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Anthony Powell
Anthony Powell, a former anchor at KSN channel 3 and his wife Jennifer, have taken a new direction in life. They are the proud new owners of The Cleaning Authority franchise in Wichita. The Cleaning Authority stands serving most of Wichita and the surrounding areas being the by being the leader in green seal authorized cleaning products, offering a flexible schedule, a patented detail rotation system, unparallel customer service and quality control. All to ensure that you are satisfied with their services and have a smile on your face when you open the door to your freshly-cleaned home! Contact Anthony Powell at The Cleaning Authority today to schedule your free consultation, 316-733-7890.
Cleaning
2010-07-01 12:04:00
What exactly is dust?
What exactly is dust? Why can it be so dangerous?
Answer: Most people don’t think too much about dust if they don’t see it. It’s only when it starts to coat every countertop, every crevice, every surface in your home - even though you just got rid of it a couple of days earlier - that it really gets to you.

It’s dust. It’s inconvenient. It may make you sneeze, and most of us are familiar with the common allergen, dust mites. But did you know that the dust in your home could actually contain toxic compounds? Things like flame retardants and toxins from cigarette smoke are just a couple of examples of the chemicals that could be in your household dust. "Certain toxic chemicals, such as lead, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are routinely found in household dust," says Andrea Ferro, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Clarkson University and an air quality researcher. "Simple activities such as dusting and vacuuming generate or re-suspend the pollutants into the air that we then breathe in." Dust that collects in carpets can contain toxic chemicals like lead, pesticides and PCBs. Leaving your shoes at the door may help to reduce your risk. Dust is the collective term used to describe the wide variety of organic and inorganic particles that collect in our homes. Here’s an unpleasant thought: The majority of dust is made up from shed skin cells. That’s why the areas of your home that are used most often also tend to have the most dust. (Dust mites like to eat these skin cells.) Dust on mattresses, bedding and sofas will contain a particularly large amount of skin cells. Says Larry Arlian, an internationally recognized expert on dust mites, dust is a complex mixture of a lot of different materials, and a lot of it is unavoidable. Breakdown of Common Components in Household Dust •Shed human skin cells •Flame retardants like polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) •Paint particles •Cigarette smoke (and its toxic byproducts) •Pesticides •PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) •PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) •Fabric fibers from your clothes, carpets, upholstery, etc. •Sand and soil particles •Plant and insect parts (When dust is examined under a microscope, it is not at all unusual to spot ant heads or other insect body parts, says Arlian.) •Mold spores •Pet dander and feathers •Dust mites and their feces •Viruses •Rodent waste •Construction debris (adhesives, sawdust, etc.) •Pollen •Bacteria •Asbestos •Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury When you walk around or vacuum, dust particles are stirred up into the air, and along with them come the slew of potential toxic chemicals and other unsavory items like rodent waste and insect parts. You may then breathe in these particles or absorb them through your skin once they settle back down onto a surface you touch. Dust is mostly made up of shed human skin cells, but it can also contain flame retardants, heavy metals and toxic byproducts of cigarette smoke. This is especially concerning if you have small children or infants. Children who crawl and put their fingers in their mouth can ingest 10 grams of dust per day. And, since they’re smaller than adults and their systems are still developing, they are at a higher risk from contaminants. Allergies, asthma, itchy eyes, coughing and runny noses aside, the specific health effects of house dust depend on which contaminants are in the dust, as well as the levels and how long you have been exposed. In the case of flame retardants (PBDEs), for example, which one U.S. study found were present in every home they tested, they could affect brain development and reproductive hormones. And if you think simply inhaling dust isn’t enough of an exposure, the researchers found that two-thirds of the PBDEs present in adults’ bodies seem to be coming from household dust. In the case of infants, some 90 percent of their PBDE body level came from house dust. It’s impossible to NOT have any dust in your home. The key, however, is to keep dust, and therefore your risk of illness, to a minimum. Get rid of or minimize carpeting in your home. According to Arlian, one of the best ways to reduce household dust is to get rid of carpets or at least minimize carpeting. That’s because carpeting is a perfect place for dust to cling to, and they even produce dust of their own (from the fibers). Opting for hardwood floors with scattered rugs, which should be washed in hot water weekly, is the optimum dust-reducing choice. Dust often and with the right tools. Arlian also noted the importance of dusting horizontal surfaces regularly - but not just with an ordinary dust cloth. "People used to dust with things like cloth diapers, and they just kind of moved dust around," he said. "Many pollutants don’t just evaporate...the chemicals may then adhere to surfaces and carpets, but they may be released into the air again when you vacuum your house or simply walk across the carpet. In addition to the risk of breathing the chemicals, touching the contaminated surfaces can lead to exposure through the skin." Leave dirt outside your doorstep. 90% of all dirt in the home is tracked in from the outside (and much of it becomes dust inside the home). Doormats not only add aesthetic appeal, but the right doormat (one designed with fibers that truly capture dirt and liquids) is an important health and wellness tool. Wiping your shoes thoroughly before entering not only keeps the home visually more appealing, but far more important, it really can dramatically reduce the amount of dangerous dirt and dust in the home. Use a high-quality air purifier. According to many leading health organizations including the American Lung Association and the most respected health experts such as Dr. Morton Walker and Jordan Rubin, with the growing knowledge of air pollution in the home, it has become clear that every home needs an air purifier. All great reasons to put dusting on your "to-do" list on a regular basis! Anthony Powell, a former anchor at KSN channel 3 and his wife Jennifer, have taken a new direction in life. They are the proud new owners of The Cleaning Authority franchise in Wichita.

The Cleaning Authority stands serving most of Wichita and the surrounding areas being the by being the leader in green seal authorized cleaning products, offering a flexible schedule, a patented detail rotation system, unparallel customer service and quality control. All to ensure that you are satisfied with their services and have a smile on your face when you open the door to your freshly-cleaned home! Contact Anthony Powell at The Cleaning Authority today to schedule your free consultation, 316-733-7890.
 
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