Why is dust getting everywhere? Are you aware that construction dust contains numerous regulated toxins and carcinogens? Lead, asbestos, silica, gypsum, and any kind of fine particulate dust (even wood) are a serious health hazard.

You need some proper containment. It's basic professional practice to keep remodelling dust completely contained. If your contractor is not doing this, get a competent contractor. If this is a DIY job, educate yourself.

Setting up a containment only takes an hour or two at the most. There are all kinds of products. Check out Zipwall to get the idea.

A shop vac can be connected to the containment area to create a slight negative pressure. This draws fresh air into the work zone, and keeps the little dust particles from floating out of the containment

Here is a link that might be useful: zipwall dust containment

In the future, contain the dust to the work area, and dry-vac with a good shop-vac and a fine particle filter (the walls, too).

As for the slurry that seems to have been smeared everywhere, I'd probably keep wiping it with damp cloths, mop, etc. until it's clean. While we're at it, find out which floor cleaners are proper for your wood floor. My flooring guy says "oil soap" is not one of them, although it's sold for that purpose.

Good luck.

A professional cleaning crew is WELL worth the expense post remodel.

Thank you! They do have plastic on various entryways. However, for the kids room, they were working on the inside Jack N Jill bathroom and going back and forth for the tiling. They took the doors off for painting and since it is a narrow space they didn't have plastic there the whole time.

There's going to be a lot more dust downstairs because the painters have to sand the trim/wainscotting. The main staircase also has a somewhat long open railed area on top (vs. just a doorway) so I can see dust getting into the hall way upstairs

The flooring people said to just use warm water with a damp mop. On occasion add a little vinegar if there's grease/food. Sombreil, sounds like a lot of work! blech. GreenDesigns, yes, I agree with needed professional help but what do I look under? I would wnat someone who specializes in new construction/remodelling cleaning vs. a local housekeeper or cleaning service, right? I'm worried the local cleaner will miss stuff or will do the regular cleaning and still there will be dust left. What sort of rate do they charge per hour?

Also, what should be done to protect my brand new cabinets from the flooring and painting work? Do I ask the contractor to wrap them in plastic? Should I ask the floor guy to set up a shop vac when they sand the floors?

Thanks!

You need to find a cleaning company that offers construction clean-up. More of a commercial cleaning company rather than basic household help.

Holy cow. What's so difficult about cleaning up? It's not rocket science.

Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, with a good vacuum. Do you have central vac? Once you get the dust wet it will be more difficult to clean up.

After we remodeled the showroom, we hired a pro cleaning crew that specialized in post construction cleaning to come in and blitz the space. You need specially made HEPA vacs to vacuum up drywall dust and not clog up the filters of a "regular" homeowner grade vac and not kill the vacuum. Drywall dust turns to mud really quickly and gets into every crack and crevice (like the grain of your wood floor) if you use the wrong product to dust it with. It took 120 man hours for our showroom (approximately 2 man hours per 1000 square feet), and we too only had one section that had actual construction activity. It's just really hard to curtain off open concept. It was pretty amazing to see the backpack vacuums and caddies that every single one of the pros carried. They didn't have any wasted motion and everything got touched, including the inside of all cabinetry and the inside areas of displays that wouldn't be seen but were still contaminated. To get the same level of efficiency by a non-pro (even if you could get the same equipment to do it with) would probably require twice the man hours per square foot, or approximately 12 hours for a 3000 square foot home. More if there is still a lot of "stuff" in it to work around.

"It's just really hard to curtain off open concept."

Containing dust in a residential remodel is not hard. We do demolition and construction in computer server rooms, and open floor plan office spaces, as well as ordinary homes. Dust containment is the top priority of the site preparation activies. If you create negative pressure inside the containment, an open floor plan is no challenge. Negative pressure is easy to achieve with the use of a HEPA vac.

My whole crew has been trained for asbestos work. Industrial hygiene is not rocket science. It's very basic common sense. Dust will stay INSIDE the containment if you hook up a hepa vac hose to the inside of the space, and place the vacuum itself outside the containment. This creates negative pressure. Each time someone passes through the opening, fresh air is drawn inside and the dust gets pulled back in. If the workers will be entering and leaving the containment area frequently, it's prudent to set up a double entry. The intermediate space should be large enough for workers and materials to pass through, so the outer containment can be closed before the inner containment is opened.

