How to reduce dust and allergens in your home
To reduce dust and allergens at home, start in the bedroom: wash the bedding in hot water every week and put zippered covers on the mattress and pillows. Then damp-dust instead of dry-dusting, vacuum with a sealed HEPA vacuum, clean the radiators and vents before the heat comes on, and keep shoes at the door.
Dust doesn't go away. You can make less of it settle in the places you breathe.
What is household dust, anyway?
A mix of skin flakes, fabric fibers, pet dander, pollen, soot and street grit, plus the dust mites that feed on the skin flakes. Mites live where it's warm and soft: mattresses, pillows, upholstered furniture and carpet. That's why the bedroom gets attention first.
How do you allergy-proof a bedroom?
You spend every night with your face in the pillow. Start here.
- Wash the bedding weekly. Sheets, pillowcases and the blanket you sleep under, in the hottest water the care tags allow, then a hot dryer.
- Cover the mattress and pillows. Zippered allergen covers put a barrier between you and what lives in the mattress. Wash the covers every couple of months.
- Vacuum the mattress. Use the upholstery tool along the seams and the edges when you change the sheets.
- Cut the dust catchers. Decorative pillows, stacks of books on the nightstand and clothes piled on a chair all hold dust. Fewer of them, or a weekly wipe.
- Keep pets off the bed if anyone in it has allergies.
- Wash the curtains every couple of months, or swap heavy drapes for something washable.
Should you dust wet or dry?
Damp. A feather duster or a dry cloth knocks dust into the air, and it settles again later. A microfiber cloth that's barely damp picks it up and keeps it.
Work top to bottom: ceiling fan blades, light fixtures and the tops of door frames first, then shelves and furniture, then the baseboards, then the floor. Our guide to cleaning baseboards covers the last step before the vacuum.
What kind of vacuum helps with allergies?
One with a sealed system and a HEPA filter, so the dust it picks up stays inside instead of blowing out the exhaust. Empty the canister outdoors or into a bag you tie off, and wash or change the filter on schedule.
Vacuum carpet and rugs once or twice a week, slowly, with overlapping passes. Do the upholstered chairs and couch with the upholstery tool at the same time. On hard floors, follow the vacuum with a damp mop.
Why are radiators part of the job?
A lot of older Philadelphia rowhomes heat with cast-iron radiators, and dust packs into the narrow gaps between the sections all summer. The first cold morning the heat comes on, it warms up and drifts back into the room. Clean them in the fall before the heat starts: wait until they're cold, lay a towel underneath, work a long thin radiator brush down between the sections, and vacuum the towel and the floor. Lift off any radiator cover and vacuum inside it. The same goes for the vent registers in houses with forced air: lift them, wash them, and vacuum the duct opening as far as the hose reaches.
What about the windows and the window unit?
Front windows that face the street collect a gray film of street grit on the sills and in the tracks. Vacuum the tracks with the crevice tool, then wipe them with a damp cloth. Our guide to cleaning inside windows has the full method.
If you use a window air conditioner in the summer, wash or replace its filter before you switch it on for the season, and again every few weeks while it's running. A clogged filter blows dust back out into the room.
What small habits make a difference?
- Shoes off at the door. A mat outside, a mat inside and a shoe rack keep street dust out of the house.
- Change the furnace filter on the schedule the maker sets.
- Keep the humidity moderate. Dust mites like damp air. A dehumidifier in a muggy basement or bedroom helps.
- Air the house on low-pollen days, then close up when pollen is high.
- Groom pets outside or in the bathroom, not on the couch.
Should you book a cleaning for dust and allergies?
Book Deep Cleaning or House Cleaning online, and ask about the rooms and spots that bother you most when you book, then put them in your booking notes.
FAQ
Why is my house so dusty? Dust is a mix of skin flakes, fabric fibers, pet dander, pollen and grit tracked or blown in from outside. A house gets dustier when the windows stay shut, when there's a lot of carpet and fabric, and when dusting is done dry so it just moves around.
How do you get rid of dust mites in a bed? Wash the sheets, pillowcases and blankets every week in the hottest water the care tags allow, and dry them on high. Vacuum the mattress along the seams, and use zippered allergen covers on the mattress and pillows.
Is it better to dust with a wet or dry cloth? A damp microfiber cloth. Dry dusting and feather dusters push dust into the air, where it settles again later. A cloth that's barely damp picks it up and holds it.
How often should you clean to keep allergens down? Wash bedding weekly, vacuum the floors and soft furniture once or twice a week, and damp-dust surfaces weekly. Clean the radiators, vents and window sills at the start of each heating season.
Book a cleaning
Our service area: every Philadelphia neighborhood, plus the Pennsylvania suburbs within about 30 miles of Center City, in Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks and Chester counties. Book online at phillyscleanteam.com/book-now, or call or text (215) 798-7576, 9 AM to 9 PM, every day.
