Do you vacuum before you dust, or dust before you vacuum??

Dust first really, as any dust dislodged goes onto the floor and is then vacuumed up :) Always start cleaning as high up as you can and work down :)

> Always start cleaning as high up as you can and work down

Agree and where ever possible I damp dust.

I vacuum first, then dust.

I dust with the hoover, using the wee brush attachment on the dyson, starting high and working my way down to hoovering the floor. If I'm really bored I polish after that :-)

> If I'm really bored I polish after that

Cough :) You'd rather be walking the dogs :)

First I wipe down with Flash wipes wherever there are pawprints, mud splashes or similar (windowsills, cupboard doors, doors, door frames, kitchen work surfaces, sofas), then I wipe all noseprints off the windows!, then I dust, then I vacuum.

>> If I'm really bored I polish after that
> Cough :-) You'd rather be walking the dogs

It's true, I'm rarely that bored :-) :-)

> First I wipe down with Flash wipes wherever there are pawprints, mud splashes or similar (windowsills, cupboard doors, doors, door frames, kitchen work surfaces, sofas), then I wipe all noseprints off the windows!, then I dust, then I vacuum.

Marianne that's what I call an intensive spring clean... only to be performed when visitors are expected or on Hogmanay :-)

It appears that so far many agree with what I have always been taught, dust then hoover. It was just that yesterday on a dog walk with a friend (I have no idea how we started talking about cleaning!) and she said she hoovers then dusts, because the hoover blows dust about. I was always told dust then hoover, because then the dust that falls onto the floor is then picked up!

The damp dusting is a very good idea, and a friend who is a cleaner recommended the hoover brush idea, especially for pesky horizontal blinds.

Wow what an interesting topic lol!

I hoover more often than I dust!!!  But if I dust and hoover on the same day, I dust then hoover!!  :)  :)

Whats dusting ???? :-)
Aileen

Ah but chaumsong, if that isn't done every single day here I would move out because I wouldn't be able to stand how dirty it would be! :) But then there are one or two animals here erm cough cough.

I feel so slovenly!!! I don't polish anymore, but the hoover does most jobs for me, if I could find someone to opertae the hoover for me then so much the better, more time to play with the dogs. Mine are a non shedding breed, goodness knows what this place would look like if I had 4 moulters :(

If at all possible I wait for someone else to do it?

what's hoovering????? :-)

If at all possible I wait for someone else to do it?

I like the cut of your jib ! lol.

I'm working on the principle that a fairly thick layer of dog hair protects the carpet from wear :)
Unfortunately I haven't managed to convince my husband that I am right yet lol

> I'm working on the principle that a fairly thick layer of dog hair protects the carpet from wear :-)

Oh it definitely does :) And over time, all your soft furnishings begin to match the dogs. Perfick.

First i tidy, then i dust (with antibacterial wipes) then i wipe all surfaces and doors etc in the kitchen and give the bathroom a clean before mopping the kitchen and hallway and finally hoovering. Then i sit down with a cup of tea because i cant move until the wet floors are dry :-)  Do that once a week and occasionally hoover in between but more often than not i will pick up 'bits' with my dust buster.

> And over time, all your soft furnishings begin to match the dogs.

:-)  I've always thought you talked a lot of sense MsT :-)

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">First i tidy, then i dust (with antibacterial wipes) then i wipe all surfaces and doors etc in the kitchen and give the bathroom a clean before mopping the kitchen and hallway and finally hoovering

Then I wake up and discover it was all a bad dream ;-)

On the rare occasions I do dust (visitors or Christmas :-)) it is dust then hoover.

I am a firm believer in only keeping 3 rooms relatively tidy. Lounge, kitchen and bathroom...i.e the only 3 rooms where a visitor could have any reason to be.  All other rooms are...ahem....lived in.

And yes, how it would love it if my breed was non moulting.  Must be bliss :-)

I just hoover every day, and dust probably once every few months when it gets really obvious :-P But I damp dust then.   Dry dusting is just pointless to me, even if most of it goes on the floor it's so light that some of it is bound to land back where it started.

