Dust magnet coffee table

[whethergirl]

I bought a black coffee table that has a bit of a shiny finish. I wipe it with a wet cloth and dry it with kitchen towel, and by the time I've blinked it's covered in a layer of dust again.

What to do? I thought about sticking some Fablon on the surface - but some of that stuff looked a bit shiny too, will I have the same problem? And is it easy to apply?

Wow, if you'd told me when I was 20 years old that in another 20 years I'll be staying in on a Saturday night asking advice about dusty coffee tables, I would have been horrified.

This is not quite what I imagined either.

3 possibilities, none of them very useful:

Let the dust accumulate until you acclimatise to it.
Get a different coffee table
sand the coffee table down so it's not so shiny and the dust less noticeable.

Pledge do an anti-dust cleaner which is quite good.

I have this problem, it is especially fun when the sun is shining in the window you can see the dust landing as you clean.
Basically marking place for to steal tips that don't include sanding down. which I think is the only option

Just looked at the table. Try getting a lovely image to glue and varnish onto the tabletop. That will sort out the main area.

img1.etsystatic.com/006/0/5531524/il_570xN.376454829_qmsm.jpg

Something like this, or whatever image you can find that you like. Or buy some lovely paper from paperchase to go in there. That would involve sanding down, pva glue to stick it down then matt varnish on top.

I think I will try the Pledge anti-dust cleaner, although the accompanying care leaflet specifically said NOT to use any kind of cleaner, damp cloth only.

I don't really want to sand it down. Mainly because I've never sanded anything down before and I just don't feel inclined too.

Hmm BillyBanter I quite like that idea! I saw a gorgeous table with a montage of varnished pictures that I fell in love with - funny enough, about 20 years ago. But it was hundreds of pounds and I thought I could just do that myself. But I was too busy going out and having fun. Ha ha, the old me will get the last laugh after all.

Oh...why would I still need to sand it down? Will it not stick properley?

Well, if it was me, I would skip that bit because I'm lazy and cut corners. this is often apparent in my end products. It could be fine without sanding. the sanding isn't difficult, you're just roughening up the surface to get better purchase for the glue. 30 second job.

Have you got a vac with good exhaust filters? Otherwise household dust just gets disturbed and resettles. Dry dusting is very bad for that.

I think I might just skip that bit BillyBanter. How lazy are we, to skip a 30 second job?

PigletJohn the thing is I don't just wave a cloth about, I mop up all the dust with a damp cloth. The dust that settles is brand new dust. And if I mop that dust up then some more new dust will come along. The dust wins every time.

I dont have a dryer any more but when I did I reused the old dryer sheets for dusting shiny surfaces.Worked a treat as I remember.

My eyesight isnt great any more so I no longer care about dust resettling so just waft a damp cloth over everything and Im done.

Look for an Ionising Air Purifier

they are fantastic for getting dust out of the air. When you first get one, put it on an easily-wiped surface, because dust will actually fall out of the air round it.

We got some due to allergies. There are a lot of them at reduced prices, usually branded Lloyds or Allergan. You can also buy at full price from chemists or Athsma shops if you prefer.

Dilute some fabric conditioner and wipe your table down with that,it will kill the static and remove the dust,works for flatscreen tv,s as well

Unfortunately dovaffanculo I have 20/20 vision, but I could always just refuse to look at the table I suppose.

PigletJohn so are you saying that one of those will reduce the amount of dust settling in a room, generally? They should be re-marketed as dust-zappers!

Ooh Chanatan I will definitely try that, like tomorrow.

they cause the dust circulating in the air to settle (and some is captured by the machine). When you first get one, you will find a pool of dust forming around the device on the table or other surface where you have put it. It may be better to put it on a kitchen worktop which is easily cleaned, as there will be a lot of fine black dirt. Rather like you get stuck to the screen and case of a TV set. After a while the amount of dust will reduce, unless perhaps you have open fires or are downwind of big chimneys (although coal- and cow-fired power stations use a comparable method of trapping dust particles).

Thanks Piglet I do HATE it when it's sunny and all you can see is dust floating around. I don't have a chimney so will defo be looking into buying one.