Housework - I know it has to be done, I just don’t want to be the one doing it. I tend to wait until I can draw a smiley face on the table first, then huffily dig a duster out. I would rather lie on my sofa than sweep underneath it.

Why is dust grey?

I thought dust was mostly flakes of skin, but they say two-thirds of the dust in your house comes from outside, as dirt tracked in on your feet, and airborne particles such as pollen. The rest is mostly carpet fluff, clothes fibres and pet hair. Well, I don’t have carpets - and many Portuguese homes don’t either - but I can certainly vouch for the latter, I even get dog hairs in rooms the dogs don’t regularly visit - have a shower, and there’s hairs in the plughole that are certainly not from my body. I guess they drift in on the breeze.

Fine sand may come in from outside, and we are very aware of the Sahara sand we are seeing here more and more frequently. These pollutants sneak in through windows, doors, and ventilation systems, and add to the dust.

Why grey? Apparently, light scattering makes the dust appear grey: dust particles are small enough that they scatter light in all directions, and something called Mie scattering occurs when the particles are similar in size to the wavelength of the light. Unlike the blue-sky scattering from air molecules, Mie scattering happens with larger particles and doesn't favour any specific colour. And ultimately, the dimming effect: Instead of bouncing white light back intensely, the particles scatter the light in a diffuse way that appears as a dimmer, neutral grey to our eyes. So now we know.

Credits: Unsplash; Author: mateusz-butkiewicz;

Don’t mention the Dust Mites

These are microscopic, eight-legged creatures related to spiders that live in homes and feed on dead skin cells from people and pets. They are a common source of allergens, and are often the trigger for allergic reactions and asthma symptoms in sensitive individuals. And their greatest exposure is from your bed. Cover your mattress, quilt and pillows with dust mite-resistant cases, open the curtains, air your bedding in the sunshine, and wash sheets and pillowcases weekly in water hotter than 60°C. Bedding can also be sprayed with an anti-microbial product for protection that you can pick up in most supermarkets.

To dust or not to dust

I wondered if maybe the dust pile would eventually reach a maximum, but my home would experience a decline in air quality, a build-up of allergens that might worsen any respiratory problems, and potentially damage my home and belongings.

Credits: Unsplash; Author: katie-pearse;

So, dusting can’t be ignored, and the golden rules of dusting is to work from the top of a room down, and to make it more of a chore, they say dust the places you can't see as well, such as the tops of door frames, ceiling fans, and light bulbs (make sure the lights are off, and the bulbs are cool first!). Although most people sweep it away without a thought, dust contains all sorts of secrets about our habits and everyday lives. Dust can reveal the pets you keep, the chemicals in your surroundings, the location of your house and even how faecal bacteria can uncover whether more men or women live in your home (eeuw).

Spring Cleaning

This was traditionally done in the spring in times past, when people would open the windows to the warmer weather and let the ‘winter fug’ out, and it became an annual event with a deep clean job for the whole house. And yes, spring cleaning is still a ‘thing’, and is the perfect time to get things straightened up, cleaned out, and freshened up.

And while cleaning may not rank at the top of your list of fun things to do, there are benefits of spring cleaning that you may not have thought of. Well, you will burn off a few calories for a start!