By There’s up to five times more dust in our homes over the dry, stuffy winter months. Here, simple strategies to lift dust and help you breathe easier!
Nix ceiling fan gunk with a pillowcase
To banish dust on your ceiling fan, just grab an old pillowcase, says cleaning specialist Elizabeth Shields of Super Cleaning Service Louisville. “Spray each blade with an all-purpose cleaner, then slip the pillowcase around the blade and wipe it down—any extra dirt will get captured by the case instead of falling into the room below.”
Clean blinds with clever ‘sock tongs’
Ugh. Lifting dust from your blinds can take forever. The speedy solution: kitchen tongs! “Simply use rubber bands to attach microfiber cloths or old fuzzy socks to a pair of tongs,” suggests cleaning specialist Diana Ciechorska. “Dampen the cloth with your favorite cleaning solution, then run the tongs along each slat to instantly scrub both sides in one motion—you’ll be done in no time!”
Get floors gleaming with dryer sheets
That’s right—the key to an instantly clean living room is in your laundry room. “You can use a dryer sheet to clean both your floors and baseboards,” says Shields. “The easiest method is to use rubber bands to attach a dryer sheet to a mop or broom.” The science behind the magic: Dryer sheets contain static electricity that attracts and holds on to dust, pet hair and other debris.
Eliminate dirt at the door by clicking your heels
Grime that comes from outside accounts for about 60% of the dust in our home. To kick dirt to the curb, make like Dorothy and click your heels together three times before you enter, says Sherry Weavers of Three Little Birds cleaning company. This move shakes off about 30% of dirt, so you won’t track it inside.
Do a quick sweep with a feather duster
Feather dusters’ tiny fibers do a great job of getting into nooks. Just be sure to skip faux feathers: “While a synthetic duster spreads dust around, a 100% genuine feather duster absorbs dust, making it a really effective cleaning tool,” says Carolyn Forté of the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab.
