Quote of the Day - 2/6/2012

Mothered by the same earth, dust and dirt have different fathers.  Dust – finer and more discrete – belongs as much to air as to earth. Dirt – bigger and clumsier – is identified with soil. - Joseph A. Amato in Dust: A History of the Small and the Invisible

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I like Amato’s distinction between dust and dirt. In addition, they both can be transformed by human activity; we may still categorize them as dust or dirt but they are potentially quite different. Will the new nanotechnologies produce a new kind of dust? Is an oil puddle leaked from a car in a parking lot a kind of dirt?

In our homes, the battle with dust is constant although there have only been gradual improvements over the past 50 years. Filters on heating/cooling, vacuums, and dust clothes are still our primary tools. There are many more kinds of filters now and vacuums come in all shapes and sizes. Dust clothes can be rags or coated fiber fluffs (like Swiffers). Endust and Pledge products have come and gone over the years. Our houses are sealed from the outdoor air more frequently now than ever before. The battle continues. Maybe I’m noticing it more at the moment because I am cleaning out boxes that are almost 30 years old and the cardboard is breaking down; it is producing and holding dust at the same time.

There are very few times that I actually have dirt in the house. Occasionally we track it in from outside or a potted plant gets spilled. Doormats and leaving shoes at the door reduces the first type. The second is just part of having plants indoors.

What are your dusty challenges today?