#1 Way to Reduce Dust in Your House!

You clean and clean, but you still have dust all over your home. Want to know how to reduce dust in your house?

Dust?

First, let’s figure out what that dust is and where does it come from. What creates dust? Dust is anything that could dry and flake off. For instance, skin cells, carpet, upholstered furniture, fireplaces and even books. All these sources are in your house. Dirt, sand, pollen, and many other things may bring in dust from outside. All of these contribute to the amount of dust load in your house.

We are often told that The dust in your home mostly comes from dead skin, but that’s not true. The truth is that 70% to 80% of dust is grime and dirt that is tracked in from the outside on people’s shoes. Compare that to the less amount from combination of dead skin, carpet fluff, animal dander, clothing fibers, dust mites, bits of bugs, tiny particles of plastic and cardboard fiber dust. The dust is coming from in the house.

Wouldn’t stopping the 70 to 80% of the problem be the best place to start? I think so. The number one way to reduce dust in your house and to streamline your cleaning routine is drum roll…use an entry mat that stops the dust at your door. You can capture as much as 85% to 95% of contaminants that enter your home with a great entry mat, that could reduce your dust by up to 78%. Wouldn’t it be nice to have 78% less dust? How much better would you feel? What would you do with the extra time you have from cutting the time spent dusting, vacuuming and Swiffer-ing by stopping dirt before it can get all over everything.

Magic Mat Ride.

What kind of magic mat do you need to achieve this 78% reduction. Easy, one that is designed to trap and hold dust. Below are the top 3 mats we think work the best. All are certified high-traction by the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) and designed to trap and hold dust.

1. WaterHog mats: With the unique design that has a bi-level surface that traps dirt and water below foot traffic, along with a water dam border that prevents water from flowing on to your floors, WaterHog mats can hold up to 1 1/2 gallons of water per square yard. They are great at stopping both dust and water from entering your home. There are several designs to choose from starting with the basic Waterhog Classic to the WaterHog Silver that has anti-microbial fiber to stop the spread of germs. Some WaterHog mats also come with a Fashion border which has a fabric border to make it look more residential. WaterHog mats can be used indoors and covered outdoors. FYI: there is a WaterHog™ Drainable Border Outdoor Mats that can be used outside uncovered. The mat’s eco-friendly – PET fabric is made from 97% recycled content reclaimed from plastic, and molded SBR rubber backing contains 20% recycled rubber from car tires.
2. MicroLuxx Commercial Floor Mats: Don’t let the word “commercial” scare you off. The MicroLuxx is made with super soft unique “microfiber” blend that absorbs and retains 2.5 times more moisture and dust than standard carpeted mats. Best used indoors. Eco-friendly made with recyclable molded Nitrile rubber backing.
3. SuperScrape: All rubber mat with a bi-level surface that traps dirt and water below foot traffic and is great at stopping it from entering you home. Great for outdoor use. Eco-friendly made with recyclable molded Nitrile rubber.

For Best Defense.

For best results place mats both inside and outside of every entrance. The goal is to have at least two steps from each foot strike the mat. The more steps, the more protection you have. If you don’t have a large enough area for least two steps from each foot strike the mat, be sure everyone does as your mother says and “wipe your feet”. The mats still will trap the dirt and water. If you have a large, covered patio/porch or garage it is easy to place a 6ft long mat, you could get away with a smaller mat inside.

What to do with the Trap Dust.

You still need to get rid of the dust, but easier to take care of the trapped dust it in a smaller area of the mat than all over the whole house. How often depends on the traffic. As few as 150 people entering your home can track in a pound of dirt in 5 days. If have 5 persons in the home and they come and go 4 times a day that adds up close to 150, so in a week you could have a pound of dirt on the mats.

Both the WaterHog mats and MicroLuxx mats can easily be vacuumed or shaken out. If they get muddy, they can be hosed off (just be sure they are completely dry before laying back down). With the SuperScrape mat just shake it off or hose off if it is dusty. Again, be sure they are completely dry at least on the back side.

Cheap Mats can add to the Dust and/or be a Trip Hazard!

There are mats we would recommend you not use. You might see some cheap mats in your big box store or online that are cheaper than what we have recommended. But beware they could add to your dust problem and/or be a trip hazard. Seldom have they been certified high-traction by the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI). Here are few mats to watch out for.

1. Mats with cheap backing made from compressed rubber tires. To identify if they are rubber backed look at the back of the mat. It should be solid continuous smooth surface without any tiny holes in (for hard surfaces like tile) or solid continuous smooth with molded nubs on it (for use with Carpeted surfaces). Compressed rubber backing will be rough with noticeable tiny holes or porosity. We recommend that the mats should have molded rubber mats not compressed rubber or vinyl. Here are the major differences.
   • The mats we recommend have molded rubber backing, they are molded to the carpet in manufacturing production. This serves multiple purposes. One the carpet will not shed or separate from the rubber. Second the rubber is mold together and will not break down, which does not cause dust and creates a water barrier stopping the water from penetrating through the mat on to the floor below the mat. They last estimated 5 to 10 years.
   • Compressed rubber tire backing can allow water to flow through the mat. The water is then trapping it below the mat and undetected will cause damage to your floors. Additionally, the compressed rubber will break down causing more dust. Often cause them to be replaced ever year.
2. Vinyl back mats look like rubber backing in that they are smooth, so it is hard to tell them apart from the rubber backed mats to the untrained eye. Typically, they are thinner than rubber mats and the edges are very flimsy. Issues with them the vinyl will age quickly cause the vinyl to shrink, curled edges that raise up in wave causing a trip hazard, and even chipping off completely. Often cause them to be replaced ever year.
3. Coir: Although they are very popular, they do have some flaws. They shed, and when they shed that becomes dust! They also are often vinyl backed (see above about vinyl backing/edging). Often cause them to be replaced ever year.
4. Mats with no backing, better know as rugs. They have no backing, so dirt and water pass right through them on to your floors. The dirt and water under the mat cause damage to your floor. They tend to slide more on harder surface.

10 more helpful tips!

Now that we have helped you stop 78% of the dust here are a few other helpful tips to eliminate more from the source inside the house.

1. Furry family members (cats and dogs). Hard to eliminate all they bring in. But if you groom them regularly outdoors or in a smaller room hopefully with hard surface floor can help eliminate a lot.
2. Pick up your dirty clothes. Be sure you have an enclosed place to place all dirty clothes. Also if you get really dirty at your place of work or in the yard try to remove as soon as possible. A hamper with a lid will help.
3. Clean your bedding weekly. Also clean you pillows. Both are where a lot of your dead skin builds up.
4. Run your kitchen’s exhaust fan while cooking. especially when frying or sautéing. You want to trap the grease particles and keep them from floating around the house and landing on surfaces.
5. Empty your bag less vacuum outside. Don’t waste the time you took to sucked up the dirt that did make its way into your home, just to let the particles escape back in when you dump it.
6. Run your fan on your central air while you dust and vacuum. Continue run for a least half an hour after done. This will help pull out the dust in the air that went air bore while you were cleaning.
7. Clean your vents regularly. Both intake and air vent. This will also make you filters last longer.
8. Change your air filters often.
9. Dust your blinds with blind cleaner duster brush designed to capture the dust. the amount of dust that you get will amaze you. Same with ceiling fan, don’t just knock the dust off.
10. Clean your lampshades and curtains. You can use the vacuum or a lint roller.

Now you have reduced most of dust you can take a deep healthy breath!