Should I Dust or Vacuum First? Which is Better?

It’s that time of the year again, spring cleaning! Or, maybe your home is just overdue for a long and thorough cleaning because things have been getting out of hand lately.

Both dusting and vacuuming your home are essential when we’re talking about cleanliness and hygiene in your environment.

However, when we’re so busy cleaning, sometimes we forget a crucial step in this hectic and non-stop moving world.

All time is precious, even cleaning time!

This is why you should understand when exactly dusting and vacuuming fit in the grand scheme of cleaning duties.

Is It Better To Dust First Or Vacuum First?

Essentially, you should always dust before you vacuum, as regardless of how carefully you dust, you’ll displace tons of dust as you clean.

Vacuuming after you dust is better because while you pick up a majority of the dust with a duster, a vacuum cleaner serves as a secondary cleaning utility that helps clean any recently settled dust.

In fact, dust can enter your home from a variety of sources, is detrimental to your health, and can come in many different sizes.

The Importance of Dusting First

When you dust before you use your vacuum cleaner, you’ll collect most of the dust accumulating in the hard to reach places in your home.

During the process of dusting, you’ll displace microscopic dust and other dust particles off of the surface that you dust on.

Here’s an example: it makes more sense to dust your ceiling fan and vacuum afterward, rather than vacuuming first and then dusting the ceiling fan after.

After you’ve dusted the fan, the dust will fall or move to another area nearby.

The Importance of Vacuuming After You Dust

This is the part where your vacuum cleaner shines.

Any dust that is displaced and allowed to settle onto your carpet or hardwood floors will now be picked up by your vacuum cleaner.

If you have a vacuum cleaner with great filtration, you’ll actually be working very efficiently, and may notice an immediate difference in overall air quality if you haven’t dusted in a very long time!

HEPA vacuums will always offer top-of-the-line filtration, so if you’re not using a vacuum cleaner that’s HEPA certified, you’re missing out on cleaner air.

5 Tips For Efficiently Dusting and Vacuuming Your Home:

Dusting and cleaning your home doesn’t have to be a difficult or lengthy process.

Dusters that are made with microfibers are amongst the best options out there. They cost just about the same as regular dusters and do a much better job at trapping dust.

There are extendable dusters, as well as regular feather dusters.

If you’re trying to be cheap, you can always use an old sock or piece of clothing, as your vacuum cleaner will be finishing up the rest of the job.

Follow these tips and you’ll be ready to freshen up your environment!

1. Always begin working your way from the top to the bottom of your furniture or decor. The idea is that by systematically working your way down from top to bottom, most of the dust will hopefully end up on the floor where your vacuum cleaner can clean it.
2. Try to dust as regularly as possible. It’s much harder to get rid of dust that has accumulated over long periods of time rather than dust that is freshly settled.
3. If you can, invest in a cheap microfiber cloth. Microfiber cloths serve tons of different uses and are great at trapping dust.
4. A HEPA certified vacuum cleaner will be able to capture much more dust particles than a non-HEPA filter vacuum cleaner would.
5. Investing in a HEPA fan filter is a great idea for anyone who is prone to pet allergies, asthma, or other lung conditions. You’d be surprised how much dust good HEPA filters can capture!

If you can’t recall the last time you dusted your home, you might want to double down.

You may have to repeat the process if you notice that even after a thorough cleaning, your home still has substantial amounts of dust lingering about.

If you happen to notice that your home is still dusty and you still have difficulty breathing despite your strenuous efforts in trying to both dust and vacuum, the blame may lie with your vacuum cleaner.

Is Your Home Still Dusty, Despite Your Spring Cleaning?

Dusting surfaces is just one portion of the formula needed to keep your home in tip-top shape. If you keep noticing surfaces have dust buildup, your vacuum cleaner simply might not be filtering enough dust.

What might be happening is that because the dust isn’t being captured by the vacuum cleaner, it’s constantly being pushed around or spread via regular foot traffic or other day to day activities.

If your floors are dirty, it doesn’t matter how clean the rest of your home is.

Make sure your vacuum cleaner is pulling its own weight during this whole debacle.

Final Thoughts

Some people may have immaculate homes that are spotless with little to no dust in sight, while others might have dust originating from pets, pollen, or other difficult to avoid aspects of life.

Let’s get one thing straight; nobody likes dust!

Luckily, there are tons of simple, cost-effective methods to significantly reduce the battle against dust raging on in your home.

Give your home a thorough dusting before you vacuum.

Your vacuum cleaner will trap and filter out any lingering dust that still exists after you’ve dusted your furniture, decor, curtains, and other household objects that dust might be accumulating on.

If you think about it, it doesn’t make sense to vacuum before you dust. You would be doing twice the work for no reason.

Most of us just want to finish our cleaning and get on with our lives, so if you’re wondering if you should dust or vacuum first, the simple answer to that question is that unless you want to waste precious time, you should always dust before you vacuum your home.