It’s common for many people to vacuum their floors after dusting, but some people prefer to dust after vacuuming. If you’re feeling confused as to which method is best for removing dust from your home, check out our post below.
We’ve included important things to consider to make sure that you can clean your home from dust in the most effective way possible.
Should You Dust Before Or After Vacuuming?
If you’ve been vacuuming before dusting, it means you’re likely having to dust your home more frequently than you’d prefer. This is because vacuuming can cause dust that’s lodged in carpets and floors to rise into the air.
The dust that’s lifted from vacuuming eventually settles back down onto your floors afterward. Therefore, vacuuming before dusting isn’t the best method to get rid of dust in your home.
Instead, you should dust then vacuum your home after. Dusting removes the top layers of dust that vacuuming is likely to disrupt and cause to spread. So, removing this dust beforehand lets you use a vacuum to suck up the dust that has become trapped deeper in carpets or hard floors without leading to lots of dust becoming airborne.
Steps To Effectively Cleaning Dust
Now that you know more about why dusting your home before vacuuming is a better idea, you can check out the section below to learn more about the tips on how to clean the dust most effectively.
Picking the Right Duster
First of all, we recommend that you use a duster to dust everything in the room that’s higher off the ground. This includes door frames, cabinets, shelves, and TV stands.
Should you dust furniture first or vacuum first? Some people try to vacuum their furniture and dust afterward, but this is a less effective way of cleaning your upholstery. Be sure to dust your furniture first and vacuum it after as couches can gather a lot of dust.
We recommend that you avoid using traditional feather dusters as they’re not so great at collecting dust. Feather dusters tend to cause dust to be spread around the room more. Instead, it’s best to opt for a duster that features a microfiber cloth.
Microfiber cloths are excellent at capturing dust so that you can properly remove it from your home, rather than simply push it around.
Another alternative to using a feather duster is to grab a clean cloth and dampen it slightly with water. This can be a handy way to ensure that the dust you wipe can be captured on the cloth. If you don’t have a microfiber duster, dap dusting is preferable to dry dusting with a feather duster.
Swiffer Microfiber Duster
Swiffer’s Microfiber Duster features a handle that you can easily extend up to 6 feet long. This is great for letting you reach places that are higher up.
There are also microfiber refill dusters that you can use to capture more dust. When one duster gets dirty, you can swap it out for a new one.
OXO Microfiber Duster
The OXO Microfiber Duster has been made with a large head which enables you to cover a wider surface area to spend less time dusting.
We liked how the handle has a slim design as it lets you reach tighter spaces without any hassle. You can also remove the duster from the handle to conveniently machine wash.
Time to Vacuum
Once you’re satisfied that you’ve thoroughly dusted the surfaces in the room that you’re planning to clean, you can start vacuuming.
To suck up more dust and leave your floors cleaner, be sure to go over each area back and forth multiple times. This will ensure that the vacuum can suck up dirt that has become trapped.
Furthermore, you can make use of any attachments that may come with your vacuum. Using crevice tools can be an incredibly effective way for you to reach edges and corners of your room that you may have a difficult time accessing with the larger vacuum head.
In addition to this, utilizing a handheld vacuum can make it easier for you to clean areas that are higher up. People also like using handheld vacuums for cleaning their stairs as it saves them from having to carry around the larger vacuum.
As far as sweeping vs vacuuming goes, using the right vacuum is the superior way to clean dust. Sweeping often pushes dust around and causes it to become airborne. Vacuuming is best for sucking up more dust and disposing of it.
What Vacuums Are Best For Dust?
When it comes to expelling dust from your home, we recommend that you find a vacuum that either comes with a HEPA filter or a multi-stage filtration system. Not to mention, you’ll want to make sure that your chosen vacuum has plenty of suction power to be able to remove trapped dust that’s more difficult to dislodge.
We’ve left some recommended vacuums below for you to check out.
BLACK+DECKER Handheld Vacuum
BLACK+DECKER’s handheld vacuum features a slim nozzle that lets you reach spaces that are tight to remove more dust. A crevice tool is also included that’s extendable and makes it even easier to access tighter areas.
There’s also 16AW of power which makes this handheld vacuum effective at picking up lots of dust for a more thorough cleanse.
Hikeren 2-In-1 Vacuum
Hikeren’s vacuum features 1200Kpa of suction power which lets you suck up lots of dust from carpets and hardwood floors. Moreover, there’s a swivel design that’s handy for letting you maneuver it more easily.
We liked how it can be converted into a handheld vacuum as it makes it easier for you to clean areas that are higher up.
Dyson V8 Animal Vacuum
This Dyson vacuum has a direct drive cleaner head that incorporates nylon bristles that can reach deeper down into carpets and capture trapped dust.
They’ve also designed the vacuum to be lightweight and cordless which makes it a joy to use in different rooms around your home without being restrained to plug sockets. (Read our Dyson V8 Animal vs. Absolute Comparison)
Conclusion
After reading through our post on why you should dust before vacuuming, we hope that we’ve provided you with some tips that you can put into practical use when cleaning your home.
Cleaning dust is something that’s always going to be a regular chore. However, by following the steps mentioned throughout this post, you can cut back on how much time you spend cleaning dust and more time enjoying your home.
