If your home has way more dust than you think it should, there could be numerous reasons. From leaky ductwork to an inefficient HVAC system, a lot of things can be causing this dust to form and remain in your home. If you’ve noticed that the dust in your home seems to be worse during the winter months, you’re not alone. This is, in fact, a common problem regardless of where you live, but fortunately the solutions are simple once you discover why these things are happening in the first place.
Why Do Homes Get Dusty When It’s Cold Outside?
There are numerous reasons why homes often get dustier during the winter months. When it’s cold outside, people naturally use their heating system more often, and this can cause people’s skin to dry out more than normal. Because of that, they are shedding more skin, and since dust is composed partly of dead skin cells, the natural result is more dust around your home. To make things even worse, people tend to be inside of their homes more often in the wintertime, giving them more time to shed more skin.
The fact that people stay inside more when it’s cold outside contributes to the excess dust found in your home during these months. People tend to have their doors and windows shut constantly, keep their pets inside most of the time, and generally are a little less enthusiastic about certain cleaning tasks, such as cleaning the upholstery and drapes, both of which can harbor a lot of dust all year long. Without fresh air coming in and with pets that stay inside for longer periods of time to shed hair and dander, there’s little wonder the winter months can wreak havoc on your home when it comes to the dust found there.
Dust is usually made up of several things, including animal hair and dander, human skin cells and hair, both paper and textile fibers, and even food particles, among other things. With both pets and humans remaining inside for longer periods of time and with less fresh air coming in because windows and doors are staying closed longer, it’s no surprise that dust could very well be a bigger problem for you during the winter months than it is when it’s warm outside.
Some Tips to Make it Easier on You
Of course, there are some things you can do to make it a bit easier on both your sanity and your health when your dust problem seems to be out of control. In fact, taking care of a few potential problem areas and being a little proactive can reduce the amount of dust you find in your home once it starts to get cold outside. Following are a few things you can do:
- Clean out your cupboards thoroughly to remove the dust that has been accumulating thus far.
- Take everything out of the closets and dust them thoroughly before replacing everything.
- Go through each room and thoroughly dust as much as possible.
- Start your “spring cleaning” a little early and vacuum your drapes, upholstery, and even your mattress.
- Use both indoor and outdoor mats at all times.
- Make sure you change your air filter more frequently than you do when the weather is warm.
- Keep all of your boots and shoes outside.
Cleaning is key because the cleaner your home is, the less likely you’ll experience a lot of dust during the winter months. Naturally, you can’t control all of it or keep every bit of dust out of your home, but you can certainly take measures that will greatly reduce the amount of dust you experience so that you’ll have a cleaner and healthier home in the end.
Keep up with Regular Household Tasks
You should also keep up with your regular cleaning schedule if you want to reduce the amount of dust your home accumulates during the cold winter months. This includes replacing your air filter regularly, keeping ductwork tight and secured, and keeping your floors nice and clean so that dust doesn’t get trapped there. Remember, dust can get trapped almost anywhere in your home, so a clean home is always going to be a home that has less dust in it.
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Conclusion
There’s no doubt that dust can accumulate faster when it’s cold outside, and the fact that you’re inside so much during the winter months can make this problem even more difficult to deal with because it’s noticeable at all times. But fortunately, handling the problem is a lot easier than most people realize, and you can do it without breaking the bank. You can get additional tips online because there are numerous websites that provide simple, practical information on anything related to the upkeep of your home, which makes it much easier for you to be able to enjoy a dust-free home all year long.
