Wood dust is a potential health risk when the particles from processes such as sandpapering and furbishing turn to be airborne. Wood dust possibly inhaled and stuck in the nose and throat area, the upper bronchial area, or the lung, depends on the particle aerodynamic size.

Workers unprotected to wood dust can undergo a variety of harmful health effects including eye and skin irritation, allergy, decreased lung function, asthma, and nasal cancer. Obstructive respiratory effects, growth of lung fibrosis, and impairment of the mucociliary clearance mechanism in the respiratory system have also been reported.

In a general, hard woods are more dangerous to human health than soft woods. But there is exception for western red cedar, a soft wood which has been identified as one of the most dangerous to human health. The health effects are considered related to the concentration of tannin and similar compounds in the wood.

Dust control had better be handled when it comes to hardwood floor installations or when they are being refinished. You should be aware about what dust from sawing and finishing machines can do to your indoor air quality before any work starts. More crucial case is when some family members may suffer from allergies.

On the installation, do the cutting of hardwood away from the house interior. The places are commonly garages or outdoors with weather tolerating. An alternative is tenting the work places with plastic overlayer to be used as a dust barrier. These items can be found in much any hardwood store, Home Depot, or Lowes.

It crucial to maintain larger open regions protected with plastic overlayer, dust can find it’s way anywhere; into kitchen cabinets, heating and cooling system vents, everywhere unless you protect everything during the work. Applying 3M blue painters tape or the purplish stuff is a perfect temporary dusk mask. Useless carpet padding may be used under the doors.

One of importance would be removing the tape in time wise manner, or not letting it to be exposed to direct sunlight most of the day.  Extended exposure to heat and or sun can let the tape’s adhesive to bake. The consensus demands purple tape as a better choice. Fresh paint may also have a tendency to flake off if not healed in the right way.

Other regions of protection should include HVAC intake units,  a lot of dust should be gained during this period. Failure to protect this area will force dust into your heating or cooling system that can be detectable for months and years later, unless a thorough cleaning is done.

There are mainly three types of finishes that can be settled on wood floors: varnish or shellac, wax, or a surface finish (urethane). You first must ascertain the type of finish placed on the wood before cleaning a wood floor. Most new floors come with either a wax or surface finish. For the proper wood floor cleaner or hard floor cleaner thoughtless of the finish, you should never use vinyl or tile floor cleaners on wood.

A floor cleaning machine with dust control setup can help in capturing dust made as a by-product during normal operations. The dust control apparatus is particularly relevant to propane-powered burnishes that apply rotating pads to move out built up wax from hard surface floors. A floating scoop is gone with a floating hoop assembly to address dust away from the rotating pad. The scoop is placed tangentially to the housing that surrounds the rotating pad.

A recess to the housing facilitates airflow through the housing to catch dust, which exits through the scoop. A containment canister with removable filter is in communication with the scoop. The air and entrained dust swirls around the filter in a circular flow path to help apart the dust from the air. The filtered air exits the canister and brings back to the air.

Proceeding to the installation removal of carpet and padding will raise dust also.  These materials are a dirt magnet.  The warm space between a carpet and concrete is a good place for dust mites to live. Look out for rubber carpet liners that gather moisture. Use horse hair instead.

Change carpet for wood or tile floors with area rugs that can be brought outside and aired and beaten to dismiss eggs and dust mites and let the sun kill them. But, non-professional washing of carpeting may result in advanced levels of mold and dust mites. After years of vacuuming you will be surprised how much dirt, grit, and sand mops up carpet and padding.

Dirt, dust and grit can damage your hardwood floor. Tracking dirt, dust, and grit can blunt its finish and cause scratches that can only be repaired by refinishing the floor.

DO: Sweep your floors regularly. Invest in a good broom that features blew up tips to trap dust and dirt, not merely spread it around. Dustmops can also be helpful in sustaining dirt, dust, and grit under control.

DO: Vacuum often, using a canister vacuum with special hardwood floor attachments.

DON’T: Use an upright vacuum with beater bars. They can cause dentines your floor’s finish.

DON’T: Use any dust treatment unless it is approved by your floor’s manufacturer. The wrong treatment can make your floor dull and cause problems the next time you refinish.