Best Rags For Dusting

Dust stacks up fast, especially in rooms with light traffic. Keeping dust layers away keeps a room looking professional and inviting. 

But disrupting the dust with a feather duster isn’t enough. Soon enough the dust lands back on the room’s surfaces. 

Dusting with the right cleaning rags keeps surfaces dust-free longer, reducing the workload for cleaners. 

First Things First: How to Dust

We’ve all seen maids on TV shows with those feathers, dusting mantles and light fixtures, adding to the room’s ambience as the show’s drama plays out in front of them.

Like so much else on TV, this isn’t real. Few professional cleaners will pull out feathers when cleaning a room. This method usually creates more work for the next day.

Instead, real cleaners like to remove dust from the room with the right fabric, starting at the highest points in the room and working their way toward the floor. 

What Kind of Rag Works Best for Dusting?

In a word: Microfiber. Other types of fabric can gather up dust, much like a broom sweeping a floor. But microfiber attracts dust like a strong magnet attracts metal shavings, reducing the workload and allowing better results for cleaners.  

How can a rag attract dust? In a nutshell, the millions of synthetic microscopic fibers that give microfiber its name generate static electricity. If you’ve ever run a microfiber cloth along your arm, you may have felt this subtle static charge.

The static charge isn’t strong, but it’s plenty strong enough to draw in tiny dust particles. 

With this tool in their belt, cleaners can dust hard-to-reach spots and restore a surface’s shine without using water or chemical cleaners.  

Other Pro Tips for Dusting

Of course, the microfiber alone doesn’t do the work. It’s just a tool for the best cleaners — a tool that works best in the hands of cleaners who know the answers to the following questions:

How Long Can I Use a Rag for Dusting?

The same microfiber cloth can stay on the job until it stops attracting dust. Then it can be washed and used again.

Microfiber cloths used in this way, without chemical solvents or exposure to grease or other industrial substances, can be washed and re-used hundreds of times without losing their effectiveness. 

Should I Use a Wet or Dry Rag?

Microfiber can be used wet or dry. For most dusting jobs, a dry rag works best. But damp microfiber can help tackle bigger cleaning challenges by enhancing the rag’s power to retain dust particles.

Getting the rag slightly damp — without fully immersing the rag in water — should provide plenty of moisture. Immersing a rag hurts its performance. 

Many cleaners alternate dry and damp rags on the same job.  

Is it OK to Use Chemical Cleaners to Remove Dust?

What about those cans of lemon fresh spray that remove dust? They’re typically not needed. In fact, they can prevent dust removal when used too liberally. 

That said, on porous surfaces, these types of dusting sprays can help dislodge hard-to-reach particles. Rather than spraying the product directly onto the surface, it’s best to apply the cleaner to the microfiber rag itself and then use the rag for dusting. 

What About Dusting Wood vs Plastic vs Stone?

Hard plastic tends to hold onto its thin base layer of dust, making these types of surfaces harder to keep clean. A mild cleaning agent, such as a 50/50 water-vinegar solution, can help dislodge stubborn dust layers.

For stone surfaces, cleaners must be careful not to harm the natural material with cleaning solutions. A dry or slightly damp microfiber cloth should be enough to keep these surfaces free of dust.

What Can I Use Besides Microfiber?

There’s no better rag than microfiber for dusting, but there are other ways to eliminate dust from a room. Regular vacuuming helps limit the volume of dust that can land on a room’s surfaces. Running air purifiers can also help filter dust from the air. 

But dust is part of life. Given enough time, dust will gather on surfaces in a room, and someone will need to remove it. For best results, that someone will be equipped with a stack of fresh microfiber rags. 

The Best Source for Microfiber and Other Rags

At All Rags, we specialize in delivering microfiber cloth rags to the nation’s best cleaners. We stock other types of cleaning rags, too.

You can place your order today or contact our customer support team with any questions you may have.