Why You Need a Reliable, Versatile Duster
Dust is everywhere. It’s on your walls, on your floors, on your shelves, getting on your wine glasses, and covering your couch. You may notice it most around air vents and on fan blades, but household dust is on every surface of your living space.
Over time, it accumulates to the point that it’s visible to the naked eye. When that happens, it’s time to – you guessed it – dust.
Typical household dust is a mix of old skin cells, human hair, pet hair, pollen, outdoor debris, cloth fibers, and a bunch of other components that get particle-ized and end up floating around in the air. If you let that go unchecked, you’ll not only have an eyesore with dust buildup around your house, you also may expose yourself to allergens and irritants that can cause coughing, sneezing, and runny noses.
Does Dusting Actually Work?
Yes, dusting regularly can help reduce the amount of dust that accumulates in your house. Along with having a better-looking space, dusting your walls, shelves, and countertops knocks that layer of dust to the ground so that you can sweep or vacuum it up and get it out of the house. Additionally, many dusters are created in a way that they generate static electricity that attracts dust. Dusters work with a combination of wiping dust off and pulling it away from the surface through static electricity.
The biggest challenge with dusting is maintaining consistency. Since you can never truly remove the source of dust, it’s all about making sure you’re dusting frequently enough to keep the dust at bay.
Different Types of Dusters
For the average house cleaner, there are a lot of different types of dusters that help you keep your things nice and clean.
Feather Dusters
Ah, the feather duster. You’ve seen a feather duster before. Essentially, it’s a miniature broom – a bunch of feathers that are attached to the end of a stick. The feathers are the perfect consistency to remove dust from things without disturbing their placement.
Now, most feather dusters are made out of ostrich feathers because of their ability to create static electricity for the dust to cling to, whereas other types of bird feathers are much more stiff. There are some synthetic feather dusters out there as well.
Compressed Air Dusters
Compressed air dusters are referred to by different names. Sometimes called “computer duster,” “canned air,” “compressed air,” or “dusting gas,” these types of dusters are often used to clean computers and electronics because they don’t produce a static electric charge. Instead, they use a powerful blast of compressed air to blow dust away.
Compressed air dusters aren’t a very common household cleaner, but they’re especially handy when trying to dust in small, hard-to-reach places. These types of dusters are great for getting dust out of corners or along seams in furniture.
Electric Dusters
Electric air dusters remove dust the same way that compressed air dusters do. They don’t create an electric charge, instead they use compressed air to blow dust away. Electric dusters are great tools for heavy duty dust jobs where you need a constant stream of air flow. While compressed air cans can run low on air after several uses, electric dusters can run compressed air as long as they’re plugged in.
Microfiber Dusters
If feather dusters are the tried and true, F150’s of the dusting world, then microfiber dusters are the Mercedes S-class. Microfiber dusters work overtime on trapping dust and debris in between the “micro” fibers. It’s easy for dust to be pushed or blown around by a feather or air duster. If you really want to trap dust and get rid of it, microfiber dusters are your best bet.
The Best Dusters for Home (According to the Experts)
At Maid Zen, we wanted to see which dusters are truly the “best” out there, so we’ve pulled the lists from some of the top websites where they rate the best duster for home and then we use our own ranking to give you the #1 across the internet.
This Old House’s Best Dusters
This Old House focused on fabric and feathered dusters for their best-of list, so you won’t see any air-based dusters here. Here are the best 5 dusters according to This Old House:
- OXO Good Grips Microfiber Hand Duster
- Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Extender Handle Starter Kit
- Aldwin Ostrich Feather Duster
- HIWARE Window Blind Cleaner Duster Brush
- Kitchen + Home Compact Static Duster
Insider.com’s Best Dusters
Insider focused on 4 of the best dusters for specific applications, making sure that their readers had all the tools needed to effectively clean every surface of your home. Here are the best duster for the home according to Insider.com:
- OXO Good Grips Microfiber Extendable Duster
- Swiffer Heavy Duty Dusters with Extender Handle
- OXO Good Grips Under Appliance Microfiber Duster
- Hiware Window Blind Cleaner Duster
The Spruce’s Best Dusters
The Spruce has reviewed the widest range of dusters (this list even included a vacuum cleaner) and they have created a pretty good rundown of the ideal duster for every situation. They also recommend the most diverse range of household dusters.
- MR.SIGA Microfiber Cleaning Cloth
- OXO Good Grips Microfiber Hand Duster
- ddzmz Ostrich Feather Duster
- Swiffer Duster Short Handle Starter Kit
- O-Cedar Dual-Action Sweeper
- Evridwear Microfiber Dusting Gloves
- HIWARE Window Blind Cleaner Duster Brush
Bob Vila’s Best Dusters
Bob Vila is keeping it easy by only recommending 3 dusters for the home, each for very specific applications. Here are the top dusters as recommended by Bob Vila.
- OXO Good Grips Microfiber Delicate Duster
- DocaPole 20 Foot High Reach Dusting Kit
- Ehoyal Handheld Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Air Duster
The Ultimate List of Best Dusters
So based on the recommendations by some of the most trustworthy websites, we’ve got a pretty small field of recommended dusters, especially compared to our previous lists on the best air fresheners and the best vacuums.
Below is your ultimate list of the best dusters for the home:
#1 Best Overall Duster for Everyday Use: OXO Good Grips Microfiber Duster
The OXO Good Grips Microfiber Duster is just the best of all worlds when it comes to mitigating dust and debris. The microfiber cloth works wonders at trapping dust as it goes over surfaces. It’s a handheld duster so it’s easy to use and can get to 99% of surfaces without the need of additional attachments. That being said, there are ways you can extend the handle to get to high or hard to reach places. This duster is affordable, highly reviewed, and is guaranteed to handle the job.
#2 Swiffer Heavy Duty Duster Starter Kit (with Extendable Handle)
Coming in a close 2nd place is Swiffer’s household dusting starter kit. Ultimately, this kit gives you a high quality feather-style duster, extendable handle, and 10 replacement duster heads so that you don’t need to get refills for a long, long time. Because it is an extendable handle, you’ll be able to reach fans, ceilings, vents, and the tops of shelves with ease. If you’re looking for a great duster with long life and versatility, this is the one.
#3 HIWARE Window and Blinds Duster
Coming in third place is the specialized dusting tool for windows and blinds by HIWARE. This dusting tool is designed to easily navigate hard-to-reach window corners and in between blinds. Not only does it come with an ergonomic handle, it also has 4 replacement microfiber dusting cloths for long-term use.
#4 Aldwin Ostrich Feather Duster
No frills. Just ostrich feathers attached to wooden handles. It’s affordable, effective, and will last a surprisingly long time. For everyday household use, you cannot go wrong with the Aldwin ostrich feather duster.
