-
6 Spots You’re Probably Forgetting to Dust
It’s easy to spot—and clean up—the in-your-face dust that collects on bookshelves and coffee tables. It’s trickier to remove the stealthy dust that collects in places that are harder to reach or just plain hard to remember.
Regardless of where dust likes to gather in your home, getting rid of it all is an important part of healthier living, since ordinary household dust is a crazy cocktail of dirt, allergens and irritants that can hurt your home’s indoor air quality. Read on to discover some of the most popular places dust likes to gather on the sly—and what to do about it.
-
Cabinet ledges
Every time someone in your family opens a cabinet door to grab a glass or can of soup, they are helping to redistribute the dust that collects on cabinet ledges around your kitchen—maybe even landing on your food. Yuck. Give the ledges, nooks and crannies of your kitchen and bathroom cabinetry a good swipe every time you clean.
-
Molding and baseboards
We usually don’t notice the dust piling up on our home’s woodwork until it’s thick enough to catch our eye. Nip that unsightly (and unhealthy) collection of dust in the bud by running a microfiber cloth over your home’s woodwork at least twice a month.
-
Vertical surfaces
Dust can collect on 90-degree angles? You bet it can. Swipe the sides of bookshelves and other furniture every month or two. You’ll be amazed at what you find on your dust cloth.
-
Ceiling fan blades
If you’ve ever turned on a ceiling fan that hasn’t been used for a few months and have been showered by clumps of nasty dirt and grime, you know that fan blades are a hungry collector of household dust. Purchase an extension-rod duster at a home improvement store to give your ceiling fans a thorough once-over monthly.
-
Bathroom exhaust vents
When your bathroom exhaust vents suck out humid air, they can also collect dirt and other icky particles. An easy way to tackle vents is to use the brush attachment on your vacuum. For caked-on dust, remove the vent panel entirely and give it a good soak in soapy water.
-
Blinds
Don’t be blinded by the dust that collects on blinds. If you haven’t tackled your blinds in awhile, remove as much dust as you can with a rubber sponge (also known as a dry sponge) with firm back-and-forth swipes. Or use your vacuum’s brush attachment. Really dirty blinds may need to be removed and soaked in a bathtub filled with soapy water. Give them a good scrubbing, and let them dry thoroughly before rehanging.
Tip: To get proactive about capturing dust in your home’s air, be sure to find—and frequently replace—the best-possible filter for your home. One to consider: the Filtrete™ Micro Allergen Plus 2X Dust Defense Filter, which gives you all the benefits of allergen defense, plus the best dust-holding power of any Filtrete™ Filter. Help improve your indoor air quality with a filter that holds as much dust as 50 dusting wipes!
-
