Why is my house so dirty

[Thespecialonepercent]

I have two cleaners come every fortnight for four hours to do a big clean everwhere..all bathrooms, windows, all dusting, hoovering, mopping, cleaning the oven and fridge etc.
There’s only Dh, me, Dd (6) and d dog. I have to wash all the sofa covers every fortnight, the curtains fairly regularly. If I don’t wipe down/dust the dining table, tv unit etc daily, it gets a layer of dust within a couple of days, is this normal?!
I can’t remember it ever being like this before dd and even when she little, it was always clean & tidy

Is it just me?

Age of the house? What breed of dog, what type of walks.

You wash your sofa covers and curtains that often!! Perhaps your cleaners are secretly reverse cleaners and are bringing in dust to drive you insane.

The house was built in the late 90’s, she’s a whippet cross, we live near the woods, but abroad so usually v dry, explains the dust in summer perhaps, but not winter when it rains quite a lot

Air purifier?

I once said to my mum about all the dust, she said it was a good thing- meant the house was dry. Same here op, a few days after I wipe the table the tv is on, it’s grey again!

Mine too! I’m forever dusting, I hate it

I especially hate it when the sun shines through the window and I can see all the little particles of dust dancing around in the air. Where does it all come from?!

I often think this too. If I don’t dust and polish every surface daily there is dust everywhere. I never notice it in other people homes, it makes me feel like my house is dirty and I don’t know how it gets that way.

The sofa is pissing me off, it’s stupidly a light colour (light beige) but surely it shouldn’t need it that often. Curtains similar colour, they’re nowhere near as often as that, but do seem to get dirty fairly often

AHH that explains it.

I have been using my dehumidifiers more this last autumn/winter due to the wet weather and I have more dust.

We have a dehumidifier upstairs

Do you have a fire? My last house always had a thin layer of grey dust thanks to the wood burner. Also, since my dog died, the house is a lot cleaner. I'd rather have the dog though.

Every 2 weeks for a proper clean with a dog and a child is too long.
You would be better splitting the hours and having a more regular clean!

Yes, dust builds up really quickly in my home. I notice it on the carpet edge where it meets the skirting board, on the window sills and around the computer, TV and CD player. I vacuum really regularly and damp dust as well, but dust is always with me....

That doesn't seem normal to me, but I guess it depends where you live. Maybe better asking your neighbours or your cleaner so you have a better idea of what is normal for your area and whether there is anything amiss.

Is some of the issue that you are just moving dust round then it's resetting? How do your cleaners do the surfaces? I have a hoover that has a dust attachment and I love getting rid of dust that way.

I'd get a throw for the sofa. Be a little easier to wash that than fight the cushions back into the covers.

Are you near any busy roads? Do people nearby have woodburners or open fires? They create a lot soot.

We do have a log burner, it’s worse in winter, but still there in summer

Are you working from home more?
since Covid, my husband and I wfh a few days a week… we’ve noticed the dust/mess has increased massively since then… more people in it, heating on etc all seem to contribute!

I have a Whippet, a purebred, but when we had two dogs, a shaggier coated Lurcher and a Whippet the house was never dirty-

I bet if you do the footwash /legwash and wash wherever there is mud on the dog after every walk, there won't be dirty sofas or floors.

I read that roads create a lot of dust. Rubber particles from tyres - also, a fair bit of dust comes from space , or so I read years ago.

We have a white dining table and I'm always amazed at the fine layer of muck on that in summer especially. However there is a velux window above it and I think a lot of particulate matter comes in via that.

ACtually I think where I live is just dirty as often my car gets dirty really quickly too, after a windy day.

Surely your curtains can't be getting dirty too, unless you're smearing grubby hands down them.

Every fortnight is infrequent for a home with a dog. You need to be doing a proper clean at least weekly.

Are you/your cleaners damp wiping dust? If dry wiping it with dusters it just shakes it up into the air only to settle again later.

I am a professional housekeeper. Dop you llive on a main road or near a building site? Do you use a lot of sprays such as air freshers, Hair sprays or spray deodorants? They all cause white powdery debris. Is your hoover cleaned out regularly and filters washed or changed? Do your cleaners use microfiber cloths rather than yellow dusters which cause more dust than they solve? Also these modern disposable dusters are no good at all just move dust around.I agree 2 weeks is too long between cleans. However you may just have to lighten up and accept the dust! Spend time with DC andcDH instead of dusting. My mother was obsessive about housework and it made me very unhappy she preferred housework to spending time with me.

I blame our log burner. Thinking of getting an air purifier to counter that and help with the dust.
Dehumidifier is different (some may do both)