the best way to keep dust out and care for any that gets in.
Simple Tips To Get You Started
Here are some quick and easy fixes on how to get rid of dust without dusting. It’s more preventative than anything but worth doing as a simple trick to eliminate dust.
- Keep Your windows closed
- Use a doormat and take your shoes off before entering the house
- Regularly maintain your HVAC
- Air purifiers are worth the investment
We will elaborate on each of these in the next few minutes!
Should I Vacuum or Dust First?
The best piece of advice is to clean from top to bottom. The only situation in which it makes sense to vacuum first is if you will do it twice. When you are cleaning from top to bottom, the dust will fall to the floor, and you will need to finish by vacuuming it. So, let’s get started.
What You Need:
- A duster with an extension
- A mop
- A Vacuum
Tackle The Ceiling
The first area to start with is the ceiling. You probably will come across some cobwebs and feel like it looks a new color after dusting it. Most people are surprised to see that you should dust your ceiling at least once a week or, in the worst-case scenario, every other week.
This is where an extension on your Swiffer or duster comes in handy. It’s not a bad idea to use a slightly damp but not wet material to get the dust up thoroughly.
But what if I have a popcorn ceiling?
Popcorn ceilings are a little tricky because you don’t want to take down the material. In this case, you can use a wide vacuum extender and run it over the ceiling to get the dust up.
Baseboards and Walls
You can use the same duster and extension to make the baseboards and walls look fresh again. You may notice dust start to move through the air. The best way to handle this is to have an air purifier running simultaneously. This helps sucks debris and particles out of the air. Make sure it has a clean filter, or else you can break the machine with a lot of debris.
Steps for Wiping Down Baseboards and Walls
- First, use a duster to get some of the original dusting off the walls and baseboards.
- Use a damp cloth that won’t shred when slightly wet to wipe down the surfaces.
- Let air dry.
How to Get Rid of Dust in Furniture
Furniture should come next because the carpet is closest to the ground. The dust from the furniture will likely move to the carpet, so this makes more sense to tackle this area first. Curtains can handle vacuuming, but being mindful of delicate furniture and fabric is important. Sometimes we need to opt for a low setting or hand dusting.
- Extenders
- Something for textiles
- Dust circular brush
- Corner cleaner
- High-power grooming
How to Get Rid of Dust in Carpet
Next, you can move to the carpet and any curtains you have in your home. When wondering how to get rid of dust in bedrooms or rooms that have a lot of fabric, it’s best to pull out your vacuum. Blinds are slightly different from fabric materials because they should be hand-wiped. Fabrics, however, can be done with vacuum extensions.
Run the vacuum over the fabrics extensively. Dust will move and spread initially, so continuing to go over the area to ensure it all gets picked up is essential. Carpets typically can handle a heavier setting from the vacuum and a more extensive extension to get deep into the fibers.
For smaller carpets, you can always shake it out outside first to prevent the dust and debris from flinging around in the air.
What is the Fastest Way to Dust a House?
The above details a thorough dusting. This can take a few hours to go through every room in the house and go from top to bottom. Sometimes, we don’t have time for that, and it’s understandable. So how do we do it quickly?
The most important area to tackle is the carpet if you only have time for a particular area. This is the opposite of working from top to bottom. Here’s why.
- Dust gets kicked up from the ground up and can cause allergies and dust to spread.
- Dust gets on the bottom of our feet and socks, so the more we walk around in it, the more we spread it to other areas.
- The more dust we get onto our socks and clothes, the better our chance of breaking our washing and dryers. When more debris enters, it’s likely to clog the machines.
For these reasons listed above, the best way is to get a vacuum and tackle all of the carpets in the house. If you have hardwood floors, don’t think that you don’t have to do anything. Grab a mob and some natural cleaning solution and wipe down on the floors in the home as well.
When it concerns mopping and dusting hardwood or tile floors, you want to make sure you are constantly ringing out or cleaning the material used to mop the floor. Otherwise, you are just pushing around dirt and debris.
Don’t Wait Till You Start Sneezing
If dust becomes visible to your eye, that’s a sign you have waited too long to do a quick dusting. Debris and particles build up quickly, so it is worth giving it a weekly cleaning. Lives get busy, so, understandably, it is not always possible to dedicate the amount of time it takes to do a full sweep of the home. Twice a month is OK as well!
To get the job done right, you want to ensure you have the right vacuum attachments to get into specific spaces that need attention. You won’t use the same extension for a carpet as you would for a popcorn ceiling.
And finally, you want to use a Swiffer or some sort of duster to lightly dust other areas of the home and get it off your walls and furniture!
