If you have pets in the house, dusting every day or every few days is best. If not, generally, you can dust once a month in easy-to-reach areas to reduce allergens in the air and maintain cleanliness in the house. It would be best if you did a deep dusting and cleaning every two or three months.
Your house is bound to get dusty from time to time, but it becomes an issue because it attracts mites and makes your house look dirty.
Dust mites are nasty little bugs that live in the dust and thrive off dead skin cells. They can aggravate allergic reactions, which can lead to asthma.
While there may be no guideline on how often you should dust the house, it depends on a few factors, such as:
Foot traffic – Since human skin cells produce dust and the nutrition of dust mites, many people in a house will make a dustier space.
Pets – Unfortunately, your furry friend is also a big contributor to dust through pet dander. They are tiny flecks of skin shed by pets. Since it’s lightweight, it remains in the air for a long time and settles on household items.
Cleaning tools – Although a vacuum cleaner with HEPA filters and air purifiers is a quick way to get rid of dust; these items can also cause dust. Full canisters and filters can cause dust particles to settle on your furniture.
Household habits – Opening windows is a good habit to let in the fresh air; however, it often brings dust inside, especially if you live in a polluted area. Using the same shoes inside and outside also brings dust and grime into your carpets/hard floors.
Type of flooring – Carpets tend to catch more household dust compared to hard floors. It can be hard to notice dust on your carpet by just looking at it.
Heavy winds can also bring a lot of dust into your home.
How Often Does The Average Person Dust Their Home?
Dusting can be a daunting chore, but it has to be done. Hardly dusting your house can make it look dirtier, even if the other chores are done.
Here is a light guideline on how to go about your dusting schedule.
Once A Week/ Daily
Certain items that are easy to reach and are in use every day need a good wipe with a damp cloth.
This includes items such as:
Dining room table
Coffee table
Desk
Chairs
Sofas
Lamps
Side tables
While dust does not settle on all these household surfaces, it’s good to wipe them anyway to get rid of other dirt, such as cup rings and food particles.
Twice A Month
These areas don’t have a lot of traffic. This includes rooms such as hallways, bedrooms, guest rooms, and other spaces that are hardly used.
You can dust these areas and surfaces as well:
Door frames
TVs
Shelving
Ceiling fans
Blinds
Wall decor
Baseboards
Three Times A Year
Items that are hard to reach and rarely used don’t need to be cleaned regularly. These areas are usually tackled in spring cleaning, at the end of summer, or just before the holidays.
Some people dread this because this includes facing the parts of the house that spiders like!
These are:
High shelves
Inside light fixtures
Top of high cupboards
High windows
Curtains
Plants
Crown molding
What Happens If You Don’t Dust Your House?
Dust is made up of different components from indoor and outdoor particles.
When you open your windows and doors, dirt and pollen are bound to fly in, which combines with your hair, pet hair/dander, and dead skin cells. It can also contain little insects too.
Dust also contains fungi and bacteria, among other unhealthy things. By not dusting your house, you’re decreasing the air quality, your house looks unkept, and you’re allowing the dust to build.
This eventually forms a dust bunny, which is a huge hunk of dust.
It causes sickness and can trigger an allergic reaction. While this is not severe, you may experience symptoms such as:
Sneezing
Coughing
Eye irritation
Breathing problems
Sometimes, not dusting your house for long periods can cause hay fever and trigger asthma.
Tips To Dust Properly
Now you know you can’t skip the dusting chore! Here are some methods to get through dusting quickly and properly.
Remove All The Items On The Furniture
Tackle one piece of furniture at a time. Remove all the items before continuing. This may be boring and annoying to do; however, dusting around them will not do you any good! It’s best to take everything off and dust it in one go.
Use A Microfiber Cloth
Microfiber cloths are specialized cloths that attract and hold dust particles on surfaces. They don’t cause the dust to fly around or leave a residue of dust behind.
If the layer of dust is very thick, then you can wipe the surface off with a wet cloth before finishing it off with the microfiber cloth.
Dust Your Items
Don’t forget to dust the items that are kept on your table, side tables, and other furniture. Use a separate dusting cloth for this.
Vacuum/Sweep
When you dust furniture, it can cause dust around the area. You can either attack this by vacuuming or sweeping the dust away.
Taking a cloth and wiping the sides, bottom, and front of your furniture is also a good idea.
Avoid Using Dusters And Duster Sprays
A duster is a great tool for tops of the cupboard and other high places, but it’s not that effective in preventing most household dust.
While some particles stick to the duster, other particles are left to float around in the air and eventually settle on another part of the house.
Dusting sprays are also commonly used in the dusting process; however, these leave a residue on the household surface.
This is not good for certain materials, such as wood.
Dust Blinds With A Sock
Use an old clean sock to dust blinds. Slip it over your hand and use your fingers to get into the small places in the blinds. A lot of dust hides there!
Run A Lint Roller Over Lampshades And Curtains
A lint roller is known for cleaning loose fabric fibers off clothes. It can also be used to remove dust collecting on other fabrics, such as curtains.
How Can I Reduce Dust in The House?
Aside from the normal cleaning over and over, you can take a few measures to reduce the dust that comes into your house.
Have Different Shoes For Indoors And Outdoors
It’s a good habit to take off your shoes before entering the house. About 80% of dust comes through the bottom of your shoes.
This doesn’t mean a big pile of shoes at the door! You can have a shoe rack for your family members or guests to neatly keep them at the door.
This collects mud or drips, so it doesn’t get on your clean floors. You can even have some slippers in a basket, so you or your family members don’t have to go cold.
Humidify The Air In The House
If the air in your house is very dry, there’s a chance you will see more dust. Dry air leads to dry skin, which eventually flakes and contributes to dust.
It also affects your furniture, which can make them crack and flake.
Cool mist diffusers also add humidity to the house. These nifty things also reduce static electricity.
Decrease Clutter
Hoarding objects can collect dust, which leads to more dust in your home. Reduce clutter from the rooms and throw away stuff that you don’t need. Keep your countertops free of things you don’t use every day.
Hang your clothes in the closet and put dirty clothes in the laundry. It’s a good idea to keep closet floors free, so you can easily vacuum them. Don’t forget under the bed, that’s a dust magnet!
Stop Dirt At The Doors
Dirt-trapping door mats allow your guests and family members to wipe their shoes before entering the house. This will reduce the amount of dust brought into the house, even though they are not taking off their shoes.
It would be best to shake the mats outside every week, so you don’t have a build-up of dirt outside. You can also use a vacuum to suck up the dust. Make sure to do both sides and the floor below.
Final Thoughts
So, how often you should dust your house depends on typically how dusty your house is. However, dusting the common household items daily will lessen your chores in the long run!
Hi, my name is Shauna Stone and I love improving my home to make it perfect. Researching new cleaning techniques is one of my favorite things to do - have you ever fallen into the rabbit hole that is cleaning TikToks?
I think my love of cleaning and home pride came from my time at college. I know that college kids are meant to be messy - but some of my roommates were on another level altogether. I don’t even want to recount the images I saw throughout college… *shudder*
A tidy house is a tidy mind, after all, and I cannot get anything done if my house is a mess. I like to think of it as my safe haven, and I don’t want my safe haven to be anything less than perfect!
If you’re like me and want to improve your home through cleaning and DIYs, I hope you’ll love my website. I want to impart my knowledge to anyone who finds cleaning to be as therapeutic as me - enjoy!
