House dust

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flakes of dust
House dust under the microscope x200
The trembling spider's space web
Saharan dust over Kufstein / Tyrol on February 22, 2004
Sand transport from the Sahara, this wind is called Calima on the Canary Islands , see also Aeolian Transport
House dust mite , 0.1 to 0.5 mm in size

House dust is the collective name for particulate and fibrous immissions in closed rooms. It is a mixture of different inorganic and organic substances .

Together Concentrated dust accumulation of house dust are in Germany also dust mouse or Wollmaus in Austria also Lurch called. The dust mouse or the amphibian `` live '' mainly under cupboards or beds and are often perceived as a light object that moves quickly when there is a draft.

composition

Dust is made up of various substances, these depend on the respective living conditions (e.g. the presence of a pet) and include e.g. B .:

Dust sources

House dust on a finger

House dust can be found in every apartment. On average, around six milligrams of dust form per square meter every day. With an average living space of 44 m² / person and an office area of ​​15 m² / person, around 130 g of house dust per person are produced annually. Since the sources are diverse, house dust can consist of many substances.

Since dust is a natural component of the air, dust also enters the home through the open window. But humans themselves are also a source of dust: the top layer of skin is constantly renewed, the dead skin cells (about one to two grams per day) get into the air, rise with the warm air in the middle of the room and sink with the cooler air Air close to the wall. This is why bookshelves, picture frames and moldings at the top and near the wall are more dusty than furniture in the middle of the room. This house dust fraction on furniture usually consists of 80 percent dander.

The finest dust particles are carried into the apartment with the shoes. These come from a wide variety of sources (see dust). Through the various activities in an apartment (walking, working, sleeping), people also cause abrasion on clothing, carpets, upholstered furniture or other home furnishings, which also contribute to dust pollution.

Wherever organic material such as skin flakes, plant particles, food crumbs etc. occurs, there are also microorganisms such as bacteria , mites and mold that live on these substances. Like dust, these microorganisms are a natural component of the air. House dust mites and mold in particular are of certain importance, since the excretions of house dust mites or the spores of mold lead to allergic reactions in some people ( house dust allergy , mold allergy ). The highest concentration of dust mites (excrement) is usually found in pillows, because there is plenty of skin flakes as food and a lot of warmth and moisture from the sleeper's head. By breathing alone, humans excrete 250–400 ml of water per night. There is therefore no such thing as a mite-free pillow. Even cleaned pillows contain tens of thousands of the 0.3 mm mites. Pillows that have been unwashed for years (if only the cover is washed) contain up to 400,000 mites. Since mites only live a good six weeks, the living and dead mites can make up up to 10 percent of its total weight in such a pillow that has not been washed for years. A house dust mite produces around 20 globules of feces a day. In their approximately six-week life, the weight of the droppings adds up to 200 times the weight of the mite. A teaspoonful of bedroom dust contains on average almost 1,000 mites and 250,000 tiny pellets of excrement. Due to their lightness and shape, these remain less in the pillow than dead mites, but are mostly shaken into the air.

A study published in 2009 indicates that measuring the ergosterine content in house dust can be used as a quick method for determining indoor mold levels.

Agglomerations

Coalesced (aggregated) fibers and particles

A unified German name has not been established, in addition to dust mouse is found spread fluff , Wollmaus , Mullen (see. But Mull ), Lurch, dust Gewölle , dust fluff , Staubflankerln (in Vienna, Carinthia), Lei (s) wiping (in Salzburg , Tyrol), (Dust) Wuggal or Wauggel (Bavaria / Salzburg), Mutzeln (Vgtl./Sachsen), (Dust) Moggeln (Swabia), in the Bundeswehr also NATO mouse . In Norway, the name hybelkanin ("apartment rabbit ") is common for a woolly mouse . In Finnish one says villakoira ("woolly dog"), which also means poodle. In the user-friendly comics, the English term Dust Puppy ("dust dog") is used for an animated dust mouse, otherwise Dust Bunny ("dust bunny") is common in American parlance . The latter is also often used as a winking warning to the children that they should clean their room, otherwise the dust bunnies will soon haunt around.

Emergence

Agglomerations arise when wind or a draft of air glides over a dusty surface. In the process, small flakes are detached, which then come together to form larger and larger balls that can reach a size of several centimeters. Especially under cupboards and beds there is such a shallow draft that can drive the process. However, electrostatic charging also plays a role , especially in the case of synthetic fibers and strong sunlight, as well as being favored by dry air in heated rooms.

