It’s not just asthma and allergy sufferers who benefit from minimizing the dust, pollen, and pollutant count in their homes. Clean air is good for all humans and animals alike. The only problem is that dust is a mostly-invisible-foe. With a few home design tweaks, new stick-to-it habits and some cutting-edge technology, you can keep dust at bay.
1. Power of Compound Interest
When it comes to controlling dust, you must adopt the banking principle of compounding. Dust, dry mop or vacuum a problem area every single day and the dust will decrease exponentially!
2. Scrape them Clean!
If you live in a condo, shoe scraper entrance mats come with the territory. If you live in a house, it pays dividends to invest in these dirt-trapping behemoths. Heavy-duty entrance mats will stop mud, slush and sand dead in their tracks.
3. Doormats and Throw Rugs
The second layer of floor protection you need to deter dust’s sneaky ways are machine-washable throw rugs, rag rugs and doormats. Set a phone alarm to make sure you wash these weekly.
4. Reduce Clutter
Knick-knacks and dust go hand in hand. To keep your home dust free, minimize your collection, or keep them in a glass display case. A safe and careful method for dusting collectibles is to run your gardening-gloved fingers over their hard-to-reach nooks and crannies!
5. Adios Red Carpet Treatment!
The thing to know about dust is that it’s lazy – give it somewhere to rest and it’ll never get back up. One of its favourite hangouts is carpet, upholstery and curtains. So it’s best to banish wall-to-wall carpet, stick with leather and faux-leather furniture, and hang machine-washable curtains or invest in blinds.
6. HEPA Vacuum Cleaner
When shopping for a quality vacuum, look for keywords like “true HEPA” and “absolute HEPA”. Stay away from these terms: HEPA-like, HEPA-type, HEPA-style and anti-allergen because their filtration systems aren’t well designed. Don’t like to vacuum? Lucky for you, many robot vacuums have HEPA filters too! Alternately, you can hire a cleaning company to help with heavy-duty vacuum season. Don’t forget to have your air ducts professionally cleaned – more frequently if your family has respiratory issues.
7. HEPA Air Purifier
Once you’ve made as many of these dust-busting changes as possible, then it’s time to invest in a HEPA air purifier. Make sure to do your research starting with Asthma Canada and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s websites. Only buy HEPA products from manufacturers’ whose claims have been scientifically tested.
