Reduce Dust in Your Home with This Simple Strategy

Does it seem like the day after you dust, your home doesn’t look like you cleaned at all?

This is a common problem.

Luckily, there are some things you can do to lessen the amount of dust in your home.

But first, you need to understand where the dust in your home is coming from.

Where the dust in your home is coming from

The dust on your shelves and clinging to your TV comes mainly from 2 places:

Outside air
Indoor sources

Let’s look at both of those in a little more detail.

How dust from outside gets inside

We all know the outside air is full of dust, smog and pollen. Those contaminants can make their way into your home through:

Open windows and doors
On clothes and shoes
Air leaks in your home’s exterior
Leaky air ducts

Sources of dust inside your home

The rest of the dust is in your home because it’s created inside your home. In fact, most of it is created by you and your family. As gross as it sounds, much of the dust in your home is dead skin cells.

Other sources of dust in your home include:

Your pets (pet dander, hair, etc.)
Cooking
Fabric fibers from your clothes, carpet, bedding and upholstery
Home remodeling (sanding, cutting, etc.)

Tips for removing and reducing dust

A whole-home approach for removing dust has 2 parts: reducing the amount of dust coming into the home and removing the dust already in the home.

Reducing the dust coming into your home:

Take off your shoes and/or coat at the door
Keep your doors and windows shut whenever possible (of course, if the weather is beautiful, you’ll have to weigh enjoying that weather against not wanting to clean)
Make sure your doors all have good weather stripping around them
Caulk and seal around windows, door frames, electrical outlets and other possible air leaks in the exterior of your home.
Have an air conditioning company check your ducts for leaks and seal them if needed. According to ENERGY STAR, most homes lose 20% to 30% of the air flowing through their ducts. Learn more in our article The Cost of Leaky Ducts.

Removing dust already in your home:

Change your air filters regularly and consider a higher efficiency filter
Consider a HEPA vacuum, which will circulate less dust throughout your home when being used

Coolray is an air conditioning, heating and plumbing company serving the entire metro Atlanta area. For more information, contact us.