I had my pine floors sanded recently now the room smells dusty - why?

Question

Before somebody says "sweep the dust up" I have and the whole place has been thoroughly cleaned. The floors were sealed with acrylic varnish to which does have its own odour but it just smells dusty in there!

Answer 1

when you have a job done like this that creates loads of dust it takes weeks for the dust to settle. It is recommended that you don't dust for about 3 weeks cos it's a waste of time. I know that's almost impossible for most of us who likes a nice clean tidy home. I think you'll find that it's just a matter of time and that the pong will go - inbetween times you'll find you'll need to clean much more often than normal until all the dust has settled.

Answer 2

Did you thoroughly clean the ceiling and walls, too? You might not be able to see anything, but there's probably lots of dust on them. Drag your fingertips across a spot on the wall and see if anything comes up.

Also, is it a dusty smell or a piney smell? Pine resin is pretty strong and you would be able to smell it through the varnish for a while.

Answer 3

It will continue to do so, you are probably used to a carpet which keeps the dust down. Sanded floorboards are much closer to the bare bones of the house and all the mess that it is covering.

Carpets and hardwood floors provide a more sealed finish

Answer 4

It may be that a portion of the dust has gotten into your heating/cooling duct work and is still blowing through the house. There are companies that clean out duct work. It might be worth a call to one of them. If you don't care for the smell of perfuned scents, have them skip that last step. I can't stand the smell.

Answer 5

Change your furnace filter too. Don't forget to clean light fixtures and any trim around doors and closets,