One of the major chores you probably need to deal with repeatedly around your home is dusting and dealing with unpleasant odours. There is no way around it: dust will accumulate on a daily basis, at various rates. The best thing you can do is slow down the accumulation and develop more effective strategies for dusting around your home.

For the most part, dust is made up of pet hair, skin cells, pollen and dust mites. Does it seem so strange to you then that ignoring your dusting duties can result in unpleasant odours around your place? Doing the best you can to dust effectively and adopting some preventive strategies is the way to go about this problem. The following tips aim to help you with just that.

Removing dust and odours

To deal with dust around your home, you should invest some time to dust at least two times a week. Not only will this keep the place allergy-free, but also keep unpleasant smells from developing.

• Always start from the tallest furniture and work your way down – dusting top shelves and countertops will have dust falling, which is not very pleasant. However, it is the most effective way of dusting, as you can later tackle the dust particles that fall down.
• Use a damp cloth – while feather dusters look pretty, they really aren’t all that effective at their intended use. You are better off using a damp cloth, as it traps the dust and doesn’t allow it to move around.
• You can dust paintwork and wallpaper – to tackle these areas, you should try a dry rubber sponge. If you have glossy paintwork, you can also add a mild dishwashing agent.
• Your vacuum is your best friend – without a decent vacuum cleaner, you can never hope to deal with dust on the rugs and carpet. Needless to say, you can make the most of the task with a vacuum that has a HEPA filter. The best part is that you can also use your vacuum cleaner’s attachments for dust on upholstery and curtains.
• Mop instead of sweeping hard floors – cleaning lifts up the dust and transfers it around. To prevent that, you should use a damp mop to tackle dust on the floor.

Prevention is essential

While dusting deals with the existing problem, prevention can eliminate it altogether.

• Open windows – this improves air purity in your home and is essential for dust prevention and odour removal.
• Change filters – your ventilation, air-conditioning and heating system filters will often get dirty, so it is important to replace them every now and again.
• Steam clean your carpets – this will remove the built-up dust within their fibres.
• Take the rubbish out – don’t wait till the bin is full.
• Change the bedding – doing so once a week reduces the risk of dust mites. Consider a hypoallergenic mattress cover.

Now that you know how to deal with excess dust and odours in your home, you can surely enjoy a cleaner and more comfortable environment there.

© The Maid Home Cleaning