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I know that I can use で here to mean by/with but wouldn't it be more proper to use を since よごす is a transitive verb?

しんぐもつちぼこりでよごしてしまいました。

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

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汚す｛よごす｝ is indeed a transitive verb, but 土埃｛つちぼこり｝ is not the direct object of action here. When you use 汚す, you can specify a direct object(marked with を) and you can also specify the thing that dirtied that object. You can specify that with で. That means, that 寝具｛しんぐ｝ is the thing that got dirty, and it was dirtied by 土埃. Another example:

手を血で汚す - dirty hands with blood

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  • 1
    You are wonderful. Thank you for explaining it clearly.
    – John
    Mar 12, 2016 at 14:36
  • 3
    Grammatically, there is a hidden を underneath も.
    – broccoli forest
    Mar 13, 2016 at 7:08
  • @broccoliforest True, I didn't think about it that way in this context. Thank you for the important note.
    – strawberry jam
    Mar 13, 2016 at 18:03

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