When you’re looking to do your weekly home cleaning, dusting and vacuuming are almost certainly on your list. These two common chores do help improve the look of your home — but do they truly remove the dust and debris you think they do?

Maybe not. Both dusting and vacuuming work by moving the dust, pollen, skin particles, and other items coating your furniture and floors — and when they are moved, they may not always land where you want them to. It’s inevitable that some of this pesky dirt will not only be left behind, but be disbursed through the air, which means it’s breathed in or resettles on the surfaces you just spent precious time cleaning.

The result? A continual cycle of dust that not only is frustrating, but can also exacerbate allergies.

But if cleaning actually makes your home feel less clean, what can you do?

The answer lies in a simple trick using something your home already has – a thermostat. As you begin your dusting or vacuuming, switch the system’s fan from “auto” to “on”. As the fan kicks in, any particles that are let loose into the air will be pulled by the fan into your venting, where they’ll be contained by your system’s filter.

Leave the fan on for about five minutes after you’ve finished your chores, then remember to turn it back to “auto”; running the fan constantly will run up your energy bill.

Happy cleaning!