Can anyone tell me how to get rid of building work dust please?

mrswive

DD is having some work done in her new house - walls have been knocked down, floors taken up, plastering done etc. She was hoping that they woud be able to sleep there over the Christmas break while there was no work going on, but is finding it impossible to get rid of the dust by sweeping and vaccuuming - this has been done several times. She says that you can even feel the dust on your teeth! She has two small boys and doesn't feel able to take them to the house to sleep. Has anyone come across this problem and is there a solution?

vax2002

Baby wipes !

Myser

The micro-fine dust particles from plaster and drilling will take a few successive cleaning attempts to completely remove.

It is always a good idea to lay dust sheets on everything and seal doorways with masking tape.

I have found that the micro-fine dust particles also entered inside the boiler case when we had building work done. I had to use a cannister of air-duster to blow out the dust and a slightly damp cloth to clean where I could.

If any of them have allergies, I wouldn't recommend that they live there until the dust has settled.

A slightly damp cloth is as good as anything after you have vacuumed the larger debris. Note that some of the micro-fine dust particles will still escape from the vacuum cleaner.

jc808

itll take a while

mrswive

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply; tomorrow we'll have another vac with someone following behind with a damp cloth and a wipe.
Myser, where can I get a canister of air duster? I didn't know such a thing existed.

McKneff

Be careful using damp things or dusters, dust can be very abrasive, it scratches so easily.

KateLiana27

Old-fashioned mop and bucket (or damp cloth on surfaces). Just use warm water and change the water regularly.

If your vacuum cleaner stops working, clean the filter - dust is terrible at blocking it up.

Myser

You can buy air-duster cannisters from stationery shops, large electrical retailers/computer stores or wholesale warehouses such as Makro or COSTCO.

You'll find them the cheapest online. Here are some examples:

Fellowes__Air_Duster_for_Printer_Keyboard_Ozone_safe

5 Star Air Duster Can HFC Free

AF-Duster-Airduster-Pressure-SPD300

I don't like the ones from COSTCO (Falcon dust-off) as they use a bitterant to stop people from solvent abuse. It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth after using it even if you're not trying to intentionally inhale it!

Tucker

Been there and it really is a case of cleaning up over and over again. There's no magic wand.

Prevention is a good idea where you can. When we knocked out an external wall to make it an internal one, we sealed off the area with sheeting to restrict the dust exposure.

Confined it to one area.

I remember the wife and a friend spent 4 hours cleaning up. I came home unaware and took a stihl saw to the last bit of wall that needed cutting out......... that went down rather well!!

DVardysShadow

Tucker wrote: »

Been there and it really is a case of cleaning up over and over again. There's no magic wand.

I agree. You remove the worst of it on the day. But some will take days to settle out of the air - and it does not take much to make it mobile again. So after a few days, a complete clean through the whole house, including all of those palces where dust settles, but you don't normally bother. And for a few weeks, keep cleaning and vacuuming at the usual frequency, but thoroughly.

But if you are going to make more dust within 3 months, don't go to such efforts!

panchenlama

open every window and door whilst you vacuum/clean