By: Annie Hu
I don’t know about you, but one of my biggest pet peeves is household dust. Can’t a surface remain clean for at least a week? And how does dust find its way everywhere? Interestingly, the onslaught of dust never seems to end, and dusting only does so much good because in time, the specks settle again. So the question arises, why does this occur? “What is dust made of?” or “What dust cling to most?” Let’s dive deep and see what dust is about!
Image Credit: Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash
Dust is essentially a collection of skin cells, hair, clothing fibers, bacteria, dust mites, decomposing insects, soil particles, and other waste. About ⅓ of dust comes from the inside of the house. The other ⅔ comes from outdoors and involves soil particles, vehicle exhaust particles, and atmospheric particles. It is quite a nasty brew, but at the same time, there’s tons of interesting components to explore! But what makes dust more important to observe and (may) give you some incentive to clean your house more, is that dust may contain pollutants and dangerous chemicals from the environment. These pollutants could cause cancer, birth defects, damage to the nervous system, and susceptibility to illness. Dead skin cells in particular can absorb and retain chemicals that they are exposed to, and depending on your lifestyle, these can be hazardous. Some dust can also contain trace metals (like from nearby mines and industry), antibiotic resistant genes (from excessive use of antibacterial products), microplastics, and even radioactive elements. Open fireplaces and smoking inside the house also adds contaminants that can negatively impact your health. However, it is also shown that in moderation, dirt and germs from dust could also help your immune system and allergen risk, as you can build up a resistance to illness/allergens.
You may have found dust often covering windowsills and bookshelves and may clean these more obvious hiding places regularly. However, it is important to check a few less-obvious spots as well; dust tends to collect in the elusive nooks and crannies of any house. Where there is dust, more dust is attracted; that is why dust seems to collect quickly almost everywhere! So, make sure you also check for dust in between window blinds, on electronics, on ceiling fans, and higher horizontal surfaces too. Other places dust has an affinity for are carpets and curtains. Although household dust problems could be the last thing on your mind, it is always good to get rid of as much of it as possible because of the potential hazardous components the dust may contain.
Image Credit: Photo by Katie Pearse on Unsplash
What can you do to prevent dust buildup? One of the first steps to take is to use a damp cloth, and not a feather duster. A damp cloth can actually adhere to the dust and allow for it to be taken up, as opposed to released back into the air. Another really helpful tip is to clean starting from the topmost surfaces and working down to the bottom. The rationale is that doing this will prevent risk of dust from above coming down and settling on cleaned lower surfaces once you get to dusting up high.
You could also try taking off your shoes before stepping indoors to prevent some of those external environmental components from reaching the interior of the house and could also avoid attracting dust mites by adjusting for a lower humidity in the internal environment of the house. Other good recommendations include changing bedding regularly, cleaning the floors, changing air filters regularly, decluttering, and circulating the air in your house (opening the windows).
For something that we encounter so often, dust certainly has very interesting components and behavior. Hopefully you were able to learn much about what dust is made of and its hazards, as well as how to better manage it in your own house!
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What Did You Learn?
Questions:
What is dust made of?
Dust is a collection of skin cells, hair, clothing fibers, bacteria, dust mites, decomposing insects, soil particles, and other waste. About 60% of dust components come from outdoor soil particles, vehicle exhaust particles, and atmospheric particles. Dust is also particularly effective at absorbing pollutants and retaining them, such as trace metals (like from mines and industry), antibiotic resistant genes (from excessive use of antibacterial products), microplastics, and even radioactive elements. These could cause cancer and defects if hazardous. Therefore, it is important to be careful about dust, and to be proactive about preventing its buildup.
How can you prevent dust buildup in the house?
Use a damp cloth, and not a feather duster. A damp cloth will cause the dust to stick to it.
Clean starting from the topmost surfaces and working down to the bottom. This will prevent the risk of dust from above coming down and settling on cleaned lower surfaces once you get to dusting up high.
Try taking off your shoes before stepping indoors to prevent some of those external environmental components from reaching the interior of the house
Avoid attracting dust mites by adjusting for a lower humidity in the internal environment of the house.
A few common tips also include changing bedding regularly, cleaning the floors, changing air filters regularly, decluttering, and circulating the air in your house (opening the windows).