We all want to live in a clean house, but don’t want to spend our lives dusting our reclaimed wood furniture or with a duster or vacuum in our hands, so here we look at easy ways to minimise the amount of dust that gets into your home and the best ways to actually get rid of it rather than just moving it around.
4 Easy ways to keep your home dust free
Keeping the house dust-free can feel like a never ending job, don’t you think? No matter how many times you run the vacuum cleaner around or dust a surface there always seems to be a missed bit or even new dust appearing from seemingly nowhere.
Household dust is made up of a variety of minuscule airborne particles that settle on floors and surfaces of your rustic furniture. It’s mostly made up of particles that are bought into the home from outside – dirt carried in on shoes, pollen, soot etc. The rest consists of human skin (gross, right?!), clothes fibres, carpet fluff and things such as pet hair. When you look at it like that, you really don’t want it hanging around your lovely home, especially if you have asthma or allergies.
1. Carpets and textiles
Carpets and rugs are the most guilty of floor coverings for holding on to dust, but dust is also held in many other fabrics, such as scatter cushions, throws on couches, bed throws on your chunky wooden bed frames and also lampshades. These items all need cleaning quite regularly, it is recommended that fitted carpet is steam cleaned every 12 months or so, as well as regular vacuuming, of course. Rugs can be taken out into the fresh air and beaten more regularly to remove dust and any other particles, whilst blankets and cushion covers can be removed and washed either by hand or the washing machine – remember to check washing instructions before doing anything. Another dust and dirt magnate is the doormat! Give it a good vacuum and clean at least once a week as this is where the most dirt will be trapped.
2. Hard flooring
This is definitely the easiest floor covering to keep dust-free. If you want to cut down on the amount of dusting time you spend, replace your carpets with a hard floor. Vacuuming can be very effective as there are no fibres to hold on to particles and any leftover dust will be picked up as and when you mop. It’s also easier to see than on carpeted floor and looks pretty stylish with any type of furniture from a rustic sideboard in the living room to an industrial dining table in your dining space.
3. General cleaning advice
It may sound obvious, but when you clean your room always work from top to bottom. Start with a brush for any cobwebs on the ceiling and the corners of the room, dust higher items like a wooden bookcase first and then work down to lower items of furniture such as a rustic coffee table and finish up by vacuuming the floor – this should ensure you vacuum away as much dust as possible. Every month or so dust rooms that are not used as often, such as the spare bedroom, to save you having to do a more time consuming big clean.
TIP: Furniture polish is not always the best product to use – reclaimed wood furniture and rustic furniture is best when wiped down with a slightly damp cloth, the damp will help to remove the dust rather than spreading it around.
4. Air Purifiers
Air purifiers are a great help when it comes to filtering dust out of the air. They are able to collect all those tiny particles that the eye can’t see and release clean filtered air back into the room. Adding one could be really useful to have in the home for people who suffer from allergies or if you prefer the thought of breathing in purified air. And if it means we don’t have to dust as often, it’s a win from us!
What dusting and cleaning top tips can you share? We’d love to hear what you do in the home to keep it fresh and sparkling. Add a comment below or join us at @modishliving.