Asklemmy

Kipple is unavoidable, but an air filter helps a lot more than you think.

Also if you have pets, might be worth it to get a robot vacuum. Even the 3+ year old models are still great.

I don't agree on the HEPA level sterility. Dust is not a nuclear waste.

Dust tends to accumulate in quiet areas, like corners and under furniture where air currents from movement don't disturb it.

Just keep those areas clean with a dustpan and the whole remains tolerable. Although rugs need to be taken outside and beaten from time to time.

Don't have dogs. Don't have woodburners. Don't have horses. In fact, don't live any kind of outdoorsy life if you want a dust-free home.

My home is dusty. I decided that the above was more important to me.

I wait until it starts getting noticable. Then I spend an hour cleaning - prioritizing the stuff that I'd be most embarrassed for a guest to see. After an hour the house is usually back below noticable levels of dirty. It's never pristine but at least I have a facade of being a functional adult.

I used to have a very large air filter standing in the corner of my room. It wouldn't eliminate the need to vacuum, but it would reduce the dust in the air and make it less noticeable. I got rid of it because the filter cartridges were sorta discontinued/really expensive

Oh shit, dust exists.

I also suck at this. There is a lazy way though you'll have to accept a certain look. My great grandmother had doilies everywhere. Every surface was covered. Most nearly completely, a few of the bigger tables just had a small one. Once a week she would collect them all and wash them. I didn't realize till much later in life that the purpose they served was to collect dust to keep it off your surfaces.

I wonder if something more aesthetically passing to the modern eye would be as effective or if the intricate lace is important to the function.

Well the way to avoid dust is to not have any soft furnishings including carpets and rugs because they shed fibres that form dust, not have any clothing, because that also sheds fibres and forms dust, not have any skin because that sheds and forms dust, also have no hair, pets, unsealed surfaces, open windows, wear outside shoes inside, etc etc…

But if the above sounds too tricky then yeah the alternative is you just have to vacuum, mop and clean. I hoover several times a week, my partner dusts roughly weekly. It sucks. Entropy is a cruel mistress. But the upside is, having less dust in the house a) looks cleaner, b) is better for your respiratory system. So it’s worth doing, especially if you have someone in the house with something like asthma that would make them more sensitive.

Making sure there's no gaps around your HVAC air filter is a good start. Air should only flow through the filter. I like to put duct tape around the sides of of it, forming a seal around the grill so that no air leaks around the sides. Buy one with a MERV rating of 9-12 to minimize dust and pollution. Don't go any higher than that (and avoid HEPA) unless you don't mind a higher power bill and slightly more stress on your system.

During the times of the year when you're not running A/C or heat, change the fan setting from "Auto" to "Circulate" so that it clicks on for a few minutes every hour or so. This will help keep the air clean.

If your air quality is really bad, you can always suppliment your HVAC system with a dedicated air purifier. You don't need anything fancy or expensive; a box fan with 4 HEPA filters taped to it is among the cheapest and most effective ways to clean the air.

Don't live near dirt, wind or rain. Don't bring cardboard into the house. Don't allow animals in the house, including humans. Keep the house temperature over 2000.

buildings are designed to be closed. its a horrible design thats irreversibly invested upon.

Daily sweep with a duster on the areas that get dusty. It helps me relax so it doesn't feel like a chore. I have a few microfiber hand towels I attach to a Swiffer. The floors get wiped once a day. In my mind I'm playing hockey so it's also fun to do.

I don't know if this is true or not but supposedly having a humidifier helps with the dust accumulation. It lingers longer in the air if the air is very dry. Moisture brings it down. I could be wrong and that could be a thing I made up entirely to keep a humidifier running all day,

we've got a super tiny apartment.i clean constantly, and dust isn't much of an issue cause just about every surface sees constant use.

I clean 2ce a month. I know what kind of cleaning I value and I just do that. I don’t dust often… but I use an air filter.

Robot vacuum cleaners aren't great a cleaning, but they are very effective at keeping the dust down. You will still want to clean occasionally but with a robot vacuum running regularly you can do it much less often and the house feels cleaner in the meantime.

I'm also lucky enough to be able to afford house cleaners now. It is such a nice gift to our family to not have to worry about doing these things. We can spend that time doing stuff together rather than cleaning and we don't think about how dirty the house is and dread cleaning it nearly as often. If you can afford it I would highly recommend it. It definitely isn't cheap but many people have more expensive habits that bring less joy IMHO.

Quentin Crisp: "There is no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse."

My only deviation from this philosophy is when visitors are coming. The bath and toilet get a good deep clean, I run the vacuum cleaner around the place, and also dust the guest room if they're staying overnight.

My worst fail was when I had people over for dinner, and as we all sat down I saw half a dozen dead flies on the (dusty) windowsill. Invisible when you were standing due to the curtain, but right in your eyeline when seated.

My wife and I debate about dust. I view as perfectly natural thing that should just be let be and she argues that im an idiot. She wins those debates.

Dust is just inevitable, it'll come back in one way or another. It'll make layers and it'll just be dirty all over again. The best we can do is just slow it down, but you'll still get dust from somewhere.

I would like to say I use a heavy-duty dry swiffer on the floor (wood) every other day, but honestly maybe twice a week. It gets tons of dust and cat hair and it's quiet and fast. I have an old fashioned feather duster that does a decent job on shelves of books and knickknacks without moving them, and fascinates the cat. I have a wet mop but don't use it often. I put MERV13 filters in my HVAC, but I realized the suction was lifting the nearby ceiling tiles instead, so I taped them down.

Consider what contributes to dust in your home: I don't go out much, and can't track in mud, but I live over the garage in my apartment building, over a very busy street, and have sliding-glass balcony doors for windows, so a lot of my dust is tires and exhaust. Also pollen year-round because SoCal, and of course cat and myself shedding. Litterbox dust too, at least she's not a big digger. I don't have laundry machines in my unit but I imagine they'd make lint dust. You might not be able to change things that add grime, but it helps you feel less like it's your fault.

When I worked in a china shop, we wiped down every item on every shelf with Windex (spray your paper towels, not what you're cleaning) every day. But I was getting paid for that. It makes a huge difference, along with knowing someone else will notice.