8 steps to follow and 4 mistakes to avoid in order to dust like a pro
There are those who dust regularly, and then there are those who put it off so long that it becomes a major operation to put right. So, it's probably best if you try to make dusting part of your regular cleaning regime.
And dusting itself is not all that easy: often, we end up just moving the dust around or pushing it into hard-to-reach nooks and crannies.
So, how do we get impeccable dusting results? Read on to find out:
Before starting, clear the area: this is intuitive, but sometimes we get lazy, and instead of removing all the objects from the surfaces to be dusted, we just move them aside. This "method" is quicker but much less efficient. Set up a shelf (or table or similar) and covered it with some old sheets (or boxes or crates) and clear the room and the surfaces by placing objects on/in this location. It's also an opportunity to decide which knick-knacks to keep, which to fix and which to throw away or donate.
If you need to change the filters of the air conditioners and other ventilation systems, do it now, so all the dust from them will be collected with the rest.
Then, protect (or remove) any clean fabrics in the room which could get covered in dust as you cleand (put dirty fabrics in the wash).
- Start at the top: ceiling fans, light fixtures, and work your way down to shelves and furniture tops. The ideal is to use a handy, powerful vacuum cleaner, which captures the dust instead of just moving it around. But if you can't use it everywhere, equip yourself with microfibre cloths, which have been moistened slightly. They must not be wet or dripping with water but should be humid enough to pick up the dust rather than spreading it. Some people prepare a spray using a spoonful of alcohol and a few drops of an essential oil (to leave a pleasant scent while dusting). The spray is used on the cleaning cloths (and not directly on the surfaces) and should be rinsed out when they get dirty.
- Now, deal with the walls. You can use flat mops - like those used for parquet - or use the vacuum cleaner with a suitable accessory. In this phase, you can also clean the doors and handles. In short, clean vertical surfaces.
- Then, on to the furniture. In the case of wooden units, if they are not very dirty, you can vacuum them and apply furniture polish. The important thing is to ensure dust does not fall on these cleaned surfaces from above.
- Place all the cleared items back on the shelves. Of course, dust everything (including the items themselves) before putting them back in their place. Again, make sure to capture the dust as you go.
- Finally, the floors: you will notice that a great deal of dust and dirt will have fallen on the floor. To clean this, a vacuum cleaner is indispensible. Start at the far edges of the room, slowly moving towards the center. If there are carpets in the room, remove them before you start cleaning the floor, and beat/vacuum them thoroughly outside before putting them back.
- Clean the tools you dusted with: cloths into the washing machine, the various parts of the vacuum cleaner according to the appliance's instructions. Now your done - until next time!
