Dusty concrete floor

[Trish51]

The concrete floors in my new house are so dusty. Every time I sweep so much brown dust is there. Any one know what is going on?

 

[Incognito]

The concrete floors in my new house are so dusty. Every time I sweep so much brown dust is there. Any one know what is going on?

Where do you live? Could it be ash from the fires? Depending on your stain, finish gloss and lighting some floors just REALLY show all the dust that's always been there, hidden by.........furniture, lighting, finish gloss and a lighter color stain/material.

 

[highup]

The concrete floors in my new house are so dusty. Every time I sweep so much brown dust is there. Any one know what is going on?

What exactly are you describing to us, stained and polished concrete floors?
..... Are you just talking about a plain old concrete floor in a basement?

 

[Trish51]

Where do you live? Could it be ash from the fires? Depending on your stain, finish gloss and lighting some floors just REALLY show all the dust that's always been there, hidden by.........furniture, lighting, finish gloss and a lighter color stain/material.

Floors are just sealed and waxed. I wanted a natural a concrete look. Evidently I did not do the correct research.

 

[highup]

Floors are just sealed and waxed. I wanted a natural a concrete look. Evidently I did not do the correct research.

If a concrete floor isn't sealed and waxed you're always going to get dust coming off of it if you sweep it. Being sealed, I can't see why you'd have a problem, unless you live in an area with a lot of dust or pollen.
Do you have a forced air heating system, those have filters that circulate and clean the air. Standalone wall heaters like Cadet do not.
You need some sort of a vacuum, something with a brush that won't scuff the wax. The sweeping is just going to keep everything airborne and only get the larger particles. The rest will become airborne and keep settling.
It might be worthwhile to look for an air filtration for air purifier.
I just looked and a lot of them range from 50 to $250, some are but ugly and some actually don't look bad at all. They would constantly filter the air in the house. Otherwise, sweeping the floor with a Swiffer type tool is your next best bet.
If you mainly come into your house through a garage, you're going to be tracking whatever dust is in the garage floor into the house. If you live on a gravel road, that could be part of your problem too.

 

[C.J.]

We changed the HVAC filter every month in Arizona because it’s so dusty there. I leave my doors open a lot here plus we have animals, I could vacuum every day. I run my air scrubber in my house when they are harvesting corn and hay here.

 

[C.J.]

You mentioned ‘new’ house. Could this be left over construction dust still filtering its way through and settling on your floors.

 

[JPfloor]

I think in summation, what everybody here is saying is there's nothing wrong with the floor.... Just some good ole fashioned dirt...

 

[Trish51]

What exactly are you describing to us, stained and polished concrete floors?
..... Are you just talking about a plain old concrete floor in a basement?

New concrete floors, moved in last September. Floors are not stained or polished, just sealed and 2 coats of wax.

 

[Trish51]

If a concrete floor isn't sealed and waxed you're always going to get dust coming off of it if you sweep it. Being sealed, I can't see why you'd have a problem, unless you live in an area with a lot of dust or pollen.
Do you have a forced air heating system, those have filters that circulate and clean the air. Standalone wall heaters like Cadet do not.
You need some sort of a vacuum, something with a brush that won't scuff the wax. The sweeping is just going to keep everything airborne and only get the larger particles. The rest will become airborne and keep settling.
It might be worthwhile to look for an air filtration for air purifier.
I just looked and a lot of them range from 50 to $250, some are but ugly and some actually don't look bad at all. They would constantly filter the air in the house. Otherwise, sweeping the floor with a Swiffer type tool is your next best bet.
If you mainly come into your house through a garage, you're going to be tracking whatever dust is in the garage floor into the house. If you live on a gravel road, that could be part of your problem too.

Have not tried a swifter. Will give that a try. Thanks

 

[Trish51]

You mentioned ‘new’ house. Could this be left over construction dust still filtering its way through and settling on your floors.

I wouldn't think so, but who knows. I'm afraid the problem is we waited a month after pour, sealed the floors twice and thinking we did not know what we were doing. Going to try the swifter and see how thst goes. Just not happy with all this dust!!

 

[Trish51]

I think in summation, what everybody here is saying is there's nothing wrong with the floor.... Just some good ole fashioned dirt...

If that be the case then I'll go with a different floor. If my cat gets in my lap he leaves paw prints all over me. Just cant handle that!

 

[C.J.]

New slab sealed and waxed after a month. Did you do any moisture testing on the slab before sealing and waxing?

 

[DarisMulkin]

Just a shot in the dark hear. That by chance. isn't in an apartment bldg and be accoustical concrete which is very soft. If so you will never get it to be nondusty.

 

[C.J.]

Just a shot in the dark hear. That by chance. isn't in an apartment bldg and be accoustical concrete which is very soft. If so you will never get it to be nondusty.

I’ve seen sealed gypcrete before. Don’t know what product they used or how many coats they applied but it was definitely a finished floor. No idea how it held up but it looked nice for what it was.

Only complaint I had was they didn’t run a buffer over the floor before they sealed it so you could see all the waves and splotchiness.

 

[Floorist]

Is it possible the concrete was still green? If so it will give off dust as it dries. It takes approximately 123 days for a 4" slab to cure. Even longer if it is 6 inch. Even longer if it was sealed while green. If that is the problem, it will eventually quit. My dad was a concrete guy.
As Daris said, if it is accoustical concrete (gypcrete), I have seen it that was 40 years old and still putting out lots of dust. That is just the nature of the beast. You can sweep a hole in it.

 

[JPfloor]

If the concrete was SMOOTH, then properly sealed and waxed there's no way any dust or particles or anything should be coming from the floor. If the sealer and wax failed due to moisture, or improper curing time, or just a poor bond to the concrete that would be pretty noticeable. You would see bubbling, peeling and discoloration.

Now if you tried to seal over a ROUGH concrete all bets are off. That could be the nubs of concrete, sealer, and wax wearing off as you walk.

I would try damp mopping daily. See if that helps.

 

[GoodyTrek]

The concrete floors in my new house are so dusty. Every time I sweep so much brown dust is there. Any one know what is going on?

Hi Trish,
Here are two ways you can fix this issue:
- Wet Mopping: sweep the floor first to remove loose dust. You can use a broom with soft bristles to avoid stirring up too much dust before mopping.
- Dust Control Sealant: you can apply a concrete floor sealer to minimize dust generation. This should be done after cleaning the floor thoroughly.

Norkan has some materials that may help, if you're looking to buy cleaning supplies or concrete restoration tools.

Hope this helps.