CLEANING METHODS, THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AND AIRBORNE DUST GENERATION

The effectiveness of dry and wet methods for cleaning furniture and hard floors was studied. Dust on surfaces was sampled with gelatine foils, and the % area covered by particles was measured with a laser extinction meter. Airborne dust generation during furniture cleaning was measured with an optical particle counter. Good cleaning effectiveness was obtained with some dry floor cleaning methods. On furniture, wet cloth was best at high dust levels, but at low levels the relative differences between dry and wet methods were low. The use of dry cleaning methods is encouraged. The contribution to the airborne dust concentration of movement of the cleaning operator is of the same order of magnitude as is the cleaning operation.