How to prevent dust at home - Places for People (2024)

There are only a few things in our households that are as relentless as dust. It accumulates on the surfaces, settles in the corners, and intrudes into even the smallest spaces in our homes. Whether it’s the kitchen, living room, or bedroom, dust has the ability to enter every area of your living space, leaving you with no option but to constantly reach for a duster.

But is there a way to prevent dust without spending long hours cleaning and dusting your indoor space?

In today’s blog, we’ve prepared a guide on how to prevent dust in your home, delving into the common causes of dust, exploring its impact on health, and providing practical tips and techniques to help keep it at bay.

Jump to:
Common causes of dust
How to get rid of house dust naturally
Declutter and organise your home
How to prevent dust on shelves
How to reduce dust in bedrooms
Health considerations

Common causes of dust

Dust seems to find every cranny in our homes to settle in, but have you ever wondered where it comes from?

Here are some of the main sources responsible for filling your home with layers of dust:

Outdoor elements can cause dust
Whether you live in a quiet neighbourhood or near a busy road, outdoor elements are commonly one of the biggest sources of dust in your home. From pollen, soil, road dust, or airborne particles from plants and trees, this type of dust can easily enter your home through doors and windows, stick on your shoes and clothes, and even come through the ventilation system, if your home has one.

Dust coming from skin cells
As strange as it sounds, our skin cells are big contributors to dusty homes, as humans shed hundreds of thousands of dead skin cells every day. These cells then accumulate on bedding, furniture, and floors, creating a generous layer of dust over time.

Pet dander can contribute to dust
Whether you live with a cat, a dog, or other pet, our furry friends can produce a significant amount of pet dander, which is not dissimilar to human dead skin cells.

Dust produced by fabric fibres
Fabrics such as clothing, bedding, curtains, and upholstery shed tiny fibres over time, which can become airborne and settle as dust. This is particularly true for fabrics made from natural fibres like cotton and wool. Regular use, washing, and wear and tear can all contribute to the release of these fibres into the indoor environment.

Indoor activities
While you’re walking around your home, cooking dinner, or exercising, all the indoor activities you carry out can stir up dust particles and contribute to their accumulation and spread from room to room.

Dusty DIY projects
And finally, home DIY projects and building work can produce lots of dust. Therefore, make sure to cover your home properly before starting the project and when possible, keep important items closed in cupboards or other storage with doors to prevent them from catching excessive dust.

How to get rid of house dust naturally

There are a whole range of ways to get rid of house dust naturally. By using a selection of effective tools and methods, you can eliminate the majority of dust in your home without the need for harsh chemicals.

Maintain regular cleaning habits
The best solution to get rid of house dust naturally is simply not letting the dust particles accumulate and settle within your home. From regularly hoovering the floor and wiping the surfaces to washing your bedding and curtains, maintaining these habits will help you avoid any major dust build-up and create a healthy, comfortable place to live.

Check out our budget-friendly home cleaning hacks article to help level-up your home cleaning routine, or have a read through our Spring Home Maintenance Checklist blog to make sure your home is ready for the new season.

Use microfibre cloths to reduce dust spread when cleaning
Microfibre cloths can be excellent helpers in the fight against the dust, as they capture and hold onto dust particles without the need for cleaning sprays. The fine fibres create a static charge that attracts dust, making it easier to wipe away. Simply dampen the cloth slightly with water and use it to wipe down surfaces throughout your home.

Discover the power of vinegar when cleaning
Vinegar is a versatile cleaning agent that can help you remove grease and limescale as well as dust. The acidity of the vinegar helps break down dust and dirt, leaving surfaces sparkling clean. To create a vinegar solution, simply mix equal parts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle and use it to clean your countertops, shelves, and furniture.

To give the mixture a more pleasant smell, you can also consider adding a few drops of essential oil, such as lemon or tea tree. However, it’s important to be aware that some essential oils can be very toxic to pets, don’t use them in areas accessible to any pets you have.

Keep your houseplants clean of dust
While houseplants add freshness to your home and can even improve the air quality in your rooms, they can also accumulate a good amount of dust on their leaves. To help your plants thrive and contribute to a healthy environment, make sure you regularly wipe their leaves to remove dust and spray them with water occasionally to help restore their vitality.

Ventilate your home properly to reduce dust accumulation
Proper ventilation is essential for maintaining good indoor air quality and reducing the accumulation of dust, allergens, and pollutants in your home. Effective ventilation helps remove stale air and moisture, allowing fresh outdoor air to circulate throughout your living spaces. You can also find out more about preventing condensation and mould at home, which is another benefit of ventilating your home well. However, make sure to keep your windows closed during strong winds or if there are road works in your area, as these factors can significantly increase the amount of dust in your home.

Declutter and organise your home

A cluttered and disorganised home can make your living space gather more dust and turn cleaning into a more challenging task. However, once you create a neat and well-organised living space, regular cleaning and maintenance can become much easier and smoother.

These are some of the tips to follow when decluttering your home:

• Start with smaller areas and break the process into shorter, more manageable tasks.
• Use smart storage solutions to create a better system in your kitchen, living room, or bedroom. You can read our blog on Clever Kitchen Storage Ideas on Budget to get more inspiration.
• As you declutter each area, sort the items into categories such as keep, donate, sell and discard.
• Clear off flat surfaces to avoid dust build up and make your home feel more airy and spacious.
• Keep similar items stored together to find them easily when needed, for example, dedicate an individual storage for handyman tools, cleaning products or spare shopping bags.
• Once you finish decluttering your home, make sure to return items to where they belong and set aside time each week for a quick tidying session.

How to prevent dust on shelves

Dust that’s building up on the shelves and cupboards is generally one of the biggest pain points in our homes as you don’t tend to notice it until there is a very visible layer. While regular cleaning and dusting is the best way to keep the shelves in a good condition, there are a few more ways to minimise the dust gathering on the surface.

• Minimise loose items on the shelves and instead, put them in baskets, boxes or storage containers to prevent the small surfaces from catching dust and make the cleaning process easier.
• You can also consider using shelf or drawer liners to protect surfaces.
• Be selective about the items you choose to display on open shelves and opt for larger centrepieces that are easier to clean.
• If you have open shelving units or cabinets with doors, consider installing door seals to reduce dust infiltration.

How to reduce dust in bedrooms

As we spend a considerable amount of time in our bedroom every night, it’s no surprise that this space is most prone to catching dust. Coming off your bedding, clothes, and skin, your bedroom can easily become a real dust trap.

To prevent dust from gathering in your bedroom, you can follow some of the tips below:

• Wash your bedding, including sheets, pillow and duvet covers regularly to kill dust mites and remove allergens. The recommended temperature for washing bed linen is between 40 – 60 degrees.
• Vacuum the bedroom floor regularly and follow by using a mop on hard flooring.
• Select furnishings for your bedroom that are easy to clean and less prone to collecting dust.
• Keep surfaces clear of unnecessary items, such as books or cosmetics, to minimise clutter and dust accumulation.
• Make sure your clothes don’t lay loose in the bedroom, but store them in a wardrobe or put them in a dedicated place.

Health considerations

And finally, why is it actually so important to keep our homes free of dust as much as possible? Living in a dusty environment can have a significant impact on our health and wellbeing. In fact, seemingly innocent dust can sometimes trigger flare-ups of serious health conditions such as allergies, asthma, or respiratory issues.

Therefore, make sure to follow a regular tidying and cleaning routine to prevent dust from building up in your home and reducing the overall air quality. Once you manage to tackle the biggest sources of dust in your living spaces, it’s usually much easier to keep on top of dust build-up in the future.