No matter how often you wipe off the furniture, dust in your home can accumulate in several different areas. The result is, that it can cause allergies and asthma symptoms to flare up in yourself and your family. Not to mention the fact that dust is just unsightly looking.
Another major problem with having dust in your home is that it harbors microscopic bugs called, "Dust Mites". Dust Mites thrive in warm, dusty, humid areas such as your bed mattress, bed pillow, padded, cloth furniture, and carpeting. They feed on dust which is partially made up of pet and human dander. Therefore, coming in contact with dust mites can also adversely affect anyone who suffers from the symptoms of allergies and asthma.
In order to make your home cleaner, healthier, and more attractive, you should first remove dust from your home. Then, you can take measures to control it so the level of dust is kept down to a minimum.
The first step you should take is to remove any heavy draperies, decorative pillows, stuffed animals, quilts, Venetian blinds, and other collectors of dust from your home. Replace necessities such as draperies with washable curtains, and Venetian blinds with roll down blinds. Wall - to - wall carpeting is notorious for holding dust inside its fibers too. But, if you want to keep it, you should vacuum it often. Hard wood, tile, or linoleum is the best flooring you can have because these materials cannot hold dust.
Then, to start to remove the accumulated dust, do not use a dry cloth or a feather duster to "dust" your wood furniture and other hard, wood surfaces. This only serves to move the dust around in the air. Eventually, the dust and the dust mites that it contains will resettle back on surfaces. Instead, use a clean, soft cloth that is moistened with furniture cleaner to remove dust. The furniture cleaner will trap the dust in the cloth and remove it from your home.
You will also need to vacuum the carpets, cloth furniture, bed mattresses, and fabric lamp shades, in your home. Many upright and canister vacuum cleaners are efficient in sucking up dirt and dust, but the problem is in the storage bags. The thin paper bags allow much of the dust to be blown back out into the air. There are only two types of vacuum cleaners that successfully contain all of the dirt and dust they pick up. One type is a vacuum that uses HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance) filters, and the other one is a canister - type of vacuum that traps dirt and dust in its basin bottom. This method works because its bottom is filled with a couple inches of clean tap water. If you don't currently own one of these vacuums, you might consider purchasing one to help remove more dust from your home.
The next step is to launder bed sheets, pillowcases, mattress covers, blankets and bed covers in hot water with a good detergent. The hot water will help to kill any dust mites that are living in the items. After your bedding is laundered, you should purchase and use plastic covers on your mattress, box spring, and pillows. Remove the covers and re - wash these items on a regular basis to help remove the dust from your home.
You will also need to launder any curtains, throw rugs, cloth doilies, and any other fabrics in your home that are hanging or laying down that can collect dust.
Now, to help keep the amount of dust in your home down to a minimum level, you should vacuum any carpeting often. You should also dust wood furniture weekly with a moistened cloth. Damp mop any hard wood, tile, or linoleum floors on a weekly basis too. And finally, avoid using window fans that bring dust, dirt, and other allergens into your home.
