October 31st 2014 –

What is Dust???

Dust can be made up of anything from dead skin to space rocks. Particles that form dust therefore come from a whole variety of sources. Office and home dust will have a variety of plant pollen, human and animal hairs, textile fibers, soil fibers from outside that have been transported in, paper fibers, human skin and animal skin cells, burnt meteorite particles and other local environment material particles.

Dust is basically everywhere and when you describe it in terms of how it is made up, it seems very unpleasant. On a more serious note dust can actually be very dangerous for some with certain conditions for example Asthma and other respiratory conditions. Hay fever is often another symptom that is aggravated by high dust levels.

When in our homes we can often open windows so that we can let outside air in to circulate the house. Offices often don’t have windows that can be opened and the air conditioning will just keep the dust circulating and building up. This in turn is likely to cause higher absence rates as people find they are allergic to certain particles within the dust. A plan for managing dust and airflow should be a must for all offices.

Dust in the office place can also cause loss of business by breaking computers. Overtime dust will collect and clog fans that keep our computers and printers from overheating. When clogged the cooling process can’t operate and in turn could lead to overheating and a possible electrical fire.
Dust mites are present where humans occupy. There is one simple reason for this as their primary food is dead human skin cells. Gross as this is there is one saving grace in that the microscopic arachnids don’t live on living humans. Dust mites and their faeces and other allergens they produce are major constituents of office and house dust. They love to nest in dark, warm humid climates like your upholstered office chair and the carpet or carpet tiles.

There are many other types of dust including mineral, metallic, chemical, organic and vegetable, biohazards, fibrous, atmospheric and road.

Dust management is a necessity in the work place in order to stop dust related health risks and to provide cleaner air. A cleaning program that stops house and office dust becoming airborne is imperative, so the use of cleaning agents that have a sticky chemical specifically manufactured for trapping dust would be advisable.

Receive a quote now for a contract cleaner to clean your office today to remove those dead skin cells that you are surrounding yourself with and keep your working environment as clean as possible.