How to Dust if you have Allergies | Cleaning Tips & Advice

by Joost Nusselder | Updated on:  December 6, 2020
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When you suffer from allergies, dusting is a major challenge since a tiny speck of dust can trigger an allergic reaction or even an asthma attack.

If you have no choice but to do the cleaning tasks yourself, then you must follow precautionary measures and clean strategically.

In this post, we’ll share the best tips on how to dust when you have allergies.

How to dust your house if you have allergies

You can learn to clean efficiently so that you remove most of the allergens in your home.

Dust Your Home Weekly

The best cleaning tip for allergy sufferers is to clean your home weekly.

There’s nothing like a deep clean to remove allergens such as dust mites, pollen, pet dander, and other debris lurking in your home.

When it comes to allergies, it’s not just the dust that people are allergic to. Dust contains mites, dead skin cells, and other dirt particles, and these all trigger allergies and asthma.

The dust mites are tiny creates that hide in areas with human skin.

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How to strip wire fast

Therefore, they are commonly found on beds, mattresses, pillows, bed sheets, carpets, and upholstered furniture.

Learn more about dust mites and how to get rid of them here.

Pollen is another sneaky allergy trigger.

It stays on clothing and shoes and comes into the home when you open doors and windows. You can remove it when dusting.

Where to Dust & How to do it

Here are the key areas to dust every week.

Dust builds up in all parts of your home, but the following spots are notorious for dust deposits.

Bedroom

Start dusting at the top of the room. This includes the ceiling fan and all light fixtures. Next, move on to the curtains and blinds.

Then, move on to the furniture.

Use a vacuum cleaner with a hand tool to remove the bulk of the dust, then use a microfiber cloth and go over the wood or upholstery.

At this time, you can also use furniture polish.

Wipe down the edges of your bed and vacuum headboards and under the bed to remove all the dust lurking in soft surfaces.

Living Room

Start at the top with ceiling fans and lighting fixtures.

Then move to the windows and be sure to wipe down the blinds, window sills, mantles, and curtains or drapes.

Also read: How to Dust Drapes | Deep, Dry and Steam Cleaning Tips.

In the living room, be sure to dust all horizontal surfaces.

If you have artificial plants, make sure to wipe them down with a damp microfiber cloth as these are huge dust accumulators.

You can also clean real plants with a damp cloth, especially if the plants have large leaves.

Learn more about cleaning plants here: How to Dust Plant Leaves | Complete Guide to Make Your Plants Shine.

Wipe down all wooden furniture and upholstered bits, too, like the sofa and armchairs.

Use a rubber glove to create static and wipe down these surfaces. The static attracts all the dust and hairs. This is a crucial step to take before vacuuming to ensure nothing is left behind.

If you have pets, a static glove is an easy way to remove pet fur.

Now, move on to electronics like TVs and gaming consoles, modems, etc. Dust them with a microfiber cloth or a special dusting glove.

The final step involves cleaning your bookshelf and any books lying around since these gather lots of dust.

First, vacuum the tops of the books and the spines. Then, use a damp cloth and slide about five books out at a time.

Wipe them down to remove all dust particles. Do this at least bi-weekly to ward off allergies.

Dusting Tips if you have Allergies

Here is some useful dusting advice to help you clean efficiently.

Dust Top-Down

When you dust, always work top-down.

So, you start dusting from the top so that the dust falls and settles on the floor, where you can clean it up.

If you dust from the bottom, you are stirring up the dust, and it floats around in the air.

Wear a Protective Face Mask and Gloves

Using a mask is the best way to avoid inhaling dust, which may provoke a serious allergic reaction.

I recommend using a washable mask or choose disposable ones so that they’re always clean and hygienic.

When choosing gloves, skip the latex material and select cotton-lined rubber gloves. The cotton-lined gloves are less likely to cause any irritation.

Use A Damp Microfiber Cloth

Other cloths or dusters work like brooms – they spread the dust around the house and lift it off the floor, which triggers allergies.

A microfiber cloth attracts more dust than cloth, cotton, or paper towel.

For the best dusting results, dampen your microfiber cloth. When it’s damp, it’s much more efficient at picking up mites and other dirt particles.

Wash Dusting Cloths and Mops

There are many types of reusable and washable microfiber cloths and mops.

Not only are these more eco-friendly and low-waste, but they are more hygienic too.

Wash all your microfiber cloths on high heat to ensure that bacteria, fungi, and viruses, as well as dust mites, are destroyed.

See? Dusting doesn’t have to be a mundane task; it’s easy as long as you do it weekly.

That way, you ensure that your home doesn’t accumulate too much dust, making it easier to clean and the air stays breathable.

Read next: 14 best air purifiers reviewed for allergies, smoke, pets & more.

I'm Joost Nusselder, the founder of Tools Doctor, content marketer, and dad. I love trying out new equipment, and together with my team I've been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with tools & crafting tips.