Dust is made up of 75% dead flakes of human skin; however, in an abandoned house one will find thick dust throughout. How is this possible?

foosyerdoos

It seems that dust isn't mostly made of human skin, but a potpourri of whatever is in the atmosphere of a particular location. Pollen, soil, dead insect parts, whatever is floating about really. http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/mythbusters/1044/dust.html Apr 05 11, 3:01 AM

Baloo55th

When you shake a duster out of the window, the dust has to go somewhere... Then there's rubber dust from tyres, whatever-it-is dust from brakes, windblown dust from places far off (we occasionally get a deposit of fine red dust here in the UK from the Sahara), blown dust from sanding work (wood dust, filler dust, whatever). Very fine particles can stay in the atmosphere for years until they get into somewhere where the airflow is reduced. A windy day carries the dust in through little gaps, but when the wind outside drops, the dust will gradually settle inside. For an example of how long dust can stay up, look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakatoa - it took five years for world temperatures to recover as the dust from the 1883 explosion settled out. Good job they didn't have jet airliners then..... Apr 05 11, 5:28 AM

Zbeckabee

The myth: The chief ingredient of household dust is human skin; 70, 80 or 99 per cent, in various versions. The "truth": There seems to be no basis at all for this Well Known Fact –except wishful guesstimating on the part of those advertising copywriters whose job it is to sell us anti-dust devices. There’s no evidence to suggest that dust is mostly made up of any one ingredient; rather, it is a delightful salmagundi or potpourri of everything that is likely to be drifting around your house – cat dander, face powder, cigar ash – or that might be blown in every time you open the door, including soil, pollen, insect excreta, and general industrial pollution. The precise ingredients and proportions present will presumably depend in part on where you live, as well as how – Bognor dust is likely to be sandier than Hackney dust – and on the time of year. Human skin will certainly be on the list, but it is shed chiefly when washing, and therefore disappears down the plughole, not into the dustpan. http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/mythbusters/1044/dust.html Not all dusts are alike: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/silicacrystalline/dust/chapter_1.html http://www.nclabor.com/osha/etta/hazard_alerts/combdust_agriculture.pdf Apr 05 11, 6:36 AM