Vacuum before wiping, work top down, clear the balcony drains and change the AC filters — wiping fine sand across glass and stone is what causes scratching.
Fine desert sand behaves like sandpaper. The instinct after a storm is to wipe every surface, which drags the abrasive across glass, polished stone and paintwork and leaves fine scratching that no cleaning will remove.
The order matters more than the products. Remove the loose material mechanically first, deal with the drainage and the air path, and only then start wiping.
What to check
- HEPA vacuum every surface, including walls, tracks and sills, before anything wet
- Work top down so the settled dust is collected once
- Clear balcony and terrace drainage channels, which block first
- Change or wash AC return filters, which load heavily during a storm
- Rinse external glass with clean water rather than dry-wiping it
Asked about this
Hours indoors, and longer in a property that was open during it. That is why one wipe-down is never enough.
Keep the property closed and the system on recirculation where possible, then change the filters afterwards.
Not chemically, but it abrades the polish underfoot. Entrance matting is the cheapest marble protection available.
Related reading
Cleaning a Property After a Sandstorm in Dubai, community by community
Each page covers the building stock there, the local condition that changes the method, and how a crew gets in.