How to bust dust

Now spring has finally sprung, Tanith Carey finds out where dust comes from and how to clean up properly

- Tanith Carey

When we think about giving our homes a spring-clean, the obvious question is: "How does all this dust and dirt build up in the first place?"

From the particles you see floating in the air when the sun comes in, to dust bunnies that gather under the bed, where does it all come from?

And considering that dust can trigger health issues like asthma and allergies, how thoroughly do we need to clean to get rid of it?

Every home will have dust

It's the type, size and quantity and how your body reacts to it - that determines whether it's harmful for your health.

Dust can trigger skin irritation and rashes, and irritate your eyes. For example, the microscopic dust mites that live on bedding and furniture can trigger skin reactions, streaming eyes and asthma.

When breathed in regularly, airborne particles can also pass through your airways and settle on your lungs where they cause shortness of breath, coughing, and make bronchitis more likely.

Dust can be linked to poor mental health

A 2025 study in the journal BMC Public Health found that over time high levels of dust can cause stress, anxiety, and insomnia. One possible reason is it could contribute to inflammation in the brain, which can affect mood.

However, even if this sounds alarming, most dust is harmless in smaller quantities and you don't need to remove every single speck - and it wouldn't be good for you if you did.

"You don't need to have a germ-free home," says Dr Manal Mohammed, senior lecturer in medical microbiology at the University of Westminster.

"Obsessive cleaning disrupts normal microbiome biodiversity, which plays a crucial role in promoting our health. Plus, our immune system needs to be exposed to microbes to fully mature and to be able to fight them."

What's dust made of?