In an occupied building, construction dust is not acceptable. I would lose my job if my crew did not contain their dust. When I go into a regular home to do some dusty work, the customer is totally impressed by how well we contain our dust. 2 hours of preparation results in 1 hour of clean up. Poor preparation results in a contaminated mess. Even a professional restoration cleaning crew is not going to get 100% of the dust.

Dust getting into the pores of a hardwood floor is a sign of inexperience. How long does it take to tape down red rosin paper and lay drops?

Or maybe my experience in restoration and maintenance has beaten the concept of dust control so far down into my skull, It's just an instinct at this point.

Hopefully you guys find this information helpful. I guarantee the HEPA vac method for creating negative pressure inside the containment really works!

Thank you all! Livewire, that's the type of company I want. II will add post-construction to my search terms

No, we do not have central vac. I have a little Dyson that I love but it wasn't doing the trick.

I asked and the painters don't have a HEPA vac system. I'll ask the floor guys. I think the bulk of the dusty contractor work is done. The cabinets are mostly installed and they put in some appliances today. The good news is that it's really looking like a brand new house! I can't wait until it's cleaned up and we can move in, even if the hood/backsplash is delayed.

Thank you!

CT, I am (soon, I hope) going to be in the same situation, so happy to read this. We live in a completely open plan loft. There will be plenty of dust. I'm happy to see here what to look for in a cleaning crew, because frankly, the chances of me getting on hands and knees with rags is not only slim-to-none, it's just none.

We just went through a remodel, and all I can say is thank goodness for my Rainbow! They did put the resin paper down on our wood floors, but yeah, there was dust everywhere. They were not very good about dust containment, saying it gets everywhere anyway. Rolling eyes here. Seriously?? They were very good about cleaning up, till the last crew got here to do the master bathroom. They have been horrid - just throwing the empty boxes and trash on the floor, and leaving everything very dusty.

thank goodness for my Rainbow!

What 's a Rainbow?

" I haven't even gotten to the blinds or the baseboard or walls. " .

You are just moving dust around instead of removing it.

Remove the blinds, take them outside and hose them off.
Take the draperies to a laundromat and run them through the dryer on fluff.
Don't put anything back until you have vacuumed the all surfaces.

Start with a really GOOD vacuum bag that will catch the fine particles ... and vacuum from the top down, starting with the ceiling and lights. Every time someone walks past the walls or baseboards the air movement dumps some dust into the air where it lands on the floors.

Rainbow is a brand of water-trap vacuum, IIRC. The water filters out the dust 100%.
Casey

Thank you! I've found a few to call for an estimate but it is a very cluttered category and hard to sift out who really is a post-construction specialist vs. regular cleaners/maid services or even carpet cleaners expanding their portfolios.

I'd have to get a professional cleaner to clean some of the crystal (or crystal-like) chandeliers. It might need other minor servicing Not sure if the main foyer one is higher than the frames of some of the entryways on the main floor or not. I originally, was going to do that after the professional cleaners because I didn't want the dust from the 2nd floor that overlooks the foyer to hit the chandelier and felt it was easier to reclean the floor than the chandelier.

I'm not sure if the cleaners can really get to the ceilings. I found one that specifically mentioned post-construction clean up with fairly good reviews, though one didn't like a cost over run because it took them more time than the estimate. I might call them (Maria's) for an estimate. http://classyservice2.reachlocal.net/residential/

The person who wrote that review paid a whopping $1800. Not sure how large the house was. Any idea of cost for a 5 bdroom with a bonus room on the main floor in the Northeast? I guess they don't really need to clean the basement since we only painted and are changing out the carpet.

Should the professional cleaners also be cleaning the walls in addition to the baseboard and molding? Is that something that I need to specify? Also, some say sweep/mop/vacuum floors. I want them to do what it takes to achieve the outcome of no more dust when I wipe my finger on the floor. Unfortunately, the painters just put the blinds back on. :( But what you said makes a lot of sense - clean them separately. And I will probably have to replace some of them so I want to avoid wasted effort. I was thinking of having the Blinds2Go people in once we moved and had gotten a little more settled.

Thank you. Learning a lot from all of you.

Well, I don't think I'll be buying a $2K Rainbow but hopefully, the cleaners will have one. I am now dreading the master bath reno. Hopefully, the dust/debris can be more contained for that project and maybe we can get everything in and sitting on the main floor and then do the demo and install one after the other.

