5/15/13

Dismayzing

Dis·mayz·ing  

/disˈmāziNG/
Adjective
  1. Causing great surprise or wonder; astonishing, while at the same time causing (someone) to feel consternation and distress.
  2. Startlingly impressive and depressing.

I just made that word up.  It's the perfect word to describe the dust that has settled over the main level of our house.  Consider for a moment your horizontal surfaces, including the most minute, irrelevant, and tiny among them.  Now consider your vertical surfaces, for even they are not exempt from the dust.  The dust defies the laws of physics in addition to defying the laws of civility.  I have been cleaning all morning, and I still am not even halfway finished.  Further, I've discovered that cleaning one surface has the annoying effect of redistributing the dust into the air where it can settle once again on those surfaces you've already cleaned.

Here are some images to give you some idea what I've been up to this morning.  I've wiped a section so that you can see the dust.


My cabinets, being the "mission style", have that little edge where the dust is trapped between the outer board and the face of the cabinet.  I'm not sure how I'm going to get that clean.  Mike, being a detail-oriented engineer, is often good at coming up with ideas about those little crevices.

Also, my cookbooks, their spines, and their tops are covered in dust.  I imagine if I were to open them up, I'd find dust between the pages.  One wouldn't think that would be possible, but I've learned a new level of possibilities this morning.

And then there are the drawer pulls, which are coated from every angle.



Even the glass panel on my oven has dust stuck where the oil from our fingers is clinging to the glass.


This next image is the corner of the breakfast bar.  It's already wiped off, so it isn't looking too bad.


Now here's the kicker...this is the underneath side of the countertop.  How is it even possible for dust to stick there?


Of course, my furry pal has been helping me every step of the way.


And you'd better be quicker than that if you want your picture in focus.


So, I did some more cleaning while I was writing this post.  Thus far, I have cleaned the kitchen and the laundry room, and I've wiped off the surfaces of the living room and dining room furniture.  I still need to pack up the fragile stuff for the carpet to be laid tomorrow.  And let me tell you, I am already pooped.  I probably still have a couple of hours of work left to do.  But how bad can it be?  I did get a new vocabulary word in the deal.

For now, I think I might lie down and take a nap.  I'm betting I can get a furry friend for that too.  Oh, and never mind what I said about eating off the floors.  They're all dusty now.

19 comments:

Quilting Babcia said...

Ohh, I'm so sorry, and feeling your pain. You'll be finding that dust for quite awhile I'm afraid. Now a REALLY professional crew would have shrink-wrapped every surface and covered bookcases, etc. before starting to run their sanders. Oh yes, this is Oregon ...

Donna said...

Tell your furry friend to wipe his feet before jumping in the bed for a nap. lol

Kate said...

That's a lot of dust! Hope you get a good swipe at it before the next mess makers come along.

Lynne said...

I'm dismayzed!

Lucky Duck Dreams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sherry said...

Oh my now THAT is dust! Hope you don't have to "chase" it around the surfaces too long. Perhaps you need to have another day in your sewing room while they lay the carpet.

Becky said...

I wouldn't worry too much today. If you are having carpet pulled up, even just put down, there will be scads more dust. Eat out, and don't look!

beaquilter said...

doing renovations I assume? how about canned air for the cracks?

Lee said...

For that kind of dust, I get out my trusty vacuum cleaner, and using the hose along with the little round brush attachment suck up the dust, and it does a great job in those crack-like areas. And how DOES that dust stick the underside of your countertop? Dust penetrates everything...so don't forget to clean your camera, computer, sewing machines - even if they're a mile down the road, lol!

Brown Family said...

I feel for you! That is what my house looked like! I am still finding places that I did not get all of the dust out of. You could try a vacuum cleaner on the crevices, but it did not do much for mine! I tried Micro-fiber cloths, swiffer, endust and any other type of commercial cloth I could find. I found an old tee-shirt that Was damp worked teh best!

Nan

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

When they refinish floors here they mask off as much as possible and bring in machines that suck air and all the mess into them. Normally the family has to leave for a day or two since the house is all partitioned off. Still it will leave some dust but they do all they can. I have mission style cabinets too so I understand the dust problem even without refinishing floors. The best I can come up with is using my canister vac with the round brush on the hose so you can "dust" while the vacuum sucks it up. I do that for ceiling fans too plus use one of those brushes that goes over the blades while holding the hose in my other hand to catch the dust as it falls off.

kc said...

But the floors are so AMAZingly beautiful...or will be once the dust settles, so to speak.

You can *always* eat off my floors - there's enough food crumbs and grass tracked in for even the pickiest of eaters!

Diane Wild said...

Oh ick.Get Smitty on top of the cabinets and put a dust mop on his tail.

Celtic Thistle said...

Oh dear Barbara, it will be worth it in the end though when you stand back and admire all your lovely new floors!

Dogwood Lane Rambles said...

Sooooo sorry! That's miserable and the very worst part of any remodel in my opinion, that and the fact of having people in and out of your house. I hate strangers all over my house, just can't relax for a minute. You've really had it this year. Maybe after the carpet is in you can take a vacation?

Junebug613 said...

Dang! That is some serious dust. For the books and the tiny crevices, they actually sell a small attachment that can go on your vacuum or Shop vac that has a tiny hose with tiny attachments for cleaning tiny spaces. I think they advertise it for cleaning computer keyboards, but as a miniaturist (think dollhouses, vignettes, etc..) it is a valuable cleaning tool for getting into tight spots.

Here's a link for one:
http://www.miniatures.com/Micro-Vacuum-Attachment-Kit-P17671.aspx

Michele said...

Well I hate to say it but something not pleasant had to come from all that work on your floors. I'm sure you will tackle that dust in no time and before long it will be a faint memory.

Unknown said...

hehehe I like your word. def gonna be using it from now on. Unfortunately, this is the down side of renovations. Do the cleaning in small doses and have lots of rewards.

quiltzyx said...

I told you the Dust Rule, didn't I? You can draw in it, write in it, sign it...but you CAN NOT date it.