Learn the best dusting hacks to get your home clean and dust-free in no time!
Do you clean your house, only to see dust start to pile up again almost right away?
Dust bunnies are an unwelcome house guest and getting rid of dust for good may be your number one goal.
Having a clean, dust-free house is good for your sanity but it can also be good for your health.
The less dust there is in your home, the better your air quality. Cleaning up a dusty house can help you breathe easier, which is huge if someone in your home has dust allergies or asthma.
So if you’re tired of dust everywhere, you need some dusting hacks to save the day.
Why Your House Is Always Dusty
Ever asked yourself, why is there so much dust in my house?
I used to think this a lot. Because it seemed that no matter how often I cleaned, the dust just never seemed to go away!
It drove me nuts. So I did some research to find out the most common reasons for a dusty home.
Reason #1: Poor quality air filters
Air filters help to trap dust and pet hair as air circulates through your home’s HVAC system. But air filters aren’t all created equally.
Bottom line, using cheaper filters can save you money but it won’t cut down on dust.
Reason #2: Your vacuum cleaner sucks
Carpeting is a dust and pet hair magnet. And while vacuuming daily or every other day can help with getting rid of dust, the quality of your vacuum cleaner matters.
If your vacuum doesn’t have an efficient system for trapping and filtering dust, you could actually end up circulating dust around your house instead of picking it up.
Reason #3: You’re letting dust in without realizing in
Dust has to come from somewhere and if you constantly have a dusty house, your windows and doors could be the culprit.
Kids and pets can track in dust by going in an out but cracks or leaks around windows and doors offer another opportunity for dust to slip in.
Reason #4: You have pets
If you have pets, they need to be bathed and brushed just like us humans.
Letting pet grooming slide (something I’m guilty of in the winter months) can lead to a build-up of pet dander in your home and you guessed it–more dust.
Reason #5: You’re dusting your home the wrong way
Did you know that there’s a right and a wrong way to dust your house?
And if you’re doing it wrong, you’re going to still end up with a dusty house no matter how much effort you put in.
So that’s what I want to help you with today. I’ve rounded up the best dusting hacks to get your house clean fast!
How to Clean a Dusty House: Dusting Hacks That Really Work
Ready to have a dust-free home?
These dusting hacks can help you get the job done faster and more effectively than your old way of cleaning.
1. Dust from high to low
This dusting hack makes perfect sense but I’ll admit I’ve done it backward before.
When it’s time to dust your house, start up high first with the ceilings, ceiling fans, molding and dusty walls. Then work your way down to the furniture, home decor and baseboards.
This way, all the dust ends up on the floor.
And in case you’re wondering should you vacuum or dust first, the answer is always dust first.
2. Let your feet do the dusting
When I first saw these dusting slippers I thought, there’s no way those actually work.
But then I tried them and guess what? They actually do a good job of picking up the dust you’re knocking down by cleaning from top to bottom.
And the best part is, when you’re done you can just toss them in the wash so they’re clean for the next time you need to dust.
3. Use the right kind of dusting cloths
Here is a weird confession: I hate the feel of microfiber cloth.
For whatever reason, touching it freaks me out a little. But it’s absolutely the best type of material to use for dusting.
Why? Because microfiber clothes are made to attract and absorb dust.
After researching different options, I finally settled on these microfiber cloths because they’re soft enough to use on a variety of surfaces and they don’t leave lint behind.
4. Declutter regularly
Decluttering often means there are fewer things for dust to accumulate on.
And surprise, surprise did you know that some of your clutter can actually create dust?
Fabrics–including your clothes, curtains and towels–can shed fibers which all adds to the dust buildup in your home.
Getting in the habit of decluttering is one of my favorite dusting hacks. If you’re not sure where to start with decluttering your home, read these posts next:
100 Things to Declutter Right Now to Make Your Home More Livable
21 Painless Ways to Declutter Your Home When You’re Tired of the Mess
GRAB YOUR FREE DECLUTTERING CHECKLIST IN THE BUSY MOM VAULT!
5. Try tongs for cleaning blinds
Blinds are one of the hardest things to dust in your home, am I right?
The way I used to dust them was really complicated and involved taking them down and washing them in the bathtub. But who has time for that?
So here’s a simple solution.
Grab a pair of tongs and a couple of microfiber cloths. Wrap one cloth around each side of the tongs and secure it with rubber bands.
Voila! You’ve got a simple dusting tool you can use to clean both sides of your blinds in no time.
This is one of the smartest dusting hacks for busy moms.
6. Use a dry mop for dusting
A dry mop can be a super handy dusting tool for cleaning up baseboards and molding along the ceiling.
Using it to swipe along the baseboards can get rid of dust in less time and you can also hit those hard to reach spots near the ceiling and on the walls.
Another dusting hack: Use a dry mop to dust doors.
The interior doors of your home can be dust magnets. You could wipe them down by hand but hitting them with a dry mop is a faster way to get them dust-free.
7. Use a lint roller for furniture and lampshades
Okay, so once upon a time I would actually vacuum my living room furniture. Which took forever.
Since I’m a busy mom, I decided to find a faster dusting hack to pick up dust and pet hair off furniture.
Enter the lint roller.