ItâÂÂs better to depend on any cleaning services as they know many easy techniques to remove it. My home is prone to very dust and I make use of a vacuum cleaner, but my effort all becomes useless. Then my friend told me about Sunrise Cleaning Service from Ontario where they provide with professional cleaning services and she asks me to call them. IâÂÂm very pleased with their service and I recommend everyone to call any cleaning services after having a good review. Why should we waste our energy????

Containment is a nice concept, but dust generally wins. I will find out again today as the sheet rocker is doing the final sanding this morning. I have a 16" fan in the window. The screen is removed. It has taken longer to put up the plastic sheeting than to do the work. I also have an ambient air filter box with a fan in it for woodworking dust. I have it sitting on saw horses on just collecting dust. As well, once we start I have a Fein shop vac with new bag and clean pleated filter. I'm going to walk along with him and pull what I can off the sanding pad. I'm going to drive this guy crazy. He should be done in a couple hours and then I vacuum, remove the plastic and hope I can shower before our house guests arrive this morning. Oh, then I will get them to help me clean. We always wonder why so few people stop by?

Contractors who sand joint compound might be interested in the Festool PLANEX and Dust Extractor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aaron Bergantz - Drywall Prep and Sanding Without Dust

What about a leaf blower?

Here's one point about vacuuming extra fine construction dust that no one has made yet & it's key. When I went to buy a new brush attachment at the vacuum store to clean up our construction dust, the staff person educated me about a couple of things. Since the bag in our vacuum was paper, the ultra fine dust will flow right through it. Why didn't I think of that! Even with a thick, cloth HEPA vacuum filter bag, we run the risk of burning out our vacuum because anything that goes into the bag goes through the motor. Once that fine dust hits the motor, it doesn't take long for it to kill it. A Dyson being bagless won't work either, it just coats the inside of the vacuum, clogs & kills it. Here's further info. on that: http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?4407

He added that he's seen a brand new Kirby vacuum cleaner motor burned out after just TWO DAYS when it was used on construction dust. Kirby owners be forewarned!

The suggestion of using a Rainbow vacuum is a good one because of the water filer. Of course they cost a small fortune, so I'm wondering if maybe a local rental store might rent them. It's not ideal, but neither is dropping $2K on a top end vacuum cleaner.

And Mr. Rings, hopefully it goes without saying that a leaf blower is a horrible idea, unless your goal is to simply spread the dust around. ;-)

I'm still figuring out how to clean up our mess, but hopefully the info. I've shared will save some from ruining their vacuum cleaners & causing undue added expense & frustration.

Happy cleaning & good luck to all!

cough, cough, I think I watched too many episodes of Tim the Toolman and it affected my brain and now my lungs!

So after using the leaf blower, cause dust was already everywhere, 2 hours later the house was free of 88% of the dust and I have 1 forearm that looks like Popeye from holding the leaf blower for so long.

Then I used the Dyson, then wiped everything down, Then called in cleaning company aptly name "Dust Busters" and now my home is beautiful again and I will stick to what I do best, building custom websites not houses!

Ha ha! Tim the Tool Man Taylor was exactly the image that came to mind when I read the leaf blower idea! Cracked me up! Glad it's all cleaned up now so you can enjoy your home AND breathe!

We are battling post remodeling destruction/construction wars of 3 bathrooms. Even though our contractor was diligent about plastic containment areas, that fine talcum powder like dust just seeps into everything. It even got into the china closet that is at the opposite end of the house on a different floor!

Using the Rainbow vac is a god send. (They're pretty expensive brand new, but can often be found quite reasonably priced either refurbished or on Craig's list.) We let the dust settle for 2 days before really cleaning and ran the rainbow and an air purifier quite a bit for those 2 days. Then the real cleaning began. After vacuuming (empty water filtration tank frequently), we started at the top of the room and wiped all the areas first with very mild soapy water in a cloth nearly wrung dry. Then immediately wiped the same area with another cloth dipped in clear water, also nearly wrung dry. Whenever the water changed colors in the buckets because of the accumulation of sheet rock mud we changed to fresh water. It's a LOT of work but has made an amazing difference. Our house has not been so clean since we built it 30 years ago!

This message is six years too late but you must dust from the top down. You noted that you have t gotten to the blinds and such. Start there and work your way down or dust will continue

for weeks if not months. Signed, ops Mgr for professional home cleaning.

Which air quality monitor would you recommend?

I had two bathrooms remodeled and now I have some kind of construction dust everywhere floor tile, carpet, and, furniture. I can't get it up, I even had two so-called professionals try and they also failed and, I'm afraid this dust may be hazardous to my family's health. Help!