How do you manage dust?

Hey Shoshana!

First of all, make sure to change your linen frequently, they're dust traps!

And, if you have rugs or carpets- consistent vacuuming is a must!

When you're cleaning the other surfaces of your home- make sure that you're capturing and removing the dust, not just spreading it around. You're going to want to use a damp rag or disposable cloths in the place of feather dusters and dry rags/cloths.

Try not to over-vacuum either because it whips around your dust.

Also, clothing shed a lot of dust and fibers, if you store your shoes and folded clothes within other containers ( plastic or the like) then you can reduce the spread of dust

In general, try not to let piles of anything build up because they're class A dust traps

Good luck!!

Depending on where you live, Shoshana, your apt. might be quite dry in these winter months. Get a good humidifier that you clean regularly (to avoid other allergens possibly emitting) that will help keep dust down by adding moisture to the air in your space.

Like said above, don't let the dust fly around. Every morning I "fly" around with my swiffer, so it stays dust-clean. Maybe you are living next to a big road? That makes a lot of dust. I used to live next to a railroad track. Oh my, the dust a passing train is lifting up! Long-haired carpets are dust gardeners : better choose one of those bamboo carpets. Do not iron in your living- or bedroom if possible.

Swiffer is you best mate I guess.

You need to get an air purifier for your home. These machines can eliminate up to 99 percent of the dust that floats around in the air. They're not hugely expensive. If Hometalk will let me, here is a link:

http://www.airpurifiers.com/pages/air-purifiers-for-dust-in-the-home

Thanks for all the tips everyone!

I use old ceramic flower dish garden pots as water containers and place them in front of the heat vents (my vents are in the wall). Keeps rooms humidified. You will be surprised how much water disappears in one day. Have also heard of people removing a heat vent, putting cheesecloth on the vent and screwing vent back into original opening. This method is supposed to act as a filter. Anything is worth a try.

I use a room purifier and they really do work. Got mine at Home Depot. Must clean filter often if a lot of dust!!!

I cleaned house for a lady with allergies several years ago. Once a week I dusted down her house. She always had me put about a teaspoon of Lysol liquid cleaner in a gallon of water and use a soft wet rag to "dust" her house. I would wring the rag out in the water until it was just damp not dripping wet and wash down everything even wood furniture. Her house always looked so clean and smelled nice and clean also.

I also read that if you remove your shoes as you enter your house, it prevents you from tracking in dirt, pollen, and other allergens. I have a boot tray right by my front door.

Make sure you have a carpet outside of entrance and inside as well then wash every week. Have you vacuumed your vents? I also use vent dust catchers. Is there anyway to see if owner changes furnace vents and what quality they are? You may find that it's an issue. But vacuum vents once a well after you dust with damp towel to not ruin wood furniture. Then vacuum even floors that don't have carpet. I use this Libbey cleaner that one side is for dirty floor other side is for washing floor with just water. You just rinse it out as you use it. No soap or other products can be used because you'll damage the head and it has velcro so easy on and off. Since you rinse it out until clean you can use the dry porting in the middle of the week and it's great. Highly recommend this product. Only downfall is you have to use broom and dust pan to pick up the dirt. Then I use a wet paper towel to make sure that I got it all. That's for the inbetween cleaning. Remember though that you can't wash wood floors too often. It has a large head so it goes by quickly then clean and let dry until your big cleaning day. We all have allergies in my family and this helps.

Perhaps the filters on your furnace and air conditioner need to be changed.

If you change out our A/C filters at least every 3 months, that should help with a lot of the dust problem.

Is the paint on your walls a 'flat' paint? Some contractors that paint apartments use cheap white construction paint. It turns chalky very quickly and causes ALOT of 'dust'. If you have flat paint on your walls, dust your walls...a lot. I've had this happen.

Most of my Dust comes from our heat/cool system and after reading these comments I think I'll get an air purifier. I used to work for an allergist and they always recommend damp dusting, using water, furniture sprays and waxes. I always vacuum my furniture. Never use feather dusters, etc, as this just stirs up the dust. You're trying to get the dust out of your home. Water filter vacuums don't allow the dust to escape the machine, as do most other vacuums.

Great tips everyone! Super fun to read all the comments.

I change my heating/cooling filters monthly. I buy a mid-range filter. I also use a filter charger spray that makes the filter surface tacky to trap small dust particles, just by spraying the surface of the filter.

Use an air purifier. It effectively grabs dust from the air, preventing accumulate in the room. I recommend an air purifier with True Hepa Filter because it can capture particles up to 0.3 microns. Here https://homeairadvisor.com/best-air-purifier-for-dust-removal/ is the list of the best.