How many of us know the real harms of dust in every house in the world? Look around the room you’re in and you’ll likely see obvious dust. What about the ones you didn’t see? Do not forget that there are particles that contain the majority of dust in our homes and that we cannot see with the naked eye, negatively affecting our health. So what should we do to avoid such dust?
What is house dust?
House dust is defined as a complex matrix of components that may contain dead skin cells, hair, dust mites, dust mite feces, bacteria, viruses, mold, small insects and other fibers and particles. Most of these particles can only be seen under a microscope and can negatively affect our lives.
Since the onset of Covid-19, hygiene in our homes as well as personal hygiene has become more important than ever before. We continue to clean, but we are not aware of what the dust in our homes contains. At this point, Dyson conducted extensive research on dust science at its Research and Development facilities in Malmesbury and published a study that reveals what is in household dust, why we should care about it, and what we can do about it.
Dennis Mathews, Microbiology Research Fellow, one of the scientists responsible for analyzing the hundreds of kilograms of real house dust collected by Dyson each year, said:
“It’s vital that people understand how best to remove house dust, even the dust they can’t see, from their homes. If there was more awareness of what is in the dust and how dust formation develops, it would be better to know where to focus during cleaning”
Emphasizing that the location of the house we live in affects the dust and its types in the living spaces, Mathews: “We can often tell if someone lives by the sea because we can see certain salts and minerals in the dust in the house. If there is a particular tree species in your neighborhood, we can identify the species based on the pollen type in your home. We also tend to find synthetic particles such as rubber tire tracks and microplastics in cities or homes near roads. In addition to particles from outside our home, what we find inside can also have a big impact on our house dust. Our skin greatly influences the dust in our homes. The average person sheds about two to three grams per day and even more at night. “That’s roughly the weight of a pack of chips a week,” he said.
What are dust mites?
Dust mites are known as microscopic creatures that have lived on Earth for millions of years. There may be millions of dust mites in your home environment, and while the mites themselves are not harmful, the proteins found in their feces are recognized worldwide as a major trigger of allergenic diseases.
It is estimated that between 65-130 million people worldwide suffer from dust mite faeces allergy. Studies show that the symptoms of allergy sufferers worsen as we spend more time in our homes during the pandemic. Exposure to high amounts of dust mites, especially at a young age, also seems to increase the risk of developing mite allergy and asthma.
While vacuuming our house frequently is a good way to reduce the amount of dust and minimize the negative impact on our body, knowing where to vacuum is an important point. Dust mites thrive in warm, dark and humid conditions. For this reason, places such as beds and sofas can be an easy breeding ground for mites that multiply during dust mite season.
Mathews also adds: “Dust really is the microscopic soup of everything we do in our lives. Much of this is not reflected in the synthetic powder, which is often analyzed and tested for industry standards. At Dyson, we test with real dust, which ensures that our vacuums perform top not only in the lab but also in real homes.”
It is very important to take precautions in order to get rid of the pollutants in the house and ensure its cleanliness, and to protect the health of you and your family. One of the easiest ways to do this is to have the right cleaning technologies.