Construction work, restoration and remediation efforts, and commercial cleaning activities are connected in a big way by a small thing: dust.
Dust describes small particles, particularly those that settle out of the air. Until recently in history, most dust was only made up of natural, organic materials, such as soil, organic matter, insects, skin cells, hair, and clothing fibers. While these still make up a lot of dust, modern dust now contains measurable quantities of potentially harmful particulates.
Working with plywood, particleboard, engineered wood, laminate flooring, and similar products produces sawdust that includes chemicals rather than just wood dust.
Interior dust may also contain many natural materials that can cause problems. Asbestos, mold spores, fragments, and mycotoxins are natural but can be very detrimental. Bacteria and viruses are also recovered from interior dust. Health and medical specialists have learned that these microorganisms cling to dust particles to more easily travel around a building. Therefore, they focus on dust control as a key component of reducing infections.
In order to make dust control part of the work process, this involves up to six different techniques:
1. The erection of plastic barriers that separate the work area from other parts of the structure.
2. Applying negative pressure inside the work area to keep dust generated during the project from moving place to place in the structure.
3. Filtration of the air being removed from the work area or being collected in vacuums.
4. Dust collection at the point of creation by utilizing shrouds on power tools or vacuum nozzles in the immediate vicinity of the work.
5. Detailed cleaning of all surfaces in the work zone with products/techniques designed to capture small particles.
6. The use of air cleaning methods — such as air scrubbing — during the detailed cleaning to ensure that small dust particles are captured and removed rather than resuspended in the air.
As dust control continues to grow in importance, Absolute Flood Response and AFR Construction ensure the safety of your family and home on every job we do.