Dust and grime can have a similar appearance but they have different effects on your home. Dust is easy to clean when it’s fresh. However, when it settles onto a surface, it can become hard and difficult to clean off without damaging the surface underneath it. Grime is much the same in this respect. If you can catch it early, it doesn’t stand a chance. However, if you allow it to pile up over the weeks and months, it latches onto a surface and refuses to let go. You would think that neither would be a problem because when we see either, we tend to clean them right away. However, this duo has the best hiding strategies that you will come across in the home.
The trickle-down effect
One of the dirtiest places of the home is also the area which we least interact with. Your roof is incredibly messy. There’s a potential bucket-load of dirt, moss, small stones, bird waste and grime that could be cleaned up from the surface of your roof. However, grime is the most mobile and it spreads quickly. If you have a dirty roof and it rains, your gutters will become blocked over time. This will learn to the water spilling over the edge. The rainwater will pick up the dirt and debris and trickle down the exterior of your home. When the water dries it will leave dirt marks that will stain the surface. This is particularly troublesome if you have white gutters or a white exterior to your house. The only way you can clean these grime marks is to get up on a ladder and use a leather cloth to wipe them away. To prevent this in the first place, keep your roof clean.
The permanent dust?
You’ll know when you have hard water in your pipes when your dishware comes out of the wash cycle looking dusty. It’s not dust, it’s minerals and dirt from soil contamination in your water. Dishwashers have a heat cycle that dries the dishes and glasses. So if any minerals and dirt are on your glassware, it will make the glasses look a little dusty. The grime becomes ingrained on the surface and the only way to clean it off is by using cleaning solutions for hard water. Take a look at natural products that use a citrus-acid based solution. These types of products are designed to bind minerals in the water, making it easy to clump grime together. Naturally softening the hard water, it acts like a chelating agent which acts to stick the minerals together instead of a surface.
Dried up dust
Dust is a mixture of dead skin cells and moisture. When it dries it can become a stiff amalgamation of human tissue and dirt from around the home. Window sills, in particular, are prone to this as the sunlight will naturally harden dust in just a few days. Cleaning your window sills with warm water and bleach every week will put a stop to this.
Grime is particularly misunderstood as it’s not exclusive to the inside of your home. Keep your roof clean so you don’t have grime tickling down from your gutters, making your home look distastefully messy.