Have you ever looked around your home or office and wondered, why is my desk always dusty? While dust is simply inevitable, this article brings you through the top 12 tips on keeping your desk dust free! Discover some simple and effective tricks to minimize the amount of dusting that you have to do every day.
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Why is my desk always dusty?
Dust accumulating on your table or desk is attributable to the cleanliness of entire room. Dust comes from sources including skin cells, dirt, fabric fibers and also from the outdoors. To minimize dust gathering on your desk, keeping a clean and tidy room is the key component. Essentially, the more frequently that you clean the area, the less the amount of dust that is present.
How do I keep my desk from getting dusty?
Here are 12 proven tips to keep your desk dust free:
1. Remove carpet from room
2. Replace old carpet
3. Clean carpet regularly
4. Clean floors regularly
5. Clean the room regularly
6. Don’t forget to clean blinds and air fans
7. Clean air conditioning filters regularly
8. Use appropriate cleaning materials
9. Avoid furniture oils or waxes
10. Use lint-free fabrics
11. Minimize clutter in the area
12. Keep pets out of the room
1. Remove carpet from room
Carpet is a pro when it comes to harboring dust. It deceptively manages to look clean, however, when you run a vacuum over it, a horrifying accumulation of dust is lurking in the fibres.
The most effective method of minimizing dust in the office is to remove carpet from the area. This is particularly true for those fluffy rugs which can accumulate larger quantities of dust than a flat carpet.
2. Replace old carpet
If you simply are too attached to a carpet floor, another option would be to replace old carpets with new ones. Most cleaning products and vacuums are simply incapable of completely removing all the dirt.
Over the years, this can accumulate and be a feeding ground of dust.
3. Clean carpet regularly
If you simply are too attached to your rug or haven’t the option to eliminate carpet from the area, the next alternative is to clean the carpet regularly. How frequently should you clean carpet? As a general rule of thumb, most people will need to vacuum their floor about 1 – 3 times a week. That said, it is contingent on how often you are in the room and the types of activities that you engage in.
For instance, I have noticed that by eating ‘al desko’ (eating at my desk), I find more crumbs and dust lying around on my floor (toast is usually the leading culprit). Consequently, I find myself vacuuming the floor about twice a week.
Shampooing or steam cleaning carpet is a more effective method of carpet cleaning compared to simply vacuuming alone. However, it can lead to the carpet wearing out faster. Source
Recommended product: BISSELL Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner (link on Amazon)
4. Clean floors regularly
Just because your floor may not have carpet doesn’t omit it from needing to be cleaned. Regardless of the type of floor surface, be it laminate, wood, tiles etc., dust and dirt are inevitably going to fall on it either way. Often, dust can lodge itself in the nooks and cranny’s, so pay attention to these areas, especially if you have wooden floors.
On the plus side, you might get away with not needing to clean it as regularly as carpet.
A damp mop or steam cleaning the floor are two extremely effective ways to gather dust without causing dust to be shuffled throughout the house or office.
Following that, vacuuming is a more effective method of minimizing dust dispersion when compared with sweeping.
Tip: Cleaning floors and surfaces regularly leads to less dust building up and reduces the time spent cleaning compared to letting dust and dirt accumulate.
5. Clean the room regularly
This includes cleaning the desk, furniture, blinds and electronics in the area. Avoid using dusters as these tend to disperse dust around the room. Another trick is to clean surfaces first so that any dirt or dust that falls on the floor can be cleaned up subsequently.
This will also save having to go back over the floor with a brush or carpet to pick up the dropped particles.
Plus don’t neglect to properly organize your home office desk on a regular basis.
Tip: Using a damp or wet cloth as opposed to a dry cloth helps ensure that the dust is trapped on the cloth as opposed to being scattered dust throughout the room.
6. Don’t forget to clean blinds and air fans
Blinds, curtains and fans are all furnishings that may get forgotten about during your cleaning routine. This also applies to light bulbs and lamp shades which you might neglect to consider since they are above your head and out of your line of sight.
The soft bristle attachment on a vacuum is a valuable piece of cleaning equipment that can clean drapes, curtains and out of reach objects.
