by Frank Donatone

Created on: October 14, 2007

Dusting tips from the human dust buster, my wife.

Well, my better half convinced me to write this article for the Helium audience. These are her tips to make dusting less of chore. So lets follow her lead and look at the lighter side of dusting. Dust bunnies beware !

Now here is what my wife said you need to keep in mind. Your aim is to pick up dust, not displace it. For dust cloths you can use washed old undershirts, socks, cloth diapers or old towels sprayed with silicone. Cheesecloth moistened with diluted lemon oil also works fine. She also feels that lamb's wool dusters work better than feather dusters. So now that you have the basic tools lets get to work.

The technique to use is to start dusting at the top and working downward with slow, even strokes. If you have allergies like my wife coat your nostrils with petroleum jelly to prevent congestion or a scratchy throat.

1. Are your dust bunnies turning into dust monkeys climbing to hard to reach places? Well you can reach them by simply tying a soft cloth to the end of a yard stick. This is very effectiveness for cleaning those trouble spots such as the space behind a desk, the corner behind a bed, or the top shelf of a cabinet. For other hard to reach spaces like crevices you can blow the dust out with a hair dryer.

2. Instead of dusting lampshades let your vacuum do the work with it's brush or nozzle attachment.

3. You can clean your dusty drapes and curtains by simply tossing them in the dryer. Turn the machine to the "air" only cycle, then run it for about 20 minutes.

4. Clean your houseplants by giving them a brief shower.

5. Use that aforementioned old sock from our list of tools and wear it as a glove to dust tables and chairs.

6. Don't bother dusting knick-knacks one by one. Just soak them all together in a dishpan with detergent. Use your hair dryer to dry them off.

7. Use eyeglass-cleaning tissues to dust small picture frames.

8. Wax your dustpan so that the bunnies can't hold on. Shake you mops and dust-cloths inside a sack or outdoors.

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