Airborne dust doubled worldwide in the 20th century. It seems as though dust prevention is getting harder and harder; we can’t seem to get rid of the dust in our homes. Scientific reasons include droughts, desertification (habitable land turning into desert), climate change, loss of forests, urbanization — in general, human activity — has resulted in a doubling of airborne dust.
 
The New York Times recently reported this phenomenon based on research from the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Journal, which has studied this worldwide phenomenon. Oddly, cleaning is one of the primary sources of household dust, because settled dust becomes airborne when we clean. Cooking is the second source, followed by movement through the house as the third. Wood-burning fireplaces are also a big source of particulates.
Even if you clean often, dust settles on everything. The problem for our lungs is that every movement disturbs the tiny particles (i.e. dirt, soot, skin, pollens, dust, etc.) in a home or office, and they float around in the air. Since cleaning is a necessity, it is strongly recommended to have an air purifier running on the highest setting; doing so will allow the air purifier to catch all of the particles that become airborne while you are vacuuming and dusting. Remember to change pre-filters regularly. Use of a HEPA vacuum cleaner, HEPA air purifiers, and wet cloth cleaning together will help reduce the presence of dust particles. Learn how indoor dust differs from outdoor dust.
