How to get rid of dust??

Question

Our two-bedroom apartment has a forced-hot-air furnace for heating, and the dust is just overwhelming. My husband is suffering from the dust, as he is allergic. He sneezes, coughs, wheezes, and has itchy, watery eyes from it. He's miserable. The thing is, I don't even know where to start. My friend says that it's probably dust mites that are causing his misery, but how do I get rid of them? Where do I even start?? I plan on giving everything in the house a good dusting (like with Endust spray), and stripping down the bed and changing the sheets...I'm also going to turn on the humidifier. But what else can I do? Any help would be great! Thx.

Answer 1

Here's a link with some tips that might help.

Be sure and get covers for your mattress and pillows that are allergy reducing. Also, if you suspect dust is a problem from your furnace, you might check to see if there are special allergen filters that can be installed in the air returns.

http://www.allerpet.com/info/tips.htm

Answer 2

Purchase filters for EVERY vent in the house. This will help trap and eliminate dust shooting from the furnace into the house. Filters will be your biggest asset but need to be cleaned often. You will still have to clean and vacuum frequently to avoid any other loose particle which float in. Clean/change the vacuum bag often. If it blows dust, consider a new vacuum. Dusting is useless since it mostly moves around dust to other areas. The humidifier will help. You can also try an exhaust fan in windows or a whole house fan.

Answer 3

You need to get a really good air cleaner if you can afford one for each room get them if not at least get one for the bedroom & the main living area where you are at most.Next if you have carpets you need to have them cleaned or rent a scrubber and do it yourself. I know it alot, be you also need to have a vaccuum with a hepa filter bags that doesn't put the dust back into the air.I have really bad allergys & this has helped so much.I also take my air cleaner with me when I travel.Hoover makes some really good vaccuum called the Savvy,I have just recently bought it,all the stuff the other vaccuum was putting back on my furniture stays in this vaccuum it's amasing. It' not cheep but well worth my health. Hope this help him,I know how he feel.

Answer 4

That's a very good start!

You can also get an air cleaner to pull the dust out of the air, clean or change th filters in your furnace, and clean out the ductwork.

You'll also want to wash your curtains and clean your blinds thoroughly, move your furniture to dust and vacuum (it's amazing how much dust can collect in these places!), and get a friend to help you move your appliances so you can clean the floor. A couple of years ago I walked my stove out of its little alcove and unplugged it, and cleaned the floor there. I needed a bucket of water just for that.

Good luck, and I hope your husband feels better!

Answer 5

Vacuum your mattress off that will lift some of the dust mites out of your bed. Just dust everyday and vacuum your house everyday that will help with you dust.

Answer 6

Many of the answers above are indicative of the need for the EPA's latest public education campaign (www.noattacks.org).

While the responders all mean well and are trying to help you with your husband’s problem, the answers provided (in most cases) are the wrong solutions.

Feather dusters collect nothing and only disturb the dust.

Air purifiers only work minimally without attacking the source(s) of allergens. Air purifiers also generate ozone, a known lung irritant and only (BTW, which one does the EPA recommend? - NONE),

Do not pay the expense of duct cleaning as dust mites don't live in ducts.

Costly mattress and pillow enclosures simply "cover" the problem (dust mite allergens)...and neither will do a thing for removing the problem (what companies manufacture the same for the other places that dust mites colonize such as upholstered sofa's, divans, love seats, chairs, or ottomans? - NONE).

Expensive HEPA filters for intake and exhaust vents will help some...but again these do not address the problem. Microbial allergens will collect on the surface of the intake filters but do not die and continue to propagate. HEPA filters placed over exhaust vents are counter-productive. Due to the Venturi Principle, the smaller pore size of the filter causes the moving air to become more turbulent as it enters a room which disturbs "dust" particles in the room causing, or keeping them, airborne. A person would do better to put a double layer of “cheesecloth” over the vent.

If your current dust cloths are rags, old hand towels or t-shirts, throw them away (or use them to wash the car) and replace them immediately with economical microfiber wipes, technological designed to collect and hold the dust.

The majority of household vacuum cleaners are merely "air movers" that trap large particles. These types of vacuum cleaners suck debris across the motorized mechanics and then into a bag. A true vacuum cleaner sucks debris into a micron bag (compartment) and the filtered air then passes across the motorized mechanics and through a final exhaust micron filter.

Because there are so very, very, few businesses offering these services, the information available at the link below "76 Tips to Reduce Dust Mites and Indoor Allergens" has been written particularly for the 50 to 60 million persons throughout the U.S., who suffer from allergies caused by poor indoor air quality. Of these 50 to 60 million persons , 90% are allergic to "dust" or actually, are allergic to one or more of the 28 or so allergens, that comprise "dust".

Dust is the #1 indoor allergen (pollen, which is transferred into our homes daily on clothing, hair, overcoats and pets, is the #1 outdoor allergen). Dust mites produce guanine, a very potent and harmful allergen found in their fecal pellets and exoskeletons. The fecal pellets and exoskeletons are so light-weight that simple acts of "fluffing" a pillow, or rolling over in bed (50-60 times per night is the average), causes these particles, containing guanine, to become airborne, remain airborne and circulate throughout the entire home for up to 2 hours before settling. While airborne, these particles are readily inhaled. Guanine enters your lungs and adheres to healthy lung cells, suffocating and killing them. Everyone, to varying degrees, suffer from the ill-health effects due to guanine, it's just that some people are more tolerant than others.

In the U.S., 95% of all homes have dust mites and 50% (45 million homes) are infested with dust mites. On average, 2 million dust mites live, thrive and breed in the micro-habitat, ideal living conditions, provided in a 2 year old mattress. A single dust mite will defecate 20-30 times per day. That's a DAILY accumulation of 40-60 million fecal pellets in your bed.

The American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) has suggested that 50% of ALL ILLNESSES are caused by, or further aggravated by, poor indoor air quality which is made up of primarily "dust".

Visit:

http://www.sterilmattress.com/ebook_dust_mite_removal_tips.html

The entire contents from the ebook "76 Tips to Reduce Dust Mites and Indoor Allergens" is available cost free and no downloading of a .pdf file is necessary...simply visit the link.


In the late 1970's, and all across the U.S, energy-saving practices led to improved insulation methods for home (and commercial) construction. Buildings became much more "air-tight" and allergens began accumulating within the buildings causing indoor air quality to continually decrease, year after year.

Another energy-conservation practice started in the '70's was the lowering of factory settings (to less than 120 degrees F.) on hot water heaters, hence the use of cold water laundry detergent. To kill dust mites, water temperature must exceed 130 degrees F and preferrably 140 degrees. Additionally and very unfortunately for us, guanine is not water soluble... if it were, our perspiration as we sleep all covered up, would break down this allergen.

It is no coincidence that among children, asthma, "hidden" asthma (undiagnosed) and asthma deaths have increased, year after year, since 1980 and are now reaching epidemic proportions. You can see for yourself by checking the number of new questions daily...in this category, right here at Yahoo! Answers.

Answer 7

Get one of those feather dusters, and use it to dust off the cabinets, tables, shelves, and so on. Try to find an air purifier, and that should get the dust out of the air.

Answer 8

Pledge, wool duster, cloths to wipe down, all sorts of ways to get rid of the dust, but you will never be dust free...it's part of life.

Answer 9

it is easy just dust it off and it will go away