Air Purifier or Handheld Vacuum? Dust, you are gonna get it sooner or later...

CYPER

I live in NW London and the dust drives me crazy, cause I have to clean it twice a week and I'm already fed up. So I'm looking for a solution to the problem. That will be either a handheld vacuum or an air purifier.

So what I want to know is: is there such a product/air purifier that really gets rid of the dust all together? I mean this device has to attract at least 95% of all air particles to its filters/lamps or whatever it uses and not leave it fall on the hard surfaces around my room. I'm willing to pay up to £200 if it really does the job, e.g. I don't have to do anything.

If there is no such thing then what handheld vacuum would you recommend? All I want is to be able to suck dust from all my furniture and nothing else. I just bought a Dirt Devil DRC006 and it doesn't have any attachments so I can't slide it onto the wooden surfaces (to be returned). Over £100 for a handheld Dyson seems a lot, I don't need all that power. Any vacuum with a soft brush attachment that is wide enough? All these Dustbusters from Black & Decker do not seem to have a brush.

Any opinions or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

CYPER

Any tips, guys?

CYPER

Last try to get a reply...

TomsMom

Hi Cyper. Sorry no-one's replied to you but I'll try to help.

Dust is a fact of live wherever you live. I don't think the dust problem in NW London is different from anywhere else. Maybe if you live on a busy main road and have lots of foot traffic in your house/have a cat or dog you might get more than someone who lives up a quiet little lane on their own.

I've lived on a busy main road with buses going past our very small front garden. I've lived on quieter roads and now live in a little close with just 5 houses. I can honestly say there hasn't ever been much difference. It was probably worse when I had a dog.

Dust is basically dead skin cells, minute particles of fibres off clothes and soft furnishings, hair, dirt you bring in from the garden, etc. There's no way of escaping it.

I have a first class honours degree in Domestic Engineering from the University of Life, in other words I've been a wife and mother looking after a house for over 40 years and have tried everything :rotfl: .

What can you do?

1) Forget the vacuum cleaner for dusting the dust off your furniture. It wont remove it all, some gets sucked up the spout but it also gets stuck in the bristles of the vacuum brush and re-deposits it somewhere else. Vacuum cleaners are fine for carpets.

2) Use a duster. Not any old duster though and certainly not a dry duster. A dry duster will not pick up dust, it will redistribute it and it lands on something else. My recommendation would be for a microfibre cloth - wash before use to remove any loose fibres (some cheaper ones can be "linty") and do not use fabric conditioner as it affects it's static ability to attract dust.

How to dust:

1) Run the tap and wet your microfibre cloth. Wring out until it is damp. Fold in half, in quarters, then again so you actually have eight clean "sides" to use. Don't be tempted to screw it up in a heap. Start at the top if you are going to clean picture rails, architraves, light fittings, etc., as some dust might fall as you clean.

2) Wipe your first piece of furniture (or windowsill or whatever) with the first clean side of your microfibre cloth. Look at it and marvel at how much muck it's picked up. Black TVs are horrendous for showing dust, especially piano black, and the screen which attracts humungus amounts due to the static. Glass stands and tables are also pretty horrid.

3) When the first side of your cloth is dirty, go to the second clean side and use that. When the second side is dirty, fold over and you'll have two nice new clean sides to use. And so on until all eight clean sides have been used. With a bit of luck you will have finished dusting your room without having to go back to the kitchen tap to wash the muck out of your duster.

4) Repeat in each room as necessary.

Remember that dust collects on vertical surfaces as well as horizontal ones, i.e. your curtains, windows (yes, but they wont need cleaning every week), mirrors, light fittings, even doors and walls. Curtains/light shades etc can be vacuumed occasionally.

It's a personal thing how much dust you can stand to see. A manic housewife can dust every day. Me - I have a routine where each room is done just once a week, I think that's enough. But twice a week in your living room would be be fine and your bedroom etc once a week.

So don't go spending £200 on anything, it will be wasted. Spend a few £s on a couple of microfibre cloths and give that a try.

Hope that helps.

CYPER

TomsMom wrote: »

Hi Cyper...

Thanks a lot for the informative post. Much appreciated :T

I've actually decide to go for one Dyson DC31 as a birthday present
And you know why? Cause the second thing I hate most after the dust itself is the process of cleaning the dust - I used to do it as you described - with a damp cloth and then it got boring after so many times. Then I started with a regular hoover and an extension - the results are good to my liking, but I just hate all the extra bits I have to do like getting the hoover out, attaching the brush, move the heavy hoover around and so on.

Hopefully this new Dyson will make it less cumbersome and more fun :rotfl:
And I truly hope the claims about "nothing getting out of the vacuum" are true. For that amount of money it better be.
First I wasn't keen on the idea of spending over £100 on a handheld vacuum and was thinking of buying a Black and Decker Dustbuster for around £30, but changed my mind, so hopefully it's worth it.