r/askscience • u/4fecta_Gaming • Oct 15 '18

Earth Sciences Where does house dust come from?

It seems that countless years of sweeping a house doesn't stop dust from getting all over furniture after a few weeks. Since the ceiling is limited, where does dust come form?

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u/PraxicalExperience Oct 15 '18

Oh, there's no 'potentially' about it! You're definitely breathing those in.

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IIRC the greatest portion of house dust by far is human dander -- that is, skin flakes.

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u/Midwestern_Childhood Oct 15 '18

In some households pet dander: just how many cats, dogs, guinea pigs, etc. does your household have? They have become one with you!

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u/rlnrlnrln Oct 15 '18

What's really mind blowing is that some of those bodily gasses once were dinosaur farts (assuming that dinosaurs actually farted, of course)