> then i dust (with antibacterial wipes)

Goodness, you could save yourself lots of lovely lolly to spend on better things if you cut that out :) 
There really is no need to use such things in your own home.  Just a dampened cloth is perfectly good enough for dusting.  The only areas where you might want to increase the level of hygiene would be food prep areas and even then you only need to wash with detergents provided you do it regularly.

> Goodness, you could save yourself lots of lovely lolly to spend on better things if you cut that out

LOL - I did think of posting the same :) Anti-bacterial "anythings" really aren't a good idea (unless there is a very specific infection problem in the house)  and, as you say, frightfully expensive :( A pair of rubber gloves, a bucket of water with something like Flash/soapy water in to get rid of muddy marks and a cloth is all that is necessary and much cheaper :) :)

I don't understand the dust/vacc thingy.  I only get confused, not knowing which way round to do it.

Since finding my solution, I worry a lot less about which should be done first.

I have a very, very small living room.  I have a lot of dogs. 

In the evenings, when I actually have time to sit down, I call them all in to the living room.  They all lie down.  It's wall to wall dog.

If I had bothered to vaccuum the carpet, you wouldn't see it anyway.  Just practise the down command, it covers a multitude of sins.

;-)

> If I had bothered to vaccuum the carpet, you wouldn't see it anyway. Just practise the down command, it covers a multitude of sins.

Brilliant! LOL !!!!!

[PS: if you genuinely have wall-to-wall dogs, are you never tempted to run the Hoover over them during their down-stays?]

> There really is no need to use such things in your own home.

Actually with a little one who likes to put her food everywhere and eat from every surface i do actually need to make sure most surfaces are as clean as the usual food prep areas like the kitchen.

> Actually with a little one who likes to put her food everywhere and eat from every surface i do actually need to make sure most surfaces are as clean

Isn't it good to challenge children's immune systems though? I thought they said nowadays that all these antibacterial products increase chances of childhood asthma etc?

> Isn't it good to challenge children's immune systems though? I thought they said nowadays that all these antibacterial products increase chances of childhood asthma etc?

I dont listen to all the so called 'advice' that is spouted about nowadays. I just bring my child up in a way i see fit. Its done her no harm up until now :-)

Neither. :-p

Oh alright, when I absolutely have to clean house a bit, I use the vaccum cleaner to get as much dust from all levels. Then hubby comes along and says it's not good enough and does it properly! :-D

Together!!  Well not any more, but when we were first married, hubby in his quest to be the perfect husband used to do all the housework with me, he would dust and I'd hoover.  Every Friday night we'd do the whole house, it sparkled from top to bottom, all surfaces gleamed.. Then we had kids, dogs and horses in various combinations and he hasn't joined me since in that activity!  I think he's knows it is futile, and some days we actually leave messages in the dust to each other lol.  Ah to be houseproud again, where did those days go?

> Then hubby comes along and says it's not good enough and does it properly!

PLEEEEEASE  Could I borrow him?  :-)  :-)

This thread is brilliant, most of my friends are clean freaks and make me feel a complete clart because i don't do the washing up the second I've finished my tea, or wash the skirting boards every week, I have one friend who even washes her hoover !

> I have one friend who even washes her hoover !

I used to live next door to a housewife who washed her net curtains every week for something to do she said!

My mother used to clean the top of her kitchen cupboards every week.  Not natural.

My Mum used to be mad on cleaning, she had a key to my flat and there was nothing like opening the door to the smell of Domestos and knowing she'd been in and scrubbed the place, she even used to do it to my friends ( she didn't have their key, she'd just pop up for a visit ) there was no more welcome guest than my scrubbing Mum lol.

> Actually with a little one who likes to put her food everywhere and eat from every surface i do actually need to make sure most surfaces are as clean as the usual food prep areas like the kitchen.

You don't really.  Children have done this since time began, long before they marketed antibacterial wipes :)  You do have to be more careful about food surfaces but only where high risk items have been placed ie uncooked poultry. 