"Lurch"

Lurch is the Austrian name for clumped house dust, such as that accumulates under furniture. The name Lurch is explained in the Austrian dictionary .

In the processing of the threads in spinning or weaving mills, the abrasion of the threads is referred to as Lurch , which when soaked with machine lubrication oil can lead to a great risk of fire.

The "Lurch" can also be found in literature

"... the amphibian is already so thick that you can smell it, / and we're not talking about the kitchen at first."

- Josef Weinträger : Vienna literally, p. 82.

"What's this? This is the amphibian. What does that mean?"

- Brigitte Schwaiger: attempts at love: small dramas from everyday life in Austria . Langen Müller publishing house, 1989

“Only then did the shovel follow. Lurch, dust and breadcrumbs came on it. "

- Thomas Northoff: Always a little hungry , Roman. Hannibal Publishing House, 1981

"She carefully made up the strange face and removed the amphibian and dust far from the hair and the cobwebs."

- Otto Breicha : Protocols . Kulturamt Wien, Museum of the 20th Century. Verlag Jugend und Volk, 1971
"Lurch" in journalism and advertising

"... or for institutions like the Vatican Bank, individual oil multinationals and development aid organizations: beautiful carpets, including the amphibian." Helmut A. Gansterer in: profil . May 29, 2000, p. 160.

"At home, the fronts have been cleared up so far: He just doesn't see the dust and amphibians and streaks and stains, claims my more comfortable half." Eva Seyfried in: Wiener Journal. 4/1997, p. 12.

"The vacuum cleaner helps against the 'amphibian' - the accumulations of dust under boxes & Co.". In: Small newspaper . October 17, 2000, p. 80.

The advertising slogan of a vacuum cleaner advertisement from the 1970s has become legendary : "... eats the dust and not the carpet" , which has also found its way into journalistic use.

Electric current hazards

Switch boxes are to be kept free from accumulations of dust, otherwise there is a risk of fire. This also applies to all heat-emitting devices, such as televisions, stereo systems, computers, etc., in which dust and fibers collect due to electrostatic charge. This can lead to anything from simple device failures to fire. After a while, clumps often form in the cabling behind the computer. If these flakes get into the intake flow of a fan, this can lead to considerable impairment (cooling problems) and, as a result, even cause hardware damage. Appropriate dust filters for air-cooled devices (PC) can counteract this problem.

Pollutants in house dust

The air contains numerous pollutants that can easily bind to dust particles and thus also to house dust. Due to the large specific surface of the particles, poorly volatile substances in the indoor air are preferentially adsorbed on house dust due to their low vapor pressure . The composition of the house dust allows conclusions to be drawn about the composition of the indoor air.

The pollutants in the indoor air can come from both external sources (for example, the concentration of pollutants can be very high on a busy street) and internal sources (carpets, furniture, wood paneling, printers, etc.). Depending on the air pollution, various pollutants can be detected in house dust, for example:

For example, the Austrian Federal Environment Agency has published a detailed study of the pollution of house dust with pollutants.

For more on this see black dust .

Black dust

If large areas of black deposits suddenly appear in an apartment, one speaks of the phenomenon of "black apartments" . The black color of the wall can have various causes, which can also overlap each other. Black dust (English "magic dust") is likely to be favored or caused by low volatile organic compounds ( SVOC ) (adhesive film effect). Their source is the vapors of chemical substances from building materials, such as plasticizers from paints, foils, PVC floor coverings, cable sheathing or adhesives. Black mold on the walls, like soot from the burning of oil lamps and candles or from diesel exhaust fumes, is not regarded as the cause of the black dust effect in the narrower sense , but they can override the effect.

Elimination

A feather duster , duster or vacuum cleaner can be used to remove house dust .

