Millions of people head straight for the nearest beach the moment the sun makes a rare appearance. There’s no better place for enjoying the summer sunshine, but the aftermath can leave you with a seriously annoying and time-consuming cleanup operation.
If you’ve ever spent a summer’s day at the beach, you’ve probably brought an unwanted souvenir home with you afterwards. Sand seems to get everywhere, no matter how much you shake your clothes and towels before returning home.
Before you know it, you have sand in your hallway, up your stairs and all over your bathroom. But a few changes to your beach-based routines should prevent most of the stuff from ever crossing your threshold.
Shake it off
You’re never going to remove all the sand from your clothes, towels and possessions by shaking it off, but it’s a good start. Once you’re off the beach, shake all of your clothes and towels rigorously. Make sure you tip all your bags upside down too, as sand has a habit of getting everywhere.
If you’re at a busy beach, there may be public showers nearby, or a source of fresh water. If possible, wash yourself, and get into some clean (sand-free) clothes. If you were wearing footwear while on the sand, remove it, and place it into a bag — making sure you seal it properly.
Have a bowl of water by your front door
Before you set off for the beach, fill a bowl or bucket with fresh water and leave it right by your front door. When everyone arrives back home, make them take their shoes off before they enter — even if they washed at the beach. Get everyone to rinse their feet in the bowl, and then send them straight upstairs to the bathroom.
Also, make sure everyone leaves their shoes at the door. When you remove shoes from sealed bags, do so outside, and give them an extra shake in order to remove any remaining sand.
Make sure everyone showers
Regardless of whether everyone showered at the beach, send everyone for a bath or shower the moment they arrive home. Put out some large plastic bags, and ask everyone to place their sandy clothes straight into them.
Once the showers are done, spray the bathtub or shower cubicle to remove any remaining sand. And wipe all of the surfaces down with paper towels afterwards.
Use the best vacuum cleaner for sand
Sand is notoriously difficult to remove from a home. You’ll know this if you’ve been to the beach recently… you were probably finding sand for weeks afterwards. So it’s probably a good idea to expect some sand.
If you have a versatile vacuum cleaner that can perform on carpet, hard floors and inaccessible areas, your sand problem should be easy to solve. For example, removing sand from thick-pile carpet requires a motorised brushroll. Tiny sand particles can become lodged deep within pile, but the brushroll agitates them and brings them to the surface.
If you’re removing sand from hard floors, you need to be careful that you don’t drag the sand particles around and scratch the surface. Use a brush attachment for the job, preferably with an independently powered brushroll.
And don’t forget the car ride home. There’s bound to be sand in your car afterwards. Use a detachable, handheld vacuum cleaner to access the upholstery, footwells and boot of your vehicle.
Sand can actually cause damage to carpets and real wood flooring, so it’s important that you take steps to minimise it. But some will inevitable get into your home after a day at the beach, so make sure you have the best vacuum cleaner for the cleanup job.