Is there a trick to keeping dust at bay?

[mumat39]

Just that really. We have carpets and curtains in the house and can't get rid of those as it's too expensive.

When I dust, a few minutes later I can seem more gathering where I've just wiped. I use a damp cloth and no sprays or cleaners, just plain water.

I have tried dusting and then hoovering and also hoovering and then dusting but the dust always comes back.

I'm guessing the answer is to dust and hoover more but is there another way of reducing the amount?

Many Thanks in advance.

a better vac, with a Hepa filter. Miele are much better at dust collection than, for example, Dysons.

You could also get an Ionising Air Purifier, branded Lloyds or Allergan. They generate a sort of static charge that makes the dust particles clump together and fall out of the air (you might not believe me, but it's true). Rather like the way dust sticks to a TV screen.

For the first month or so they leave a black dust shadow on the table or floor where they stand, or the adjacent wall, so put it on a surface that can be easily wet-cleaned. After a while, the dust load reduces. They do have a small filter than can be removed and washed as well.

You can often get them second-hand on fleabay, but some chemists and mail-order co's sell them. They are popular with athsma sufferers as they reduce dust and pollen. We have several, and they really do work.

the fan is like the one in a computer, and almost silent, and the electricity usage is tiny.

Check on the section that does athsma topics, wherever that is, probably people on there will know about them.

I don't know if it's connected but I find my house is much more dusty when I haven't opened the windows in a while.
Sometimes on a windy day I open all the windows in the house wide open for an hour or so. It makes everything so much fresher!

The last house we had had artex ceilings, they were not painted and the dust was everywhere. They were white plaster.

This house has normal ceilings that are painted and we get hardly any dust at all, I vacuum dust and the vacuum has cloth bags which I think filter out particles better than my old bagless one did.

Also the drive is painted cobbles and you dont bring in as much dirt off it.

Thanks Piglet. I used to have an ioniser a long time ago and I remember the dark stuff gathering near it. Can I just ask, if it grabs particles from the air, which then fall out of the air, then is it still creating dust?

I can see that that would be a good way to clean the air so might look into getting one, esp as the one you linked to isn't overly expensive. I think that might help with my hayfever which is mad at the moment. Thanks for your reply:)

GetThee, we also try and open windows as much as possible. The ones in the bedroom are always open but that doesn't seem to make that much difference to the dust. In our kitchen diner we have laminate floors and If I vacuum and steam mop, then 2 days later I can still see dust balls blowing about. It's so annoying that I never seem to be able to get it under control. I always move furniture and hoover underneath the sofa in the dining bit but the dust just seems to multiply. Thanks for your reply too.

Fluffy, thanks for replying, We live in a house that's about 10 years old, and no artex ceilings. All the walls are painted. We've been here about 5 years and the house was tenanted before so I wonder if maybe the carpet has seen better days.

When we first moved in I though I was allergic to the house. I had vaccumed the carpet with a meile but wasn't convince it was shifting that much. I went and bought a Dyson Upright with a Hepa Filter which was on offer in Sainsbo's and OMG the dust that came out was just amazing. I remember having to empty the canister thingy about 3 times for just our bedroom. I was 6 months pregnant and it was the start of summer and my hayfever was awful, but that night I had such a good nights sleep. As we;ve lived here and accumulated more stuff, the dust has also become a problem again.

Thanks again everyone. I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

the dust particles clog together and fall on the table (or whatever) next to the ioniser, and stick to it, so you have to sponge them up. So they are no longer floating around in the air. Eventually you reduce the amount of dust circulating in the room and the dust patch gets less. Large particles are caught in the little filter which you can clean (I wash them). I can't see that it is creating dust.

I'm sure it is true that an upright vac is better for cleaning carpets, because it beats and sweeps, as the saying goes, and a cylinder is better for hard floors.

The upright Miele is better than the upright Dyson for dust collection, and the cylinder Miele is better than the cylinder Dyson.

You mention dustballs, do you have pets?

we have a cement works a mile up the road. I gave up worrying about dust a long time ago

Hi again

No pets. Just a DP with very dry skin - does that count?

That's interesting about how the ioniser works. I might have to give it a try. I saw the same one you linked to on Amazon for more than twice the price

Also saw this which I'm thinking looks good but ££.

skin dust is white, and mostly found in bedrooms and bathrooms.

The Lloyds/Allergan purifier was launched with a great fanfare a few years ago, I remember the high street price halved (they must have ordered too many) then halved again in a clearance sale.

I have seen someone on ebay offering 500 in crates in a warehouse clearance, so I imagine they will be quite cheap until the overstock is all gone.

Thanks for your help Piglet.
:)

Also, as hard as it might be try to not have clutter/ to many ornaments etc around as they are prone to dust collection. Also lots of books on open shelves.

If you can maybe add doors to some bookcases so dust stays out mostly and store things in cupboards/ boxes etc rather than floating around ( you may do this already)

Since we brought a giant expedit until from ikea and added boxes in each cube the amount of dust aroun has reduced as everything is hidden so no nooks to get caught in. Just wipe over at top/ front