An interior designer has revealed that a soft paintbrush, not a cloth, is the most effective tool for keeping bookshelves clean and dust-free.
Bookshelves naturally attract dust because books create hundreds of small surfaces where particles can settle. Once dust works its way between tightly packed books, it becomes much harder to remove than on open furniture.
According to interior designer Ellie Brown at Oak&More, the key isn't cleaning less often – it's making light maintenance part of your routine.
Why bookshelves collect dust
Brown said: "Bookshelves are one of those areas that quietly collect dust because they have so many surfaces where it can settle. It's not just the shelves themselves either. Book spines, the tops of pages and the small gaps between books all trap dust over time."
She added: "Because the dust builds gradually, many people don't notice how much has accumulated until they come to rearrange their shelves or take a book down."
The good news, according to Brown, is that you don't need to empty an entire bookshelf every time you clean it. "A little maintenance is much more effective than waiting until the dust has built up," she said.
How to keep bookshelves clean
While many people reach for the feather duster or vacuum for cleaning dust, Brown says one cheap decorating tool works even better.
She said: "One of my favourite cleaning tools isn't actually a cleaning product at all. It's actually a soft paintbrush. It gently lifts the dust from the tops of the books, around decorative objects and into corners where a cloth struggles to reach. It's particularly useful for older books because it removes dust without pulling at delicate pages or covers."
Brown also recommends avoiding overfilling shelves, even though it's tempting to fill every available inch with books. She added: "It protects book covers and bindings, airflow improves, and cleaning becomes far simpler because you're not trying to force a cloth into tiny gaps."
Although it's not vital to completely clear your shelves every time you want to clean, there may be some areas looking dustier than others – so it's helpful to have a microfibre cloth to hand for the really dirty areas.
Cleaning wooden shelving
When cleaning wooden shelving, Brown says it's important to always spray your cleaning solution onto the cloth rather than directly onto the shelf.
She added: "It's always safer to spray your cleaning product onto your cloth rather than directly onto the shelf. Spraying furniture polish or cleaning products straight onto a bookshelf increases the risk of moisture reaching the books, particularly if they're packed closely together."
"Books naturally absorb moisture, and over time can cause pages to ripple, covers to warp or even encourage mould if the conditions are right," she said.