7. Clean air conditioning filters regularly
Air conditioners are equipped with filters that gather dust and particles as air travels through them. Over time, this leads to dirt accumulating on the units as they filter particles from the air.
Cleaning the filters on a regular basis helps to prevent dust being spread by these units.
Furthermore, the air filters need to be changed occasionally; the frequency will depend on how often you use the air filter and the manufacturer instructions.
8. Use appropriate cleaning materials
Feather dusters are ironically terrible at removing dust, rather they merely disperse it around that room. If they do collect dust, it’s likely to start falling off as you dust throughout the room.
On top of that, any dust that they do gather up is harbored in the feathers and isn’t exactly easy to clean off.
Using a vacuum, the hand-held vacuums are very convenient, or a damp cloth is much more effective.
Tip: Vacuum attachments can be used to access hard to reach areas that a feather duster would traditionally reach.
9. Avoid furniture oils or waxes
While they may leave an attractive shine and glow to your desk and furniture, it comes at a cost.
Oils and waxes cleaning agents and polishes attract dust and cause it to stick to your furniture.
This makes it more difficult to clean. Instead, opt for regular cleaning products that don’t leave an oily or waxy residue. Often simply a cloth dampened with water will be all you need.
Plus, the type of office flooring that you choose can affect how often you have to clean it! With that in mind, save yourself some hassle and take a quick read of this: How To Choose Home Office Flooring – Plus Mistakes To Avoid
Tip: Ensure that the cleaning products are suitable for the surface and won’t react with the material. This is particularly important for wood grains.
10. Use lint-free fabrics
Lint is a common source of frustration, especially when you have wiped down a surface only to have to go back over it with another cloth to remove the ream of lint that was left behind! Microfiber cloths are a popular choice as they have lint-free properties and don’t leave such materials behind.
Tip: Ensure that you rinse the cloth frequently, especially when it starts to look dirty. Discard of the cloth when rinsing it still leaves a residue or stains on the cloth.
11. Minimize clutter in the area
The more objects that are in a room, the more surfaces that dust can settle on. That’s not all, if you intend to clean a place regularly, it’s likely that you’ll take the lazy option and navigate around the objects as opposed to simply lifting them up and cleaning around them.
Plus, you may be tempted to skip cleaning the objects themselves, which means traces of dust are present on their surface.
Removing as much furniture, plants, ornaments, clutter, electronics and paperwork as possible helps negate this from occurring. Pay attention to items that you don’t need or don’t use on a daily basis.
Also, consider storing them in a cabinet so that they are less likely to gather dust.
12. Keep pets out of the room
There’s no denying the fact that our beloved furry friends are sources of hair and carry all manner of particles, such as dirt from the garden, drool, food and anything else that they can get their paws on.
An effective way to eliminate or at least minimize dust and dirt gathering on your desk and in your room is to keep your pets out of the room altogether.
That might be easier said than done but some simple techniques, such as closing the door, placing a gate at the door or a barricade to keep them out are some simple methods that can be employed.
If you do have pets in the area, a good vacuum, such as the Hoover MAXLife Elite Swivel Vacuum Cleaner (link on Amazon – best seller!) will be an absolute must to clean up all that hair and dirt that your pooch brings along!
Tip: Grooming pets outdoors minimizes the amount of dead skin flakes, fluff and hair that could accumulate in the house.
Conclusion
While it may feel like a chore, dedicating a short amount of time to cleaning your desk and the area around it can do wonders, heck, many people even find it rewarding and it serves as a break from their work. It’ll make the area more inviting to work in and can even reduce your stress levels since it’s more organized and cleaner. How often do you clean your desk?
A desk organizer can minimize the amount of clutter that gathers on your desk or around the area. The image below is one that I’d personally recommend.
If you’re hungry for more hacks and tips, or the stains on your chair drive you slightly insane, then go check out How to clean an office chair – must know tips
My target with this page is to help you on all matters related your home office and your work area. With that in mind, if you have any queries or comments on the above, please drop them in the box below. I’d love to hear them.
Recommended products:
- Hoover MAXLife Elite Swivel Vacuum Cleaner (link on Amazon – best seller!)
- BISSELL Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner (link on Amazon)
- Platinum Indoor Floor Mat (lifetime warranty) (link on OfficeFurniture2Go)
