How to clean up a 2-inch layer of dust on *everything*?

August 31, 2018 5:40 AM

There was wall-sanding going on in the house while I was gone with the kids. I haven't moved or covered any of our stuff beforehand. Now everything we own is covered with a thick layer of fine dust (including kid toys, baby stuff, clothes, electronics etc). What would be the best way to clean it up?
posted by gakiko to Home & Garden (20 answers total)

I’d use a shop vac to suck up as much dust as possible, as a start.
posted by cabingirl at 5:44 AM on August 31, 2018 [8 favorites]

Urgh how horrible! I would do the following in this order:

1) Collect all exposed clothes, fabrics. Take them outside and shake them out as much as possible. Set aside for laundry. Put them in garbage bags so they don't get dusty again while you are cleaning the house.
2) Vacuum, room by room. First using the duster attachment (the round one with the brush). Then the upholstery attachment. Finally the angled attachment to get floor edges. Close doors in between rooms so dust does not travel between rooms.
3) Armed with a bucket of hot water and a microfiber cloth, I would tackle room by room and dust/wipe down surfaces and items. Hot water so that it evaporates and you don't have water sitting on your surfaces.

Good luck!
posted by like_neon at 6:04 AM on August 31, 2018 [7 favorites]

If it is just dust, then vacuum and wipe as noted above. However, if there is a possibility that the dust contains lead paint or something like asbestos, then you will want to approach the situation with a lot more caution.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:29 AM on August 31, 2018 [16 favorites]

Seconding Dip Flash. Are you POSITIVE there isn't lead or asbestos in there? If there is any chance there might be, you need to test, and if there is, you need professional help to keep your kids (especially the baby) safe. This is keep your kids out of the house till you know for sure territory. Did a landlord do this? If so, it's their responsibility, but they might not do it to the correct standards. If it was a contractor, same.

I'm somewhat boggled that someone wouldn't cover and move stuff before sanding. Especially with a baby in the house.
posted by john_snow at 6:34 AM on August 31, 2018 [6 favorites]

Don't forget to replace your air filters (HVAC filters, etc). You probably should have a portable filter running in any room that you are working on.
posted by jclarkin at 6:34 AM on August 31, 2018 [2 favorites]

Is this drywall sanding dust?

You might kill or damage a regular vacuum cleaner if it is; certainly the vacuuming experience will be sub-optimal as the filter bags will quickly get blocked by the very fine particles. I would suggest a good quality wet/dry vac using both a high quality reusable filter and a disposable bag. The disposable bag makes a huge difference.

Try not to get the dust wet until you have done as much vacuuming as you can.
posted by Glomar response at 6:40 AM on August 31, 2018 [5 favorites]

Who did the sanding? My point is professionals should have asked you to move/cover your stuff. You should be able to get something for that.

If it was somebody living there they need to be deeply involved in fixing this. Because cleaning this mess is going to be a lot more work than whatever diy they were doing...
posted by koahiatamadl at 6:46 AM on August 31, 2018 [19 favorites]

Just a note on the shop vac angle --

Use a shop vac with a HEPA filter, and also a HEPA or drywall bag. Drywall dust will kill a vac if it is not protected, and even with just a HEPA filter, it will clog quickly. The HEPA bag will make it easy to remove and discard from the shop vac, and provides a much larger surface area for the vac to spread the dust out over. The HEPA filter then catches anything that makes it through the bag, and does an excellent job as a second-pass filter.
posted by jgreco at 6:56 AM on August 31, 2018 [4 favorites]

I would definitely be calling my homeowner's insurance provider about this, especially if you have a decent agent to talk to.
posted by nosila at 7:57 AM on August 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

2 inches, really? Advice it going to be quite different if it's actually 2" thick, as opposed to everything being terribly covered with dust at a normal, "reasonable" amount.

Shop vac.
posted by humboldt32 at 8:47 AM on August 31, 2018

Wear breathing protection while cleaning this up. Even if there's no lead or asbestos in the dust you don't want it in your lungs.
I am also worried about the explosive risk if the dust concentration in the air is going to get high while dealing with this.
posted by w0mbat at 9:27 AM on August 31, 2018 [4 favorites]

There are commercially available lead testing kits at Home Depot, etc. I don't know that I'd trust them either way, but if I got a positive reading from the dust you can imagine the holy hell I'd raise. As far as vacuuming up the dust, I have a dustless drywall sanding apparatus that comprises a ventilated handle, a hose leading to a bucket lid with about a foot protruding from the other side, and a second hose attached to the top of the lid which connects to a shop vac. Fill bucket about two-thirds with water, connect everything, start vacuum, and the thing acts like a giant dust bong, trapping 99.9% of the dust in the water. I can't find it on the internets now, but maybe you could rig something like that.
posted by disconnect at 10:11 AM on August 31, 2018

I work with drywall dust. It's not explosive.
posted by twoplussix at 10:17 AM on August 31, 2018 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: No lead or asbestos, just regular paint and old brick.

Let's just say my husband handled both the contractors and his own DIY suboptimally and leave it at that.

"2 inches" may have been a slight exaggeration on my part, caused by my current feelings on the matter.

Thanks everyone for suggestions.
posted by gakiko at 11:41 AM on August 31, 2018 [2 favorites]

You probably already know this, but just in case: paint in the US had lead in it until 1978. So if there's a chance the paint is from before then, it could be lead-based.
posted by aniola at 11:48 AM on August 31, 2018 [2 favorites]

Also, some old drywall texture had asbestos in it, so hopefully it's fairly new construction.
posted by slidell at 12:22 PM on August 31, 2018

Get a folding table. Set it out on the lawn. Place dust-covered objects on table, a few at a time.

Use the shop vac with the hose connected to the output so it blows rather than sucks¹. No worries about drywall dust or changing bags or getting the brush into the crevices.

Apply common sense with respect to especially delicate items. Using a leaf blower, though tempting, is probably ill-advised. Using shop air on the stubborn bits is fine, so long as you don't have an ancient compressor that belches rusty water and oil.

1-- Phrasing! Are we still doing "phrasing" ?
posted by sourcequench at 12:46 PM on August 31, 2018

Second a vac with HEPA filter, but I'd also was the kid's clothing, bedding, etc. Anything that was uncovered or not enclosed. GEt one of those static feather dusters and go over the walls. Amazing how dusty things get even normally. Dust with damp rags or spray furniture polish to avoid flipping dust around. Sounds like a thorough kitchen cleanup is in order. Just running the dishes, pans, etc through the dishwasher on a light cycle would help you out.
posted by BlueHorse at 2:18 PM on August 31, 2018

Get some dust masks.
posted by sebastienbailard at 2:26 PM on August 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

Absolutely do not touch it without good quality properly fitted dusk masks. And maybe don't let the kids in there at all until the dust has settled. It can worsen or even cause asthma and it's horrible for the lungs.

(We moved into a brand new house that needed a bit of extra drywall work in the first week we were in the house and I have never had more trouble with my lungs in my life.)
posted by Cygnet at 3:47 PM on August 31, 2018