A certain level of bacteria is both natural and beneficial.  Even where there are potentially harmful bacteria you do not have to do anything other than prevent them multiplying to excessive amounts which will not happen if you regularly wipe surfaces down with nothing more than detergent.  Trust me I am a nurse. :) 
We don't do anything other than this to wash beds and lockers areas on a hospital ward so pretty sure you don't have to go to these lengths in your home. 

Even if you are determined to "disinfect" your home you are not going to achieve it by using these wipes.  In reality to make a job of it you would need to wipe a small area of surface singly ie once in one direction, throw that cloth away, move onto the next area, wipe once, throw cloth away etc etc.  Phenomenally expensive.  :)

> Isn't it good to challenge children's immune systems though? I thought they said nowadays that all these antibacterial products increase chances of childhood asthma etc?

Yes it is and this is what studies have shown.

> I dont listen to all the so called 'advice' that is spouted about nowadays.

Of course you don't have to :) but why not ask your mother what she did when you were little and you didn't come to a sticky end did you :)
I'm not saying you should not clean but just fill a bowl with hot soapy water to do the job and save yourself a packet to spend on a lovely something for the little one.

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">> I have one friend who even washes her hoover !<br />I used to live next door to a housewife who washed her net curtains every week for something to do she said!<br /><br />My mother used to clean the top of her kitchen cupboards every week.  Not natural.

My mother used to wash all the outside drainpipes every week!  

I answered a question about whether we Hoover or dust first.I don't need to be told which way is best to clean my home,bring up my daughter or spend my money.I happen to work and bring up my child pretty much on my own due to partners work shifts.it happens to be the quickest and easiest thing to use wipes that remove the dust and sticky marks and can be chucked away afterwards. Jeez

jo roxy jaz-thankyou!if theres one job i loathe  ,its cleaning the blinds!why didnt I think of hoovering them!

> and can be chucked away afterwards.

..........................I had better not mention environmental impact then :-D

I have to admit to hoovering every day downstairs., and I mop the floors every other day but only round the mats I only lift them and mop the whole floors once a weekish..  I only dust about once a week and then I don't do the high shelves or the picture frames etc...they are saved for a spring clean one year (Haven't decided which year yet !) If i did not hoover every day the doors would not close...and we would soon be hitting our heads on the cielings ! 3 Bernese shed a little hair as I am sure you can imagin :-) The kitchen and bathrooms are kept clean (And I use the wipes in the bathroom Freds Mum to keep it respectable inbetween full cleaning :-) I do use the spray bleach in the kitchen and dog kitchen every day as the girls are raw fed and with all that raw meat around I do think a proper clean is needed.
My motto...My house is clean enough to be hygenic and dirty enough to be home.
Aileen

Fred's mum I can understand your response as know you have strong opinions but there is very good advice coming along here so there is no harm reading digesting and maybe trying some of the suggestions ;-)

I am lucky enough to have a cleaner as she is a top down girl who uses traditional cleaning methods and we have a house that is sparkling after she finishes !!

I then clean kitchen work surfaces after each food preparation with hot water and diluted washing up liquid and brush and mop ( dependant on moulting and dirty paw prints whenever it is needed which I do under necessity rather than routine :-)

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">I had better not mention environmental impact then :-D

oh yes, the 6-10 wipes i use once a week must have huge repercussions to the planet. and there was us thinking the pollution from major countries pollution production was doing the damage

LOL if you are only using them once a week you are hardly keeping all these other areas as clean as a food preparation area!

I hoover and dust when I really haven't got anything better to do - sometimes I even break out the wet soapy clothes (water is a solvent, and soap itself will kill most nasties, and thats good enough for me).

My OH insists on buying the expensive wipes but I let him, as it means he does occasionally clean things. I let him buy a new hoover yesterday and hes done the whole house - but thats going to be a REALLY expensive way of doing things I think!

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">LOL if you are only using them once a week you are hardly keeping all these other areas as clean as a food preparation area! <br />

Yes i am well aware of that thank you. Thats why in my kitchen and bathroom i use dettol anti bacterial sprays and bleach

> Thats why in my kitchen and bathroom i use dettol anti bacterial sprays and bleach

...............................                       I better not :-D

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> I better not

no, you'd better not