Professional Dusting Tips

You might think dusting is a boring job. (I like to dust-really. It's my zen space!) Dusting is also one that causes a great deal of work for someone that is unsure of how to do it properly.

But dusting your home is essential. Not only do you need to do so to have a clean home- but the dust from pet dander, your family members dry skin that has sloughed off and become airborne, pollen and other substances can actually help to increase the chances that you or someone in your family will have allergies.

The up-side is that it's not a whole lot of trouble to dust and the results are easy to see - not like cleaning and organizing your closet, then closing the door on the time you invested.

How The Professionals Dust

One of the first things prior to using elbow grease and a dust cloth is to have the air ducts in your home cleaned. This cuts down significantly on the amount of dust particles floating around the air in your home.

Remember to look up at the ceiling, in the corners and overhead light fixtures, and skylights for those annoying little cobwebs that occasionally come floating down when a guest walks through.

Keep fresh bags in your vacuum cleaner so that it works more efficiently to remove lint and dust particles from your carpet and draperies. Keep your air filters clean to trap dust that is circulating from the furnace fan. From here on, you'll just need to do some basic maintenance dusting.

Dusting Supplies

In order to get started, gather up these supplies.

• Vacuum: A good quality vacuum cleaner is necessary. Look for one that has a HEPA filter as this will keep the dust you collect inside and off the areas around you.
• Furniture polish
• Window cleaner
• Disinfectant
• Dusting or cleaning rags, consider terry cloth. You can also use micro fiber cloths or mitts that are slightly dampened with a bit of water.
• Canister vacuum
• If you use a duster, look for ostrich feathers. This tool will help you to get into hard to reach areas and will conform to the shape of the item you are dusting. Look for one that has a larger surface area to it. The higher the surface area it has, the better. Also consider real lamb’s wool dusters for a good quality product. Swiffer has a duster than works well too.

How To Dust

• Get organized first. Clean up the room first, organizing it. If you fluff the pillows, put things away and fold up blankets you are probably going to release more dust into the air. So, do this first then go back to dust.
• Start with the ceiling. Dust the cobwebs in the corners, the light figures and other things that are high up in the room. Dust all surfaces.
• Use your duster for places that are intricate, the top of drawers and those hard to reach cobwebs. Do not use it on the flat surfaces you will use your dampened dusting rag for this.
• Pick up and move objects to get under them.
• When you come to things that you use regularly, wipe them down with disinfectant. This includes your telephone, your light switches, dining room tables and end tables.
• Don’t forget the molding, pictures, stairs and furniture.
• Clean the glass too. Use a glass cleaner and a new, clean terry cloth or paper towels.
• Polish your wood furniture with furniture polish.
• Now, use your vacuum carefully and effectively to reach all areas of the floor.