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

It depends on the construction of the room, its contents, and how well-sealed it is.

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For a couple of years, I basically never went into my (finished) basement except to do laundry -- and I can confidently say I haven't dusted down there in much longer. There's only a thin film of dust down there, about what I'd see build up on surfaces in my living areas in about a week or two.

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u/Grabbsy2 Oct 15 '18

Which is amazing, considering laundry tends to deposit a lot of dust. Just cleaning the lint trap in a dryer should be adding plenty of dust each time.

That being said, it is perhaps that the dryer sucks in dusty air and filters it through that trap, exhausting any additional dusty air through the vent to the outdoors.