Dusters and dusting sheets can be made of very inexpensive or old material, and they are things in which it is well not to stint oneself.
Wool-headed mops are usually called, in shops, piano dusters, but why should pianos have a monopoly of anything so comfortable and convenient? They are rather expensive but they last a long time, and can be washed perfectly clean. One can get along with one head and two handles, if necessary, by dusting the high things first, using the long handle, then the lower things and the floor, using the short handle. After this the head must be washed, for the floors will make it too dirty to use for walls. Wool gathers and holds dust more than any other substance I know.
Other appliances which are used for wiping walls and floors are string mops, broom bags, and heavy cloths attached to a mop handle. String mops scatter lint and it is impossible to wash them entirely clean. Broom bags are good because they can be washed easily, and because they make a broom into a combination appliance useful either for sweeping or wiping. They are said to be better made with a ruffle. Mop handles with attachments to hold the cloths are easily obtainable and much better for all purposes than string mops. In choosing one, see that the attachment is neither heavy nor intricate. Cloths can be easily attached to a mop stick if a deep groove is cut in the stick two or three inches from the end. Hold the stick with the grooved end up. Lay over it two or three heavy cloths—in the way one would put an unfolded handkerchief over the end of one's finger. Draw them down and tie a string tightly round them in the groove. Then reverse the handle and the mop is ready for use. Patent handles are better than this homely contrivance in all but one respect: in using them one must guard against striking furniture or baseboards with the metal piece which holds the cloth.
Here are a few important principles of cleaning.
1. Prepare the place which is to be cleaned.
2. Begin at the top. A house is cleaned from garret to cellar, a room from ceiling to floor, a staircase from top to bottom.
3. Do not flap round with a cloth or a feather duster. The object of cleaning is to remove dust, getting as little into the air as possible.
4. All necessary shaking and brushing must be done before the floor is cleaned; afterward, only wiping should be done.