Dust In The Wind(ows)

IMAG0891-w1400-h1400If you want to see how the East Coast and West Coast differ, just look down. In Connecticut the ground was covered in green. Here in the OC it’s mostly brown.

Little grows without irrigation. Sprinkler heads outnumber people.

Every construction site has large, state mandated signs about dust abatement. It’s a big problem. Precautions are taken, but they’re only partially effective.

Ten months after moving in our windows are dirty. Our screens are worse.  I don’t want to think about what my lungs are filtering.

With out-of-town guests this weekend it seemed like the right time to get the windows cleaned.

As I discovered today we have 27 windows. That’s a lot for a 1,900 square foot home, but it makes the place light and airy.  They’re all double glazed, energy efficient.

A crew of three with ladders and squeegees went to work around noon. They’re gone now. What a difference.

There’s still construction in the area. More dust to come. For now we’re spotless.

6 thoughts on “Dust In The Wind(ows)”

    1. Lou, I don’t know. This is a new home. We were in a construction site a year ago. There’s lots of building still going on, which means grading the land.

      Maybe a year next time. Maybe longer, when the boom slows down.

  1. Just curious – in the photo you have published, does the window service consider that 2 windows or 1? Looking to have ours done and I’m making the assumption 2 side by side double-hungs are 2 windows.

    1. You are correct, Carla. That counts as two. That’s in the bedroom which also has three single windows. This place is filled with light.

      It’s 75 outside now. Mostly cloudy, though all the clouds are high clouds. I have the overhead fan on low. Two windows are open. Very comfy.

  2. You must be feeling better now?

    I can tell you are a newbie to So CA. People that grew up there, like myself, they don’t think of it as a big deal, having dust collect on their windows. You should have moved there a long time ago, when the smog was so thick, you couldn’t see the mountains. That is when people were concerned about their lungs and cancer. The air is a lot cleaner now. You will discover that there will days when that smog returns for a few days. You feel like walking around with a gas mask. It is usually when the air doesn’t move. That is when the temperature reaches over 100 degrees around Labor Day. You labor to breathe. After you have lived there for a while, you will see & feel what I’m talking about. It is just a matter of time.

    It was like me when I moved to northeast. I had never seen snow at my front door, only in the mountains. Hated my first winter here and I still feel that way today. I spend most of my winters in the house.

  3. I love southern California (lived in Pasadena with friends for 2 years), but those are the two things I could never get used to – the smog (on bad days) and the lack of green. I can remember the skies over LA and Pasadena would be a sickly ocher color, and it would leave you with an uneasy feeling when you would see it in the distance…then drive right threw it with the windows open. Having grown up with cobalt blue skies on the Maryland eastern shore I had no idea what “air quality” meant – lol. The lack of green of southern CA was not so bad was also a bit strange – esp in summer. I think folks from more arid lands would not know the difference, though.

    Carol:

    I’m no fan of winter either – however, if you live in the lower Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (southern Connecticut/NYC area southward), warm weather and snowless is never far away and can be easily reached – even by car. A good tip is to try to take all your vacation time and/or long weekend trips in the cold season: I learned this strategy 12 years ago – and it can work wonders in beating winter. We normally spend several days/a week around Thanksgiving/early December in Myrtle Beach or Charleston – the sunny skies and average highs in the mid 60’s F (even 70’s F are not uncommon) is perfect for most outdoor actives (walking, golf, tennis…etc.) or just sitting in the sun. Rates for oceanfront condos are amazing in the offseason. In the deeper winter months (Dec/Jan/Feb), it’s off to Florida whenever time /money permits. We have even spent the Christmas Holidays in Florida (yes it’s nice to get on Christmas morning and go swimming in the tropical Atlantic – lol). A 80 F sunny January day in Florida on a warm beach will make you forget what season it is quickly.

    I hate winter too….short of moving to Florida, CA, or the far southern USA, the only choice is to stay mobile in the season you dislike.

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