See also

literature

  • Ulrike Rolle-Kampczyk u. a .: House dust as a source of potential exposure to mycotoxins - a case study. In: Environmental medicine in research and practice. Volume 6, No. 1, 2001, ISSN  1430-8681 , pp. 42-46.
  • Hans Schleibinger u. a .: Differentiation between mold and non-mold apartments on the basis of spores from house dust samples - results of a field study in the Berlin area. In: Environmental medicine in research and practice. Volume 9, No. 4, 2004, ISSN  1430-8681 , pp. 251-262; No. 5, pp. 289-297; No. 6, pp. 363-376.
  • Regine Nagorka, Christiane Scheller, Detlef Ullrich: Plasticizers in house dust. In: Hazardous substances - keeping the air clean. Volume 65, No. 3, 2005, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 99-105.
  • Werner Butte, Hardo Schencke, Birger Heinzow: Herbicides in house dust. Samples from tree nursery neighbors versus controls. In: Hazardous substances - keeping the air clean. Volume 66, No. 3, 2006, ISSN  0949-8036 , p. 112ff.
  • Roland Meyer: Almost nothing. Readings of the dust. In: Stranger Things. (= Zeitschrift für Kulturwissenschaften, ISSN  2197-9103 , 1st year 2007, no . 1), pp. 113-124 (original version: Smaller attempt on dust . 2005. (PDF) (dead link)
  • Regine Nagorka, André Conrad, Christiane Scheller, Bettina Süßenbach, Heinz-Jörn Moriske: Plasticizers and flame retardants in house dust. Part 1: Phthalates. In: Hazardous substances, keeping air clean. Volume 70, No. 3, 2010, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 70-76.
  • Regine Nagorka, André Conrad, Christiane Scheller, Bettina Süßenbach, Heinz-Jörn Moriske: Plasticizers and flame retardants in house dust. Part 2: Phthalate substitutes and flame retardants. In: Hazardous substances, keeping air clean. Volume 71, No. 6, 2011, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 286-292.
  • Björn Kempken, Werner Butte: Concentrations of lead, cadmium, manganese and zinc in fractions of house dust. In: Hazardous substances, keeping air clean. Volume 70, No. 3, 2010, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 98-102.
  • Gregory P. Laughlin: Planets Under Alien Suns. In: Spectrum of Science . 10, Heidelberg Dec 2006, p. 72ff., Especially p. 75. ISSN  0170-2971

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Research results of the IFA on hazardous substances in toners on safe laser printers and copiers .
  2. ↑ Katrin Buchwalsky, Uli Grünewald, Mike Schaefer, Wolfram Schiebener, Tanja Winkler: The fantastic world of the invisible. Script for WDR radio series Quarks & Co . June 2004. On WDR.de ( PDF ; 798 kB), accessed on October 16, 2019.
  3. ↑ Peter Brookesmith: Little monsters: the secret world of tiny living things . Gondrom Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-8112-1735-6 , pp. 122-128.
  4. ↑ Ilka Toepfer, Werner Butte: Chemical indicators for mold in house dust . In: Hazardous substances - keeping air clean. 69 (3), 2009, pp. 91-95, ISSN  0949-8036 .
  5. ↑ Walter Klöpffer : Klöpffer's Dictionary of Austrianisms ( Memento from January 18, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (DOC, 166 kB).
  6. ↑ Brockhaus Encyclopedia in twenty volumes: Picture dictionary of the German language. 17th edition. Verlag F. A. Brockhaus, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-7653-0000-4 , p. 420.
  7. ↑ Austrian dictionary. Familiarity with the word Lurch .
  8. ↑ ADSandBRANDS - Museum of Advertising and Brands: "Nilfisk - eats the dust and not the carpet". published 1973. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  9. ↑ Lexicon of the Wiener Zeitung : Eats the amphibian and protects the carpet - 100 years of vacuum cleaners. ( Memento of November 8, 2007 in the web archive archive.today ) July 19, 2002. Retrieved on January 12, 2010.
  10. ↑ AUVA : Employee protection in small businesses ( Memento of December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF, p. 29; 1.3 MB).
  11. ↑ Website eval.at (AUVA): “Keep switch boxes free from deposits (dust, amphibians). (Risk of fire!) " .
  12. ^ FF Baden-Weikersdorf: How do I prevent a dangerous fire on my television? ( Memento of May 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  13. ↑  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Fires caused by electrical systems. (PDF). In: Brandaus. 10/2005, p. 2, accessed on January 12, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.gefahren-abc.info
  14. ↑ Wolfgang Kersten, Thomas Reich: Hardly volatile organic environmental chemicals in Hamburg house dusts. In: Hazardous substances - cleanliness. Air . 63, No. 3, 2003, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 85-91.
  15. ↑ Gottfried Walker, Olaf Hostrup, Wolfgang Hoffmann, Werner Butte: Biozide im Hausstuab. In: Hazardous substances - cleanliness. Air. 59, No. 1/2, 1999, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 33-41.
  16. ↑ M. Uhl, P. Hohenblum, S. Scharf, C. Trimbacher: House dust - an indicator for indoor pollution . (PDF; 2.7 MB). Federal Environment Agency, Vienna 2004.