If you’ve ever spent a day at the beach and wondered how the sand seemed to follow you home and turn up in the most unexpected places in your home, we’re here to help. We’re going to share what the best way to clean sand in your home is on this week’s blog post.
Cleaning sand from your home is no simple feat. This is why the number one thing you should do is to prevent (or at least minimize) the amount of sand that enters your home so that it’s easier to deal with later. Here are our favourite strategies that we’ve gathered from across the web to help stop sand from coming in your home.
- Baby powder. When you leave the beach and before you enter your home, apply a healthy heap of baby powder to your feet. Baby powder will absorb the moisture on your feet that’s causing the sand to stick to them and you should be able to just brush most of the sand off.
- Wash your feet. Most beaches have places to wash sand off your feet so be sure to do this before getting in your car. If you forget this step at the beach, simply hose down your feet with the garden hose before entering your home. Our expert suggestion is to keep a clean towel by your front door so you can wipe off the excess water.
- Use a specialty product like Sand-Off, which is a powder infused mitt that promises to remove sand from all over your body – even the parts that are covered in sunscreen or perspiration. We also like this simple cornstarch-filled flannel pouch from Apartment Therapy that’s an easy DIY version you can make at home.
- Shake out your beach towel before entering your home. Don’t be afraid to give it several vigorous shakes so you can make sure you get most of the sand out before you put the towel directly into the washing machine.
- Have a large door mat on the inside or outside of your home. This will catch any excess sand that might be on your shoes or feet before you enter the home. Make sure all guests give their feet a good wipe before they step off the mat! Door mats are a great solution because you can just shake them off outside once they start getting filled with sand.
- Avoid walking on carpet! Carpets are the hardest areas to remove sand from, so until you’re sure your feet are spotlessly clean, avoid walking through the carpeted areas of your home.
If the sand manages to make its way into the home, there are a couple things you can do. If you’ve ever tried to sweep sand with a broom, you know what a challenge that can be. Try using a rubber broom that uses unique materials and construction to remove sand. Instead of sweeping the traditional way, rubber brooms are most effective when using a pulling action. Since it’s made out of rubber, you don’t have to worry about it scratching your hardwood floors!
Once you’ve removed the bulk of the sand, it is safe to vacuum up the remnants. It’s important that you do not attempt to vacuum large piles of sand since this can actually damage your vacuum cleaner.