The Cleaning Task You're Probably Doing Way Too Often

Whether you love or hate the task, cleaning your home is undoubtedly essential to your health and well-being. Not only does decluttering your living spaces improve your mental health, but regular cleanings decrease the presence of harmful germs and allergens, while also reducing the likelihood of attracting pests. Some cleaning tasks, such as washing the dishes, must be done daily. Depending on your own cleaning schedule, you might have other items you do every day, as well. However, excessive dusting doesn't need to be one of them.

As a rule of thumb, you should dust your home every week, per North Carolina University's Cooperative Extension. It may also be helpful to focus on high-traffic areas and tackle areas behind bookshelves, furniture, and other small spaces when you have more time. Also, while you might be concerned about your health and be tempted to dust your home every day, it's usually not necessary. You may instead want to focus your time and energies on areas you should clean every day, such as dishes, kitchen counters, and your trash can. It's also important to keep in mind that the once-weekly dusting recommendation is a guideline only. If you notice excessive amounts of dust, in between regular cleanings, it is certainly okay to clean it up.

Weekly dusting is just one step you can take to help control both dust and dust mites in your home. Additionally, the University of Florida Extension recommends washing all bedding once a week, too. You can help further manage dust by washing stuffed animals and pet bedding, as well as vacuuming carpeting, rugs, and upholstery at least once a week, but possibly more in areas of high traffic, such as your living room. You'll also want to avoid common mistakes people make when vacuuming, such as sweeping the device too quickly across your floor, as well as other common dusting mistakes such as using a dry rag and not using a top-to-bottom strategy.

Finally, if you continue seeing dust everywhere despite being strategic with your cleaning habits, it may be time to consider other methods that can help control the problem. Investing in a quality vacuum and dusting tools can help, but you will also need to change out the air filters in your HVAC system to make sure they trap dust effectively. You may also be able to decrease the amount of dust that makes it inside by leaving shoes at the front door.