You expect a home to get dirty and dusty with people and pets around, going in and out of the menacing outdoors. But what’s the deal with all the dust on the furniture when you’ve been away for weeks and nary a soul has intruded? It’s a mystery that even science has tried to tackle, but the answer is the same, no matter how undisturbed you home may be.
Most of it comes in from outside. It may be just lurking and slowly settling while you’ve been away, but it is there. Deal with it.
There is just no way you’re going to keep your home dust-free, but you can, as they say on dry summer days, keep the dust down. Make that the AMOUNT of dust down, because dust always settles down until it finds something to rest on, whether it is your floor, the top of your coffee table or above your head along a window frame.
Dust is more than fine dirt, floating around, waiting for a place to rest. It is, and you might not want to ponder the rest of this sentence, dried mud, pet dander, dead skin cells from occupants and visitors, tracked-in soil or mud that dries and becomes airborne, dust mites, parts of decomposing bugs and, well, you get the idea.
The point is that dust is not harmless, even if you don’t see it. It is a health hazard, especially for adults and children with allergies and compromised immune systems.
It takes more than a duster or dust cloth. Dust may come free, but it costs to get rid of it. Special expertise, equipment and materials can make your home as dust-free as humanly possibly, and qualified and trained professional house cleaners have that advantage.
There are microfiber cloths, even electrostatic brands, that actually attract the dust and capture it instead of just spreading it around or sending it airborne once again, seeking another place to settle. There are also microfiber mops, both wet and dry versions, depending on the impact of water on floor surfaces.
Okay, what about the debate over whether dusting or vacuuming comes first? It is probably a matter of preference, again depending on material and equipment and how thorough you are with either process. It is pretty much a given that you use a vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, which will keep a lot of that finer stuff out of the air and off your floors and furniture.
Maintenance and cleaning of equipment and materials is also important. Even microfiber cloths need to be replaced at intervals, depending on how heavily they are used and where they are stored. Vacuums need periodic filter changes and canisters and bags emptied conscientiously.
There is no such condition as dust-free, but you can come close for a healthier home.