Other little bits of debris joins the mixture, including fibers, dirt and sand tracked in on shoes, pollen, mold spores, specs of carbon from furnaces, sawdust, plant and insect parts, etc. Dust bunnies are a product of fiber dust—those tiny bits of fuzz from clothes, carpets and furniture collect to form a larger ball of dust.  Even if your allergens are found outdoors, more often these find a way into our homes and join the other conglomerates forming dust in every corner of your home.

Early Fall is the time of year when some of the toughest allergens have their annual hayday.

Early August to early November is the pollinating season for ragweed, which is why it is the leading cause of fall allergies. Ragweed relies on the wind to spread its pollen, which means (unlike other plants that produce pretty or scented flowers to attract insects to pollinate them) this plant produces enormous amounts of tiny pollen grains that are carried on gust of air. Because this pollination technique is completely hit or miss, the more pollen the plant produces will increase its chances of pollination.

• pack up all your belongings as if you were moving and empty out the room.
• empty out your closet—clean the contents and seal in plastic bags or Tupperware containers.
• keep clothing in zippered plastic bags and shoes in shoe boxes up off of the floor.
• remove any loose carpets  
• clean and scrub the woodwork and floors to remove all of the dust present
• wipe all of the wood, tile or linoleum surfaces in the room with water, then wax or oil them
• re-cement any lifted linoleum to the floor so that there are no hiding places from dust
• if the room is a guest room, keep all of the windows and doors closed

  1.  (Remember, if you are allergic to dust, you might want to wear a mask while cleaning.

  5.  remember to wash your curtains, because they can collect a lot of dust. Soak them in a bucket of hot water (130 degrees Fahrenheit) to rid them of dust mites

6.  open the windows and “air out” the room. Because of the airtight construction used to improve energy efficiency, there are 200% more allergens trapped indoors that older, drafty homes. Though you might think that open windows bring in more allergens like pollen and dust, the amount that collects in the room over the period of a week or two is substantially more. In the end, you have more allergens leaving the room than entering it.

7.  if you have wall-to-wall carpeting, you may want to remove it, because it tends to collect dust

8.  bedding should be washed weekly – for more tips on laundering your bedding, read my post with tips for ridding your bedroom of dust mites.

1. 9.  installing an air filter can dramatically reduce the amount of dust in the air and, in turn, cut down on how much dust is piling up on your belongings. An air filter like Dynamic Air Quality Solutions’ 1’’ panel filter slides into your existing furnace filter slot to reduce dust and allergens throughout your home. For individual rooms, check out Dynamic Air Quality Solutions’ CT100 or Dynamic Air Quality Solution’s CT500.