how to eliminate dry wall dust

[Jonathon]

Has anyone done/planning on doing any home renovations before baby arrives? Specifically drywall? We are planning on tearing down 2 walls, the living room and master bedroom to put up new drywall. I'm only concerned about breathing in the drywall dust and then having left over drywall dust everywhere. Should I be less worried? Does anyone have any advice on how to keep the drywall dust contained? or should i handover this to any cleaning services.

 

[calmloki]

Painter's plastic draped/taped on the doorways, fan blowing out a window in the worked on room. Shop vac.

 

[scrinch]

Painter's plastic draped/taped on the doorways, fan blowing out a window in the worked on room. Shop vac.

+1, then damp mop the floor and wipe any furniture in the room with a damp cloth. Luckily gypsum dust is not particularly dangerous to breathe, unless you've got asthma or something like that.

 

[king smoothie]

Don't open all the windows in the house. I know someone who did that and although the work was just in the kitchen, the dust went everywhere, even upstairs and in closets.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Painter's plastic draped/taped on the doorways, fan blowing out a window in the worked on room. Shop vac.

This is probably best. We used a shop vac with a long "pool hose" on it to vacuum the dust, with the canister outside and the hose running into the house. It helped, because the dust is really, really fine.

 

[folivier]

I did the same as Sarah but put the long hose on the exhaust running outside. Worked pretty well.
But you will still have to wipe everything down with a damp sponge after. Definitely seal up the doorways going to other parts of the house.

 

[Dash man]

Turn off your A/C and cover all vents with plastic to keep the dust from circulating through the house.


Enjoying life!

 

[travelover]

I have not used one, but there are kits available that pull the drywall dust through a bucket with water in it to separate out the dust in conjunction with a wet vacuum.

http://www.sandkleen.com/products.htm
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=51625696&KPID=19913727&pla=pla_19913727

 

[Bamaman]

Cleaning service? Just use a shop vac and suck the powder up. Cleanup is part of any construction job, and sheet rock dust is easily dealt with. I use the vacuum often to stay on top of the job-before it gets to be a burden. That way, it stays out of the rest of the house.

 

[2017ish]

Also, only wet sand/sponge the joint compound.

 

[easysurfer]

Would also help having one or more air purifiers running. I just a purifier near a cat litter box that has dust kicking up. Makes a big difference.

 

[Koogie]

Also, only wet sand/sponge the joint compound.

This. Makes a big difference. Results in a superior finish too.

 

[ls99]

Also, only wet sand/sponge the joint compound.

+2

The few times I had to mess with drywall, this was my method. Still get some dust, but is minimal.

 

[wyecrabber1]

Use a sponge

Also, only wet sand/sponge the joint compound.

Are you doing the drywall yourself or contracting in out? Usually after three coats of spackling, the joints/screw heads -- should be almost finished. Use wet sandpaper or a finishing sponge for the final coat. Very little dust.

 

[target2019]

There are two phases. The demolition, if you are taking out old drywall, and then installation and mud.

The demo produces a lot of dust, allergens, and unknowns when you expose inner and outer walls. So the recommendations to use plastic to seal the area, turn off HVAC, etc. are all good.

When dust settles, clean up what you can with broom. Put shop vac outside if possible. They are not really designed to suck up fine dust. Maybe some are.

After installation, you can wet sand to keep the dust down. If the person doing the joint compound is good, you don't need to sand much.

Use a damp towel to wipe down all. Paint it.

 

[Palmtree]

To pick up the airborne dust, just put a 20" x 20" x 1" furnace filter on a cheap 20" box fan and POOF! Instant cleaner air for not a lot of money. Spend a bit more and buy a decent paper filter, not the super cheap spun blue ones.

 

[Jerry1]

I know this thread is a little old, but wanted to share something about shop vacs. As was mentioned, they're not really for drywall dust, however, they do sell filters and bags that are meant for drywall dust. I have a ShopVac (16 gal). They sell a HEPA filter which would be good enough to use with the shop vac. They also sell a vacuum bag for fine particles that could be used as well. I used them both together and was very happy with the results. The bag kept the filter from getting clogged and the filter kept the exhaust clean enough that I did not notice any residual dust coming from the vacuum.

