How to care for the house during harmattan

It is harmattan again, it is the period characterized with extreme cold, dry and very dusty season especially in the North. Caring for the home in this season can sometimes take a toll on the person with the responsibility because our homes seem always dusty no matter how often we clean it.

The negative effects of harmattan season seem to outweigh its benefits on human lives, especially those that live in the northern part of the country both health wise and in terms of house hygiene. Hence proper care must be ensured to clean the house.

It is almost inevitable to have dust in our homes during this period because they can be carried in from outside on shoes or blown in through windows and doors at all times, proper planning must be put in place to control the dust if not totally eliminate them.

Dust particles may accumulate pretty fast considering it may not be attended to on a regular basis, but when a routine is drafted it can be easily managed.

You can break cleaning process of the house into sections where the parlour, kitchen and bathrooms may be attended to every other day while the bedrooms, backyards and verandahs once a month, while the last weekend of the month may be reserved for general sanitation.

These easy steps will help you minimize dust in the house:

Regular surface cleaning of furniture

Dust is easily removed from smooth and cleanable surfaces so smooth flooring such as wooden surfaces. Wooden surfaces may be cleaned with wood polish or mere detergent and water with rag can help reduce dust on wooden surfaces around the house.

Sweep or mop of rugged or tiled floors

Vacuum cleaning is best for rugs. If a vacuum cleaner isn’t available, wet the rug slightly before sweeping it with a broom. This reduces the effect of the dust that would come out of the rug. Regular sweeping or picking up stray of items helps reduce dirt around the house, also mopping would help minimize dust on the floor.

Kitchen and bathrooms

The kitchen and bathrooms are the delicate part of the house and must be cleaned regularly because infections could easily be caught in these places due to the delicate places.

Plates must be washed after every dish and properly kept, while toilets, showers, floors, walls, mirrors must be attended to at least every other day.

Windows and nets

Nets around the house should be dusted at least once a week to reduce dust that may have accumulated while windows and door should be properly cleaned with rag and water. To reduce the dust that comes into the house, shut all windows. To get the rooms ventilated, you can use artificial means of ventilation like fans or air conditioners. This would reduce the dirt that comes into the home.

Because dust particles contribute to respiratory health problems like asthma, cough and catarrh so taking precautions against them can also help reduce exposure, and improve good health.

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