Does anyone know how to clean/dust vaulted ceilings???

Our master bedroom has the only vaulted ceiling in the house and it is so dusty that it's embarrassing. The ceiling is so high that I haven't managed to figure out how to get it clean. I have tried using a dust mop, but it only gets the bottom 1/4 of the ceiling and I simply can not reach the rest. I am so embarrassed by it that I always shut my bedroom door when anyone comes over so people won't see it and think I'm a terrible housekeeper.

I don't know of anyone else who has a problem with dusty ceilings, but I sure do. I have to clean the dust off of all our ceilings a few times a year because we have a really dusty house for some reason. I dust and two days later the dust is back on the furniture, I am constantly cleaning my air intake vents for the ac/heater because dust collects on them, and don't even get me started on how often I have to clean my ceiling fans. So now I am hoping that someone here can give me a clue as to what I can do. Does anyone know of any great products or neat tricks so I can get the dust bunnies off my bedroom ceiling?

By Colette on Saturday, August 26, 2006 - 12:56 pm:

I use the dust mop or my vacuum hose and a ladder.

By Yjja123 on Saturday, August 26, 2006 - 02:17 pm:

I actually found a swiffer works great. I have to stand on a chair to be tall enough but it works.

By Tink on Saturday, August 26, 2006 - 06:37 pm:

How tall are your ceilings? I can reach most of mine (12') with a dust mop but my mom has a "Webster" on a telescoping pole that will reach the rest of it. Maybe some type of painter's telescoping pole with a duster attached?

By Tunnia on Saturday, August 26, 2006 - 08:20 pm:

They are almost two stories high.

By Debbie on Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 09:16 am:

We had 2 story ceilings in our old house. One day I looked up and saw tons of spider webs and dust, I was so embarrassed. Dh had an extension poll that you attach to a paint roller. He got it at Home Depot. We wrapped, and taped a swifter dry sheet to the roller head. He was able to reach. I think, if I remember correctly, that he didn't even need a ladder with the poll extended all the way.

By Tunnia on Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 10:29 am:

Thanks Debbie! I'll have to ask dh if he has a telescoping paint roller and give it a try if he does. BTW, I was wrong about the height. Dh says it is 16 feet high, not a full two stories.

By Kaye on Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 05:47 pm:

Another swiffer vote here.

As far as cutting down on dust...well, I found that the flatter the paint, the more the dust sticks. So if you ever paint, go with an eggshell instead of flat on your ceilings. Another option is to figure out how to get some pledge on it, that should help repel the dust a little.

That being said, I don't dust ceilings...they don't look like they need it. I will hit the corners with the swiffer, also the chair rail. Hmmm wonder why so much dust...maybe look into an air purifier!

By Tunnia on Monday, August 28, 2006 - 08:28 am:

I'm not sure why this house is so dusty. I have never lived in a house that has had this problem. I have been wondering for a while if I should have my ducts cleaned. I have vacuumed down inside of my ducts as far as I could and we change the filter on the heat/ac regularly and we still have a problem.

Kaye, I didn't know that about the paint and I'm pretty sure that the ceilings are flat. I'm not sure what the chances are of me getting dh to repaint ceilings so that I don't have to dust them all the time, but I think they are pretty slim. LOL