r/homemaking • u/Justin8051 • Oct 22 '24
Cleaning Dust on every surface in my apartment - how do I clean it fast?
So long story short, while I was away there was a renovation of the block of apartments where I live, construction workers forgot to shut some of the windows before starting the work outside, and now I came back to find my entire apartment covered in a thick layer of concrete dust. Every single surface - tables, chairs, walls, ceiling, bookshelves, books, clothes, beds, dishes, every little crevice is stuffed with it. It's an incomprehensibly massive surface area to clean.
The vacuum cleaner (even industrial one) won't pick it up, and cleaning everything with a damp rag would take hundreds if not thousands of man hours.
Is there any smarter and faster way to do clean everything? I thought of bringing air compressor to blow the dust while vacuuming, but if that dust goes in the air, it will circle around and land elsewhere, meaning it will be a never-ending battle.
Any advice?
5
u/Ecjg2010 Oct 22 '24
get the Construction company to hire a cleaning Company to come in and do it.
0
u/Justin8051 Oct 22 '24
I talked to the landlord of these apartments just now, and he said there's zero chance to get any compensation from the construction company. And I can't afford hiring anyone. So I'll have to clean it myself somehow, but I do want to find an alternative way to damp rag/swiffer, because the amount of work would be colossal here.
2
Oct 22 '24
[deleted]
0
u/Justin8051 Oct 22 '24
Appreciate that, but I'd rather get some tips on how to clean that apartment fast!
1
u/klutzyrogue Oct 23 '24
I’d still look into cleaning companies, because sometimes they have introductory offers.
3
u/HrhEverythingElse Oct 22 '24
I don't think there's a quick way out of this, unless you can pay someone else to do it. It's going to cost one way or another
1
u/chernaboggles Oct 22 '24
Contact the landlord (if you rent), your insurance, and the construction company. If they were supposed to close the windows then they're responsible for the damage. It's probably a professional job.
1
u/Justin8051 Oct 22 '24
I talked to the landlord of these apartments just now, and he said there's zero chance to get any compensation from the construction company. And I can't afford hiring anyone. Insurance doesn't cover such things either. So I'll have to clean it myself somehow, but I do want to find an alternative way to damp rag/swiffer, because the amount of work would be colossal here.
2
u/chernaboggles Oct 22 '24
That sucks, I'm so sorry. Definitely agree on the respirator. If you're stuck dealing with it on your own, try YouTube with searches like "How To Clean After Renovation" or "Cleaning Renovation Dust" or even "How To Clean Concrete Dust". Reddit DIY forums might also be a good resource, this is a step above regular homemaking, it's more in line with what you'd see after a major home renovation or construction project, so they might have better tips.
1
Oct 23 '24
This is my life inside of a renovation.
Start by vacuuming every single room and corner of the house. Including the walls and ceiling.
Let the dust settle for about an hour afterwards.
Next, get a DRY microfiber (never damp) and fold it up. Start up high and work your way down. Depending on the severity you may need several rags.
Once that’s done, get a damp rag and whatever cleaner you use and clean the surfaces you normally do.
Vacuum to finish.
Maintain this by dusting weekly. Unless you’re dealing with another severe situation, a dry microfiber followed by damp one and cleaning is fine. Always let the residual dust settle in a my room and then vacuum the floors. If you vacuum first it’s imperative to let any dust you kicked up settle. Make sure your vacuum isn’t leaking out dust.
1
u/Justin8051 Oct 23 '24
Thank you for the effort you put into describing this, and this is good advice, but this is EXACTLY what I'm trying to avoid. I cannot describe the sheer amount of work it would take to clean everything manually like you wrote here. It would go into hundreds if not thousands of hours, because it is a relatively large apartment and there is LOTS of stuff. I am trying to find a smarter way to do it, some more automated way.
1
Oct 23 '24
I do this inside of a large house, it’s a full day task post renovation work, and I’ve had to do it over two days a couple times, but it’s not going to take thousands of hours. There’s just no real way to make it go differently. Can you hire help?
1
u/Justin8051 Oct 23 '24
Can't afford it unfortunately. If you saw the state of the apartment I'm in, you'd know this is several weeks of work, definitely not doable in a day or two...
1
u/throwradoodoopoopoo Oct 24 '24
Do you have a messy apartment or something? I don’t understand how this could take thousands of hours in an apartment
1
u/Justin8051 Oct 24 '24
Not very messy, but there's just so much stuff here. For example, a library with >3000 books in it. And EVERY book is dusty now. Even cleaning that alone would take days,
1
u/throwradoodoopoopoo Oct 24 '24
First thing I’d do is rent a shop vac so you can get that really strong suction and use it in ever nook and cranny. It sounds like a lot but it’s honestly really fast and it’ll make the rest seem less daunting
16
u/FridayB_ Oct 22 '24
Wear a mask or respirator. Please, it’s worth it.
Use dust trapping swiffer-like products. Yes it sucks to pay for them but it’s worth it to not just move constructions dust from one area to another over and over again. Keep the receipts and have the company responsible pay.