 

[FIREmenow]

I see this is old also. Just finished some ceiling repair myself. Didn't touch a piece of sandpaper. Didn't have a speck of dust.

Noticed over the years of houses that the "professionals" lay on the mud such that there is little or no sanding needed. This is the key. It is not easy to do, but practicing is worth the effort. I also watched A LOT of (lame) youtube videos.


Some tips:

1. Find some old sheetrock, or location and practice applying the mud. Practice a LOT.
   
2. Thin, THIN coats. If you need to build up thickness for any reason, many layers of THIN coats.
   
3. CLEAN trowel/spreader edge while smoothing. Not every third smoothing stroke - EVERY SINGLE stroke. CLEAN it - EVERY time.
   
4. In between coats, scrape the surface lightly with a putty knife to knock off any bumps or pieces from the previous coat.
   
5. Once you are getting to the final 2 or so skim coats, make sure the mud is quite thin (add tiny amounts of water) - just enough for it to stay stuck to the surface.
   
6. Once the final coat is on, wait for it to get almost dry (till you can just feel dampness with your hand), then use a moderately wet/damp sponge to smooth out the surface imperfections as well as the outermost feathered edge.

That's it! No sandpaper, no dust. It works!

 

[Sarah in SC]

FMN, those are great tips! DH is getting ready to do a ton of drywall repairs, thanks to a new support beam we put under the house. The subsequent jacking has done a number on the drywall in a few rooms, and he's got to fix a lot of it. Any particular tips for corners?

 

[FIREmenow]

FMN, those are great tips! DH is getting ready to do a ton of drywall repairs, thanks to a new support beam we put under the house. The subsequent jacking has done a number on the drywall in a few rooms, and he's got to fix a lot of it. Any particular tips for corners?

Nothing in particular, SIS, - a lot of the above apply there as well. Remember, the thinner the coat, the less re-work when you screw up (ask my how I know....).

Yes, it may take you 5 days-worth of coating, but they'll be EASY days with no dust.

 

[Bamaman]

Professionals will often only do a couple of muddings. And they mix their own vs. buying the premixed. The mud they use will be fast drying so they can apply both coats in one day. And the second coat will be mixed thinner than the first.

As far as dust, it's just part of the process. I use a shop vac to get it up quickly. Otherwise, it's not harmful stuff. An exhaust fan does help some in a window.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I remember all too well our first attempt at installing drywall in our first house, taping and mudding, and then sanding. And sanding. And sanding. The classic rookie mistake of too much mud!

There was no money I felt better about spending when we built our current home than what we spent on the drywall installation. It was like magic, the boards were loaded in through a window (house is elevated) and the guys on stilts went to work. It was over in days. Ah...luxury.

 

[Sunset]

I try not to use a vacuum as most vacuums will exhaust the very tiny particles into the room to drift around until inhaled. I suspect the silica is pretty bad to inhale.

I sweep up the dust by pushing it with a plastic scraper into a pan, or very slowly sweep, the idea is to not stir it into the air.
Then I damp mop with wet paper towels.

The damp sponge sanding works pretty well too.

 

[samclem]

I echo all that was previously said--especially use a damp sponge rather than sanding whenever possible. That works with the pre-mixed mud, I don't think it will work with the dry powder you mix yourself (that is "setting compound", and it cures by chemical reaction rather than drying like the pre-mixed stuff. Pros like it because it they can put on another coat in 20-45 minutes rather than waiting 12-24 hours)
Also, for a major project, they make a small unit that attaches to the hose before the ShopVac and catches a lot of the drywall dust using water (like a "hubbly-bubbly or "water pipe" used by those smoking the evil weed). It won't catch all the dust, but does a good job of catching enough to keep the HEPA filter in the Shop Vac from quickly clogging up. Here's a DIY version you can build with a 5 gallon bucket and some PVC fittings.
Finally, get some extra hose for the Shop Vac and attach it to the exhaust port, route it outside the house. Anything that gets past the HEPA filter and gaskets goes outside and it also creates a slight negative pressure in the room so that air from the rest of the house flows in rather than flowing out (and carrying dust with it.)