Where Does Dust Come From?

Clean a surface and dust seems to reappear within minutes.

Approximately 20 percent of house dust consists of pollen; mold spores; insect parts; microscopic urine or fecal particles from pet accidents; dust mites and mite excrement; and fibers from clothing, carpet, paper towels, tissues and toilet paper. When inhaled, these dust particles can trigger allergies and asthma, and cause a long list of health effects.

The other 80 percent consists of dead skin cells (dander) from humans and pets - mostly from humans. Each human will create about 40,000 dead skin particles per minute, billions every day, with no way to stop it. These particles are a nutrient-rich food source for dust mites and mold, making dust control very important.

The rules:

- Do not use feather dusters or sweep floors indoors as this liberates dust back into the air you breathe. Damp wiping and mopping of hard-surface furniture and floors is the best way to prevent redistribution of dust.

- Vacuum carpet frequently. Use a vacuum cleaner that has strong pile agitation, powerful suction, and HEPA filtration to contain the ultra-fine particles that can go deep into the lungs. Always empty vacuum bags outdoors to prevent dust from re-entering your indoor air.

- Use quality furnace filters to trap airborne particles. Setting a thermostat fan switch to the constant "on" position can significantly reduce the amount of particles occupants inhale, as well as keep the entire house cleaner.

- Replace your missing ions. Ions are a form of electrical energy made by the sun and lightning, and are in abundant supply outdoors to protect us from airborne particles. Indoors, where we spend approximately 90 percent of our time, we do not have ions to help remove particles from our air. Electronic ionizers are now available to replace missing ions indoors. Radio ionizers can service an entire home.

This article is copyrighted and reprinted with permission by Dan Schilling and Home Resource Magazine. To receive a copy of Home Resource, contact Sarah Schilling at publisherhr@gmail.com.

This article is intended to be general in nature and is not intended to address all potential issues. Specific determinations must be obtained by qualified experts.