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Really basic question here. I have major allergies and dusting can have a severe impact on me. How do you dust? I've read some tips, and I'm primarily interested in minimizing the amount of stuff that ends up in the air. I wear a surgical mask, but I still have problems afterwards even with medication. Any tips from people with allergies? Thanks.
I think your problem is that while you're dusting, it kicks up fine particles into the air and those will stick around even after you're done dusting and take the mask off. I like the Swiffer dusters, they seem to pick the dust up without kicking it around as much as some other dusters. My allergies aren't nearly as severe as yours though. The other things you could try are leaving the dust mask on for a little while after you're done instead of taking it off right after you finish, that'll give the dust time to settle back down. You can also help it out by taking a spray bottle of water and spritzing it into the air around where you've been dusting, the water will make the tiny dust particles come together into bigger particles and then they'll fall back down to the ground faster.
What about using a damp washcloth or paper towel to dust? If it were just barely damp, I don't think it would leave water spots on your furniture, and it might help to keep the dust from getting stirred up in the air. If it left too much dampness behind, you could dust with the damp cloth and then go back over it with a dry cloth. Think that might help you?
That's a good suggestion, the dampness will keep the dust from kicking up too. If you're worried about using water on your furniture, you could get something like the Pledge wipes instead which are made to use on furniture and won't damage it (since they're damp too, they'll have the same effect as the paper towel on keeping the dust from kicking up, but they're obviously not quite as cost effective)
You could spritz the microfiber duster with a little water from a spray bottle or something like "endust" --- hard to find any more. The microfiber cloths are made to be used with just a spritz of water. I used this on dusty windows--a 3M microfiber cloth and just a slight spray of plain water. Worked on windows not cleaned in 50 years.
