Cleaning Your Model Train Layout

Since the layout is located in the area where you have a lot of your shop materials, how do you keep it so clean? Keeping a layout this big is a difficult job, but here is how I do it. I use the soft artist's brush. It's sorta like a makeup brush. It's very soft.

And I dust the roofs, I dust streets. And anything else where you won't break off details. Be very careful there. And that's a vacuum cleaner, huge vacuum cleaner. Yes it is, this is a three horsepower Sears vac and I just suck everything up, all the loose dust and a lot of models just, well just dust something and let the dust fall down again.

But I like to suck it all up. Dust is most noticeable on the surface of water, to keep the top of my water clean. I just use a sponge brush. That's just damp. I don't want it too wet because it'll streak the water.

And I just wipe it along like this and then occasionally clean it to get the dirt off and just keep going over it until all the water is clean. Areas difficult to reach I use this small brush, which is taped onto a wood dowel. It's also damp. And then I use that for tight con, as in like I said hard areas that are hard to reach. I've never really cleaned this layout thoroughly.

And probably the main reason is that this black polyester covering that I have which I just hook on here like this, and here. And it really keeps the layout quite clean.