Do you feel that excessive dust has accumulated in your apartment? Is it causing problems in your daily life?
No one likes to dwell in a dusty apartment. If it seems like your dusting efforts are going to waste and don’t last more than one day, prompt action is the need of the hour.
Instead of letting dust mites take over, identify the source of your dust build-up. By doing so, you can get rid of dust effectively.
What Happens When You Inhale Dust Particles?
Dust does greater damage to your house than you might think – apart from making your apartment look and feel dirty.
Simply put, dust poses a health risk to your family members. Usually, a dust particle’s size and type reveal its toxicity and determine which part of your respiratory tract can be irritated.
You don’t need to fear large dust particles; your mouth and nose trap and flush them out through breathing.
It is the finer dust particles that are dangerous; they are potent enough to find their way into your lungs. Moreover, the ultrafine dust particles penetrate into your bloodstream.
Factors, such as the amount of dust air carries and the time during which you were exposed can also affect your health.
Lower amounts of dust can induce allergic reactions in people suffering from dust allergies.
It’s worth noting that even if you don’t struggle with dust allergy, even then, you could be allergic to certain particles in it.
These include pollen, cockroaches, and pet dander.
A dust allergy can trigger the following symptoms:
- Nasal congestion
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Itchy throat
- Watery eyes
If you believe dust exposure has to lead you to struggle from any of the above-mentioned symptoms, consider getting an appointment with a healthcare expert and find out.
In a nutshell, breathing excessive dust puts your health at risk, even if you don’t have an allergy. So, identify sources of dust.
How Is My Apartment Getting So Much Dust?
The common causes of household dust include the following:
Outdoors
Outdoor dust can find its way to your apartment through wall cracks, windows, and doors. Smoke and soil particles, pollen, and other undesirable particles cause dust to build up in your apartment.
Often, your skin and hair carry dust components and release it in your home. Similarly, your pets or personal items can also collect dust from external sources.
Is your apartment surrounded by trees? This is relevant because trees make your home more conducive for birds.
The feathers of these birds carry large amounts of dust, which is unloaded in your home through open windows.
HVAC System
Air conditioners can contribute heavily to the dust build up in your apartment. A standard air conditioner works by capturing dust particles that are present in the air.
Without regular HVAC maintenance, filters in an air conditioner remain unchanged, which can boost dust pile up in your apartment.
Sometimes, air ducts develop leaks, raising the levels of dust in your apartment. Air conditioners aren’t the only culprits. Poorly maintained or rotting furnaces can also heighten dust growth in your home.
Fibers from Your Stuff
Nearly all of your belongings promote dust buildup in your apartment. This includes clothing, carpets, rags, drapes, curtains, and furnishings. All of them break down over time, taking fibers apart.
These broken down materials go on to accumulate in your apartment and develop different components of dust.
Usually, fibers are left unmoved on a wide range of surfaces. However, disruption can force fibers to float in the air after which they spread throughout your apartment.
Hair and Skin Cells
Not many people are aware of the fact that human bodies cause dust buildup too.
When humans shed skin regularly, skin flakes accumulate on the furniture and carpets. As these surfaces get disturbed, skin cells become airborne.
Shedding hair produces a similar impact as it decomposes into smaller particles and contributes to dust growth.
Keep in mind that personal care products for skin and hair can also flake off. These products comprise nail polish, perfumes, and hair sprays.
Pets
Pets are often associated as one of the primary factors behind the apartment. Like humans, pet dander – flecks of skin they shed – contribute to the dusty atmosphere.
You may not have your own pet, but friends and family can take their pets to your apartment.
Even if they don’t, their clothes can gather dander, which can be left in your apartment.
Pests
Pests, such as rodents and cockroaches go in and out of the apartment while carrying lots of dust on their tiny bodies.
Pests not only leave excretions in your apartment, but their death is also equally problematic.
Their droppings and dead body parts help form up components of dust, causing significant build in your apartment.
Food Debris
You are likely to spill some food during eating in your apartment, especially when you have little kids around. It is important to clean up this mess ASAP.
If you don’t remove or get rid of food debris, then the smaller particles will contribute to the dust accumulation.
Devices That Can Help to Tackle Dust
Are you worried after finding out so many sources of dust?
Fortunately, you can battle dust and keep your apartment dust-free by following the right strategy.
You can also make your job easier by buying the following devices:
Humidifier
A humidifier can help you eliminate dust in an efficient manner. Higher humidity levels help dust settle faster, after which dust appears more noticeable, making it easier to eliminate it.
All you need is a soft and damp napkin and rub it on the relevant surface.
Hygrometer
A hygrometer is a device that helps you control humidity levels.
Increased humidity can cause mold to increase in your apartment, which in turn causes household dust to grow.
Vacuum Cleaner
Vacuum cleaners are also useful for fighting any form of pollution.
Experts recommend getting vacuum cleaners that come with an aqua filter. In this way, you can decrease the number of dust particles from air and surfaces.
Membranes for Windows
These help with preventing outdoor dust to enter your home.
These contemporary devices are quite useful for getting rid of allergens from your apartment.
Air Washing
These devices facilitate by pulling in the air through its built-in filters, eliminating dust in the process.
It is ideal for living spaces where dust is yet to pile up, such as newly renovated premises or new buildings.
Plant Chrolophyte
It assists in minimizing the quantity of dust in your apartment.
Polishes with Antistatic Effect
Although these polishes cannot get rid of dust, they can ensure that dust doesn’t gather easily on furniture.
However, performing wet cleaning with this tool is not advised in an apartment where allergy sufferers dwell.
How to Get Rid of Dust?
It is not possible to completely eliminate dust from your apartment, but you can reduce it to a considerable extent.
As explained before, excessive dust poses a health risk, pollutes the air quality, and makes your home dirtier. Here are some tips that can help you in this regard.
Clean from Top to Bottom
When you start cleaning from the bottom up, it is harder to reduce dust because dust from higher places takes its place after you clean it.
A smarter method is to clean from top to bottom, which makes sure that dust is eliminated effectively.
Change Bedding Every Week
Dead skin, pet dander, dust mites, and other components of dust slowly accumulate in your bed.
Wash your comforter and sheets every week to decrease these pollutants from your apartment.
Dust Your Electronics
Keep your electronics dust-free. It will not only reduce the amount of dust but also help your electronics work better.
Use a Damp Cloth for Dusting
Often, homeowners use a feather duster for removing dust, which releases dust back into the air and it settles somewhere else.
Use furniture polish, surface cleaner, or water to wet a cloth and get started using that. By doing so, you can trap dust, making the surfaces entirely clean.
Don’t Wear Shoes in Your Apartment
Around 60% of the dust comes from the outdoors. You can limit the amount of dust dramatically by enforcing a rule: everyone has to remove shoes before entering your apartment.
Clean Your Floors
If you are renovating your home, go with hardwood floors – they make it more convenient to eliminate dust when compared to other non-carpeted floors.
If you can’t get new floors, then use a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
Final Thoughts
Keeping your apartment dust-free is a tough challenge that needs you to pay daily attention to your home.
The details mentioned above can help you find the primary dust sources in your apartment. As a result, you can take the right steps to get rid of dust in your home.
In case your cleaning efforts become too much to handle on your own, you can contact a professional to rid your house of dust once and for all.
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