Tired of constantly dusting blinds and skirting boards? This simple cleaning hack can help keep dust away for weeks, saving you time and effort
If there’s one household task that feels more never-ending than the rest, it’s definitely dusting. No matter how often you do it, it seems like barely any time before all your surfaces are covered once again.
During warmer weather, air circulates more freely as people tend to leave windows open to cool down, allowing dust to drift through rooms and settle on surfaces. Window blinds and skirting boards are particularly prone to collecting dust, as their wide surfaces are typically made from wood, plastic or other materials that generate a significant amount of static electricity.
This static electricity causes dust and other grimy particles to stubbornly cling to surfaces and keep returning, unless a protective barrier is created to repel them.
Luckily, Kerry, a cleaning expert and founder of Blissful Domestication, has shared a cheap yet highly effective solution to combat static electricity: simply rub surfaces with tumble dryer sheets.
Kerry said: “My top tip for a quick clean of venetian blinds? (I have them all over my house) Use a tumble dryer sheet for a quick dust.
“The sheet just picks up all the dust perfectly and smells amazing too. Also extremely useful for dusting the tops of your skirting board.”
It may sound surprising, but dryer sheets are specifically designed with an anti-static coating to prevent clothes from clinging together while drying.
When wiped across blinds or skirting boards, a dryer sheet absorbs the static electricity, helping to stop dust from sticking to the surface in the first place. Dryer sheets are typically coated in fabric softener, which leaves behind a thin, waxy layer that acts as a protective barrier to repel dust.
How to keep dust away from blinds and skirting boards
If you’re tackling the skirting boards, start with a vacuum cleaner and then mop them if you need to.
Next, use a microfibre cloth to dry the surfaces and ensure none of them are damp, as moisture can attract dust.
Then, run the dryer sheets across your blinds and skirting boards. Make sure to wipe them across any windowsills or bookcases in the room too, as these tend to be particularly dusty spots.
The room should remain dust-free for at least a month, though how long it lasts depends on how much air circulates through the room each day.
Either way, this should prevent dust from gathering on easily forgotten surfaces like skirting boards and blinds for longer, meaning your room will feel considerably cleaner with minimal effort.
