What is Dust Made of? Where Does it Come From?

There it is again. You trail your finger along a shelf, and you pick up a bunch of dust. It just looks so disgusting and filthy and…

Well, what is dust, anyway?

It seems to always be in the house, office or workshop, and even though you try really hard to get rid of it, it shows right back up a week later. What is it, and – more importantly – why is it everywhere?

We’re glad you asked.

We’ve written a little bit about what dust is, and how you can deal with it in your home or office. Keep on reading and check it out.

What is Dust, Exactly?

Dust is a common we see almost every day, but what exactly is it made of?

First, you need to realize that dust isn’t just one particle. In fact, dust can be an infinite number of things together.

Dust is an umbrella term for any type of small particle found either indoors or outdoors.

Indoor dust is usually made up of dead skin cells from you or your pets, clothing fibers, or dander. Dust inside a workshop is made up of this as well as the particles that come off of the equipment and products.

It’s relatively easy for the dust to build up inside your home, office or workshop because the things that create the dust are very common and constantly produce new particles.

On the other hand, you have outdoor dust such as pollen, windblown soil, and pollutants. These little guys are arguably more of a problem than indoor particles since they can be brought indoors when you come from outside.

Indoor and outdoor dust particles are prevalent in our lives.

Dust is Everywhere

You can’t avoid dust. It is legitimately everywhere, and no matter what you do you, you can never get rid of a hundred percent of it.

Most of the time, dust is harmless to us, or rather, our bodies can filter it out so it can’t hurt us (Good thing, too, or every time we breathed we’d be at risk of dying). That being said, we do have our fair share of bad dust particles that can make our day miserable.

Depending on the region, dust particles can cause air pollution. This is especially true in the city limits, where there are millions of people driving in millions of vehicles that throw tons of fossil fuels into the environment.

Dust particles are also a big deal when it comes to causing allergies. The most well-known allergies are caused by airborne particles such as pollen and pet dander, and we know how well that goes if you suffer from those allergies.

Even if you don’t have any known allergies, dust can still be an annoying aspect of your life.

Having a lot of dust in your home is not a good thing to breath in. When you have constant exposure to dust, your lungs may begin to get contaminated by the dust and you could suffer from long-term lung diseases.

This could potentially be even worse if you work around larger dust particles, such as the dust from woodworking. Without proper protection, the wood particles could quickly enter your lungs and cause permanent damage.

So we know that dust is everywhere, and we know that some types of dust can be dangerous to our health. Now the question is…

What Can Be Done About It?

While completely eradicating dust is impossible, there are a couple of things that can be done to reduce the amount of dust around you.

Indoor dust in your home comes primarily from your household products, so the best way to deal with this is to go straight to the source.

To deal with dust from your clothes, your best bet is to go through your closet and start cleaning out the area.

A load of dust particles can hide within the corners and settle on the clothes you haven’t worn in some time.

You should go through your closet (take this time to reorganize what you want to keep and chuck what you don’t) and do a thorough cleaning of the corners and sides, and wash any clothes that have a dusty smell to them.

Another important place to clean up is your bed.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that one of the most dust-ridden places in your home is the mattress you sleep on (trust me, it’s been through a lot).

If your mattress is old, there’s a good chance it’s completely clogged with dust. The general rule is that if it’s more than 10 years old, it’s about time to say sayonara and kick it to the curb.

You also need to wash your sheets at least once a week (a lot of dead skin can build up in that time) and make sure you clean under your bed to get rid of any dust bunnies lurking there.

For those who still use a traditional fireplace, you may have noticed a soot-like smell drifting around your house.

A simple sweeping should do the trick, but if you want to go the extra mile, a chimney sweeping log will clear out the flue of the chimney and make certain you won’t have to deal with it for a while to come.

Last (but not least) let’s not forget about our furry friends!

Pets are known to trek a lot of dust from the outdoors back into the house. Thankfully, a simple wash every week along with moping or vacuuming the floors should take care of those problems.

Oh, and one more thing: having a ventilation system is a great way to take care of most dust issues. Placing purifiers throughout your home will keep the dust countdown – and give you purer air to breathe.

When it come to dust indoors in a workshop or industrial shop it’s best to call the professionals. Having a professional air filtration system is the most effective way to keep the air clean, keep your machinery running in optimal condition and protecting yourself and your employees from getting sick.

Call in the Pros

We’ve answered all of your questions, from “What is dust?” to “What can be done about it?”

Now you just need to call in the pros to make sure it’s done right.

When it comes to giving you the professional quality you demand, we are second to none. We specialize in air filtration and liquid filtration, screening, custom production, and so much more.

Check out our page to see what we’re made of, and if you like what we do, send us an email or give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you.