alex from austria here. My girlfriend and I have been discussing this
issue for a while now and we can’t come to a conclusion, so maybe you
can help us:
what is more efficient for reducing dust in the house? Dusting first and
then vacuuming or vacuuming first and then dusting?
My girlfriend thinks that since vacuuming will disperse dust it is more
efficient to do the dusting afterwards.
I think that if you start with dusting you can then vacuum up the dust
that falls during the dusting process.
Also: will you get a rug cleaner by vacuuming it or shaking it out the
window?
Please help, Cecil was too busy to settle this, you maybe you lovely people of the board can help!
It depends on the materials you use for dusting and how effective is your vacuum cleaner at filtering (and not venting in such a way as to stir up dust).
But generally… Your GF is right.
Vacuuming generally stirs up dust, dusting may knock some dust onto the floor, but if you’re using one of those dusting devices that traps dust, or a duster and polish or cleaning solution, you’re picking up most of the dust so you can dispose of it.
Even if you do knock a bit of dust on the floor, it’s not going to be as noticeable as a film of dust on the shelves and other flat surfaces.
So whichever way you slice it, your GF is right - you’re wrong. Suck it up and buy her a bunch of flowers to make up for ever doubting her.
If your vacuum is throwing dust around, then you need a new vacuum. Modern vacuums are much more efficient, so the old rule that you should vacuum first is no longer applicable. Now you should dust first.
I always dust first, thinking that invariably a crumb or two or some odd detritus won’t make it into the dust cloth or duster. I have no problem with these falling on to the about-to-be-vacuumed floor. If I vacuumed first, I’d have to be much more careful!
Which would indicate my second condition: not vacuuming often enough. The floor should not have so much dust that moving a cleaner over it will significantly disturb the dust.
Thanks for the welcome, Dung Beetle. I have been lurking for a while but obviously wanted to wait until I had something titillating to contribute as my first post.
At the General Motors cleaning school, they taught us to respect gravity. Clean from top to bottom. Dusting with a vac is fine, if you never leave little things lying around. Earrings can be tedious to sort from the dust bag. :smack:
The beater bar on a vac is more for vibrating than brushing. It shakes the dust loose, and the airflow removes it. If you want to take a rug outside and shake it, have at it. Whacking it against a chain-link fence is satisfying, but take note of the wind direction, or the dust will come back in your face.
Though I disagree with mangetout about gravity, buy your GF flowers anyway. It’s usually a good idea.
