how to prevent dust at home

Why is my home so dusty and how to prevent dust at home?

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Do you sometimes wake up sneezing non-stop or you constantly find layers of dust on your skirting, ledge, shelves etc, even though you just cleaned these areas last weekend? 

Good news is that you can take steps to reduce the dust in your home, so you do not need to constantly spend all your time and energy getting rid of the dust in your house. Ain’t nobody got time for this!

This article will cover:

  1. Why is your home so dusty?

  2. What can you do to minimise the dust in your home?

  3. Cleaning checklist that will help you better manage your house chores

Why is your home so dusty?

There may be some factors in your home that are making your home even more dusty than it should be. The factors can either be external factors or internal factors:

Internal Factors

  1. Pets
    • If you own pets such as cats or dogs, chances are that you will constantly see their fur all over the house.

  2. Clutter

    • Your house is cluttered with lots of stuff and all that clutter can attract more dust (as dust will have more surface they can stick on). Also, the added clutter means that you need more time to dust up everything, as compared to a decluttered or minimalist home.

  3. You have one or more of the following items that tend to attract more dust:

    • Carpets or Sofas that are made of material that can easily trap dust and dirt.
      1. Such materials include velvet and corduroy. You can consider using materials that do not trap dust or dirt. Such materials include cow leather or high quality PVC.
      2. The dirt from shoes and pet paws and particles in the air that settle into carpet fibers can be a major contributor to dust in the home. Frequent vacuuming (daily or every other day) can help, as long as you don’t recirculate some of the dust back into the living space while vacuuming.
  4. Open shelves
    1. Open shelves may look great on Pinterest or Instagram but they will also trap lots of dust. I love to look at Open shelves on Pinterest but alas, I need to be practical and hence I opted to minimise the amount of open shelves in my home, because I do not want to have yet another item to constantly clean.

  5. Wicker baskets and furniture

      1. The multiple gaps in wicker baskets and furniture will have a strong tendency of trapping dust. Wicker furniture looks really cute and gives a relaxed vibe, but unfortunately, it is completely not practical if you prioritise having time to do things other than constantly cleaning. 
      2. Loose items like vases – dust can easily get trapped in the opening of the vase and you will need to constantly spend time cleaning all these little dust prone objects.

External Factors

  1. Your home is near a construction site or a busy road

    1. If you stay near a construction site or a busy road, your home will likely attract more dust. I am currently living near a construction site and my my, the dust definitely has an impact on the cleanliness of the house. This is only worsened if the air is still (and the air tends to be quite still at certain points of the year!)

  2. It is summertime

What can you do to minimise the dust in your home?

Even when it feels like it is impossible to reduce the amount of dust in your home, just remember that it is a step-by-step process and you cannot possibly just reduce all the dust in your home within a day. The following points are tips that you will find useful for ensuring that the amount of dust in your home is reduced for good.

  1. Remove or at least minimise the ‘Internal Factors’ items mentioned in point 1e above. 

    • If you own furry pets like cats or dogs, removing all the other items mentioned in point 1e will help minimise the amount of loose fur lying around.

  2. Declutter your space

    1. Read this article to find out how you can declutter your bedroom: https://littlegreennest.com/tidy-room-tidy-mind-tips-to-declutter-your-bedroom/. You can apply the same steps mentioned in this article throughout your home!

  3. Dust your home at least once every week
    1. It is important to not let the dust accumulate. Therefore, you should dust your home at least once a week and not only do it once a month. 
    2. A tip for you to reduce dust effectively is to dust with a damp cloth or mop. This ensures that the dust particles stick to the cloth or mop as you are dusting. You can then dry the surfaces by wiping them with a dry cloth or mop.
  4. Use Salt Lamps.
    1. Himalayan salt lamps are believed to filter dust, mold, mildew and pet dander from indoor air. A plus point is that they are pretty to look at too!
  5. Place purifiers in your home

Air purifiers can help to cleanse and refresh stale air, and gets rid of all the impurities including odours, smoke, dust, and pet fur. Hence, the chances of health issues (caused by indoor pollutants such as dust, which can trigger respiratory infections, neurological problems, or aggravate symptoms in asthma sufferers) are greatly reduced. 

Some examples of purifiers you can place in your home include:

  • If you are on a tight budget: Charcoal bags
    • Charcoal has awesome purifying properties.The porous structure of bamboo charcoal provides countless tiny holes that effectively absorb odours, moisture, and polluted air particles such as formaldehyde, ammonia, and benzene. Be sure to hang charcoal bags all over your home!
  • If you have some extra cash to spare: Electronic purifiers
    • If you can afford it, you should most definitely invest in a quality air purifier. Quality air purifiers help to eliminate several types of indoor air pollutants, keeping us healthy.
    • Here are some great air purifiers that are highly loved by many people:

Cleaning Checklist to help you better manage your house chores

As a busy working homeowner, chances are that you may not have enough time to always ensure that your home is always spick and span, You also want your home to be a place for relaxation, a sanctuary to unwind at after a long day at work. You may also lose track of house hold chores that you have placed on hold and only realise too late that the chore is not done yet. 

I have created a household chores checklist that you can download for free below. Before downloading the free household chores checklist, I recommend that you read this article on how you can simplify and minimise (or should I say maximise) the household chores you need to do, so you have more time to relax and to do what you enjoy. 

Download your very own Chores Checklist!

To help you out, I have created a ‘Chores Checklist’ that you can use, to make sure all your chores get done!

[contact-form-7 id=”3276″ title=”Chores Checklist”]

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