In the wake of a Dubai sandstorm, navigating the aftermath requires diligence and proper understanding of effective cleaning strategies. From cleaning indoor spaces to restoring outdoor areas, mastering the art of post-sandstorm cleanup is essential for the residents of Dubai. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore proven techniques and essential tips to efficiently restore your surroundings to their pristine state after a Dubai sandstorm. Whether you’re facing your first sandstorm or seeking to enhance your cleanup approach, this guide provides invaluable insights to tackle the challenges effectively.
If you ever left a window open or forgot to close a door during a sandstorm, you know what happens. Your once spotless living room floor turns into a personal indoor desert, complete with its own tiny dunes. If this happens to you, this is the perfect guide to walk you through the cleaning process. Getting rid of sand dust is a lot of work. We created this guide to help you clean up as efficiently as possible. However, if you would rather spend your time doing something else, our online cleaning booking service is available 7 days a week to do the cleaning for you.
Here are the 9 steps:
1. Dress for the job
Sand dust gets into every little nook and cranny in your home. When you’re cleaning, it is easy to stir up or brush against it so that it gets onto your clothes. Once there, it is surprisingly difficult to wash off. You can say goodbye to the very nice shirt you only wore once.
Do yourself a favor – dig into the back of your wardrobe and find that 80’s tracksuit and the pair of old tassel loafers you thought you threw out in your last move. Get into them. In this shining armor, you are ready to take on the task.
2. Remove carpets and bedding
When possible, clear your floors to give yourself some space. Carpets require professional cleaning from time to time, but often it is enough to take them outside and give them a good beating (show them who’s the boss!).
Take off the bedding. Throw bed sheets and duvet covers into the washing machine, and let pillows and duvets air out while you clean the inside of your home.
Pro tip – Use a dry cleaning service in Dubai. It costs you a few more dirhams, but it feels very good to outsource this part of the problem to someone else. Even more so if the sand storm is still raging and you can not hang the washed duvet covers outdoors without getting them all dusty again. Our friends over at Washmen are happy to help.
3. Now start sweeping
It is very tempting to start by taking a vacuum cleaner to the sand dust. However, if the sand dust is of the fine Arabian Peninsula kind, there are two problems with that approach.
The first problem is that the sand dust is very fine. Unless your vacuum filter is equipped with an advanced filter (i.e. a HEPA filter), the air blowing out of your vacuum cleaner will still contain fine sand particles. That same air will also stir up sand dust around you, and you’ll end up redistributing more sand dust than you clean up.
The second problem is that sand dust is tough on vacuum cleaners. The fine dust will often not settle until it finds its way to the air filter. Once there, it will quickly clog the filter, causing your vacuum cleaner to overheat – trust us, we learned this the hard way! If you want to spend more time cleaning and less time shopping for a new vacuum cleaner, sweeping first is the way to go.
Hence, your best friend in a dusty room is the broom. Swipe gently so that you do not stir up the dust, use a dust pan to collect the sand, and seal your garbage bags well to avoid disappointment. You should be able to get rid of most of the dust this way.
4. Time to bring out the vacuum
Make no mistake. You will vacuum twice. This first pass is to get rid of the sand dust on the floor that you did not catch with the broom and to vacuum the surfaces of your furniture.
For the floor (which should now be carpet-free), remove the brush attachment, put the power on high and methodically work over the floor. Any dust you miss is sure to find its way into your wardrobe at some future point in time, so stay diligent.
For your furniture, use a small brush attachment. Make sure to get into the small spaces where dust gathers. You do not want a visible amount of sand dust in there when you start wet wiping, as that may create stains on the furniture fabric that may be permanent.
5. Wipe, wipe, wipe
Now that you have gotten rid of most of the dust, arm yourself with a damp cloth and a bucket of water. Go over tables, sofas, and other furniture.
Don’t overdo it with the water. A soaking wet cloth may damage sensitive furniture, so it is better to wipe it two times than to get water damage on your furniture. Change the water often so that you are not using dirty water to wipe your belongings.
Pro tip – Don’t forget to wipe the top of the door frames and pictures – it is easy to forget these if you are not tall enough to see them.
6. Second round of vacuuming
All that wiping will have stirred up sand dust that will find its way back onto your floor. Time to bring out the vacuum cleaner again. This time, use the brush attachment on the floor as well. Be patient, you are almost there…
7. Wet mop the floor
Nothing creates the feeling of a completely clean floor like wet mopping it. This will let you get rid of the last sand particles and give your home a sparkly clean look. Just make sure to use a clean mop and change the water frequently. Add a floor-cleaning solution to the water if you prefer.
8. Bring in the carpets and bedding
The carpets should already be clean by now. Give them an overhaul with the vacuum cleaner to make sure you will not bring any sand dust into your now clean home.
If you sent your duvet covers to the dry cleaners it is time to break out the spare set. If you washed them yourself, they are probably already dry. That is one upside of Dubai’s weather!
9. Final touches
Now you’re almost done. Have a look around. Did you miss any small areas? If so use the damp cloth again to make your home spotless. Nothing left? Then take a break. You deserve it!
If it seems like too much work to clean up after a sandstorm, ServiceMarket has got you covered. Book a deep cleaning service in Dubai now!
