For those of you living here or visiting at the moment, you will have noticed a thick blanket of dust hovering over Cyprus leaving you feeling a bit sluggish. This general mugginess comes and goes in Cyprus but fret not it is quite rare! This layer of dust coming from a sandstorm generally lands in Cyprus due to South-Westerly winds. This Coptic Storm, as it is often referred to due to its origins dating back 3000 years from the Ancient world of Egypt, leaves our cars and our homes layered in a fine sandy dust from the Sahara. Warnings for the elderly and allergy sufferers to stay indoors are often announced ahead of such storms so we all know when to expect it. Most winds last only 2 or 3 days and Cyprus really only sees the remnants of the storm followed by an expected downpour that quickly clears the air.

Cleaning your home can be quite a chore afterwards and will require a bit of elbow grease! Sand gets in from under the doors, through the cracks, everywhere basically!

Here are 5 cleaning tips to keep your home as dust free as possible (courtesy of WomenzMag):

1. Dust inside the house. Use a clean cloth and dust away tables, decorative pieces, television sets, anything that you can find covered with dust.

2. Vacuum inside the house thoroughly. Whether or not your floor is carpeted, use a vacuum to suck away all the dust stored in every corner of the house. Use a vacuum cleaner with a brush attached to clean tops and creases of any window blinds.

3. For wooden floors, attach a bit of damp teabags with your broom. This will ensure all dust mites and bugs are dead and dusted will off your furniture for days. Also, the tannic acid in tea creates a beautiful shine for hardwood floors.

4. Shake away any mats, cushions, pillows and rugs OUT side the house. Enclose any clothes that you rarely wear with polythene clothing bags. Smaller rugs and upholstery furniture can be taken out and beaten thoroughly by draping them over a fence or a clothesline. Use a tennis racket or a broom for the beating as this is the best known traditional way to remove much more dust than vacuuming.

5. The sand may also seep in to your wardrobe from under its opening so to make sure your clothes are sand-free, dust them outside the house as well.

Also, if you are affected by the dust, please wear a mask while cleaning!

Interestingly enough, each gale has been named and we attach a copy courtesy of Just about Cyprus, for your general interest.

https://justaboutcyprus.com/cypriot/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/The-Coptic-or-Phoenician-Storms.pdf?189db0&189db0

Happy Cleaning!

(image courtesy of SigmaLive)