These things are genius for dusting furniture quickly. And you can also swipe them across your lampshades to pick up the dust that always seems to gather there.
8. Try the pillowcase method for cleaning ceiling fans
If you’ve never heard of this, it’s hands-down one of the most genius dusting hacks ever.
Here’s what you do.
Grab a pillowcase. Slide the open end of your ceiling fan blades all the middle of the fan.
Gripping the pillowcase on the top and bottom of the fan blade, slide it back off.
All the dust that’s collected on the top of the fan blades falls into the pillowcase instead of your floor. Then you just toss the pillowcase in the wash.
It’s a simple and mess-free way to clean a dusty house!
9. Use old socks for dusting hardwood floors
I love using a Swiffer sweeper to clean and dust floors. But buying the replacement clothes every month is a pain and it feels like a waste of money, too.
So you know what I do instead? I round up any old unmatched socks and substitute them for Swiffer pads instead.
Tip: The fuzzier the socks are, the better for picking up dust.
10. Try a paintbrush or makeup brush to dust computers
Dust, hair and other gunk can hide in your computer keyboard. While you could use a canned duster to clean it out, that stuff can be expensive.
A low-cost dusting hack you can try instead is using a paintbrush or makeup brush to swipe out the dust. It’s fast and easy, plus it doesn’t involve breathing in those weird chemicals from the duster can.
11. Seal up air leaks
Windows and doors or leaky HVAC vents are all spots where dust can get in.
Investing a few bucks in some caulk and weather-stripping can help you seal off leaks so the dust has to work harder to invade your home.
12. Use doormats at all of your home’s entry points
Doormats can welcome guests to your home but they’re also a useful way to cut down on dust.
If you’re not using doormats at all yet, then any kind can be a big help in controlling dust. But if you want to invest in one that’s higher quality and does a great job of trapping dust, check out the ones from Hudson Exchange.
These doormats do a stellar job of trapping dust, mud and dirt and no matter how much you walk on it, they still manage to look brand-new.
13. Mist indoor plants instead of watering them
Plants can be natural air purifiers but just like anything else, they can collect dust.
If you normally water the soil of your plants, try misting them with water instead. This can help wash away dust and plants still benefit from being watered.
And if you don’t have any houseplants yet, consider getting some to help clean and purify your home’s air!
14. Invest in higher quality air filters
Repeat after me: I will not cheap out when buying air filters.
I know that it seems a little ridiculous to spend so much money on something that no one in your home even pays attention to.
But making an investment in higher quality HEPA is well worth it if helps you cut down on dust, pet hair and other allergens.
15. Upgrade your vacuum
Your choice of vacuum can make a big difference in how easy it is to keep a dusty house clean.
I’ve tried all sorts of vacuums over the years, from the very cheap ones to the very high-end ones that come with a $600+ price tag.
And honestly, it’s the ones that seem to land right in the middle that work best. If you’re looking for some dust-busting vacuum options, here are a few standout choices:
16. Use vacuum attachments to dust books
We have a lot of books at our house and boy, do the tops of them get dusty.
I could pull every one out and dust them by hand but I just don’t have time for that.
And if you’re the same way, then here’s a neat dusting hack you can use.
Use the skinny vacuum cleaner attachment for cleaning in cracks to suck up the dust. (This probably has an actual name but I have no idea what it is.)
If you’re already vacuuming anyway, it takes just an extra few minutes to dust books and bookshelves this way.
17. Use an air purifier
Air purifiers help to filter out the dust, dirt and other allergens in your home’s air that isn’t trapped by your HVAC filters or your vacuum cleaner.
Having one in your home can help you breathe easier and it can cut way down on the dust.
When it comes to choosing an air purifier, you’ve got lots of options. You can go big with a whole-house air purifier system or get smaller ones for individual rooms in your home.
Whichever one you choose, make sure you get one that uses HEPA filters to weed out the unwanted dust and other particles in the air.
What are your best dusting hacks?
Constantly have to clean a dusty house can drain your time and energy. So using these simple cleaning tips can help you keep a lid on dust.
Do you have one or two amazing dusting hacks to share?
Head to the comments and tell me about it! And of course, don’t forget to pin and share this post!
I also wonder why our apartment gets so dusty all the time! I did notice that decluttering helps with reducing dust, so I try to be more mindful about the stuff we bring into the house. Though I did not know about the air filter and this is something I should look into! Thanks for the tip!
I will not cheap out when buying air filters. There I repeat after you. LOL. This is so true. I know how tempting it is to buy cheap filters but it really sucks. So I’ll always go for better quality.
Same! I learned my lesson about buying cheap filters the hard way. Definitely worth spending the extra money!
Well, Standard/Cheap purifier can not filter odor and gases. A purifier with carbon filter can filter out all the pollutants and allergies. That is the reason behind it, and there is durability.
Nice post with a lot of info I hope my comment will help someone too.
My vacuum cleaner really sucks, just like you have said. That is the problem with cheap china product. No one should cheap out while buying this kind of things that they are going to use on a regular basis. I really appreciate your effort that you’ve put on making this article. I’ll bookmark it.
Nice article with lots of dusting hacks, its really works. Thank you for sharing this.
This is really great guide about how to clean dust from our home? I hope people with follow your advice and will get benefits from them. Thanks and keep posting more tips!!!