Dusting the Right Way-Northern Virginia Home Cleaning Tips

Here are some great tips for cleaning and dusting your home.

Every thorough cleaning job should begin with dusting. In order to be efficient, always dust from the top down. First, check for cobwebs on the ceiling. Then, moving down, dust shelves, tabletops, and any other horizontal surfaces you may have. Don't forget to dust accessories such as the telephone, lampshades, blinds, and plants. Next, dust behind furniture, baseboards, and floors. 

For most dusting jobs, the only equipment required is a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment and a dust wand.  In order to avoid sucking up small objects while you are dusting, put a piece of panty hose over the nozzle; keep it in place with an elastic band.  You may wish to use a machine-washable dust mop for floors, ceilings and walls. Floating dust can be a problem and although many people choose to use furniture polish or spray to eliminate this, often a simple spray bottle filled with water can do the trick.  Simply mist your dust cloth or mop. 

When cleaning your house, you should aim to remove dust, not just move it around. In order to attain this, you need to wipe dusty areas with something that will grab the dust. To make good dust cloths, spray discarded undershirts, cloth diapers, or old towels with silicone. Cheesecloth moistened with diluted lemon oil also works fine. Feather dusters, although quite popular, are not very effective as they tend to scatter the dust. They are still handy for emergency cleanups. If you do use one, get a lamb's wool duster. Another option is treating an old sock with silicone and wearing it as a glove to dust tables and chairs. When sweeping up dust from floors, wax your dustpan so that dust won't cling. Shake mops and dust cloths inside a sack or outdoors to prevent dust from spreading.

Large amounts of dust are usually attracted to the static prone surfaces in your home such as your TV, the top of your refrigerator, your computer or glass tables. To alleviate this problem, try wiping these surfaces with a moistened rag with following cleaning solution: four parts water and one part liquid fabric softener.

Use your hair dryer to remove dust on delicate items. It can also be used in hard-to-reach places, such as pleated lampshades, knick-knacks, artificial flowers, carved furniture, or under appliances. To combat dust in narrow spaces, cover a long handled utensil with a sock or a pair of panty hose.

Gail Fabiani

www.burlingtonhomes4sale.com