Study shows Canadians love to clean what they see, but skip what they do not

Last year’s holiday season has come and gone, but but we suspect decorations have yet to be properly put away, along with getting the house nice and sparkly for the spring season.

Yes, cleaning house is an acquired taste – some love it, some loath it. Problem is, dirt and dust doesn’t take a break and, what with windows secured against the cold season, and everyone breathing stale air – not to mention mite feces! – not only is the home in dire need of care, so are the humans who live in it.

The recent pandemic sparked shifts in people’s cleaning habits, as concerns, around health, cleanliness, and hygiene peaked, according to the second annual Dyson Global Dust Study which came out in the spring 2022, and encompassed 33 countries around the world.

The study found that “95% of people globally are cleaning just as much, if not more than they did (a year ago), to ensure their homes remain a clean and healthy space.” It also revealed that “while a regular scheduled cleaning routine is still the number one thing that prompts household cleaning, Canadians are becoming reactive cleaners” – with 40% motivated to clean their home when they actually spot the dirt, noted the study.

So, Canadians love to clean, but only what they see – ignoring what they don’t. “It is a cause for concern if people only clean when they spot visible dust on the floor as many dust particles are microscopic in size,” says Monika Stuczen, research scientist in microbiology at Dyson, in the recent media release. “By the time people spot visible dust in the home, it is highly likely that there are dust mites in your home.”

So – we may be big on vacuuming, but we’re overlooking the obvious – like how dust collects on common living spots, like beds. “Sixty-eight percent of people globally and 80% of Canadians do not vacuum their mattresses regularly, despite them being a hot bed of microscopic life and people spending one-third of their lives in bed,” noted the study. “And just 36% of Canadians regularly clean their sofa (vs. 50% globally) and only 25% regularly clean their curtain or blinds (vs. 32% globally), which are often exposed to and can trap outdoor dust and other particles.”

Let’s not get started on pet dander. If you have a pet, you’re trapped in this stuff, which consists of tiny, microscopic, skin particles shed by pets with fur or feathers. Much like dust, dander builds up everywhere and is a source of food for dust mites. And if you haven’t heard – dust mites have voracious bowl movements, splorking out a good 2,000 fecal pellets during their tiny but mighty life cycle. Each.

So you know how critical it is to get your home in order, especially during the cold winter months.

We reached out to well-known YouTube star Melissa Maker of Clean My Space fame, on how to get one’s living space ready for the next season. Maker says the key is to take things one step at a time, and offered us a few tips to get started:

Q: What is the most under-cleaned space in the home?

A: Mattresses, pillows and the area under the bed. Dust in a home makes a home feel stuffier and lowers indoor air quality which can affect folks with asthma and allergies. Especially the bed – we spend (hopefully) eight hours on it per night! Dust mites love these soft surfaces and feed off our dead skin cells.

Caring for your mattress, pillow and area under the bed is easy to do as part of a regular cleaning routine. After stripping the bed and removing the mattress protector, use your vacuum (especially if it has a hand-held attachment) in a W pattern – straight down, angled up – and have a look at your canister as you go. You’ll be shocked to see how much comes up off the mattress! You want to do this quarterly at least, and a few times in October and May, when dust mites are the worst.

Pillows can generally be machine washed – just check the care tag for wash instructions. And a pillow protector will help to keep pillows fresh and dust-free. Dust under the bed can become quite a force over time, whether you have carpet or hard floors.

Q: What is the single most important thing to clean in the home after the holidays/new year?

A: I’m a big fan of doing a closet changeover. Shoes, outdoor gear, sports equipment, outerwear and even the closets themselves need a good cleaning and vacuuming. Once the winter is over, I like to brush off dried dirt and salt from the bottom of boots and outdoor gear before I store them. If there is any salt or dirt buildup on shelving or mats, give them a good wipe down to prevent deterioration and freshen them up before the spring.

Q: What about seasonal items?

A: I find the best way to store seasonal items depends on the type of storage space you have. You want to make sure natural materials have some air circulation in their storage container, and synthetic or plastic items are 100% dry before storing away. Consider storing items with a little sachet of white rice or a few sticks of white chalk.

Q: What is household dust made of?

A: It’s a matrix – not like Keanu’s version – but like a composition of organic compounds big and small, including hair, pet hair, skin flakes, dander, pollen, dust mites, dust mite feces, dirt, bacteria, viruses, shed fibres from our clothing and soft surfaces around the home. Your dust matrix is unique to you – where you live, e.g. closer to the ocean results in more salt in your dust, closer to a highway results in more outdoor pollutants, if you have pets, pet dander. But in general, that’s what is found in the dust matrix. Fun (or not so fun) fact: dust mites aren’t what we are allergic to. They feed off our dead skin cells and love damp, humid and warm environments, but it’s their feces that cause allergic reactions. The average dust mite has a life cycle of 65-100 days and during their life will product about 2,000 fecal pellets. During dust mite season, which for us is May-October, the female will lay between 60-100 eggs. That’s why vacuuming in areas where we shed a lot of skin cells, and have soft surfaces for these arachnids to snuggle in during these months is key. It helps to limit the population by reducing their food source.