Walls and Ceilings - Drywall dust cleanup

Okay, so I finally managed to get the walls and ceiling of my basement in good enough shape for drywall.

I had some "help" with drywalling the basement (I paid them, they did all the work). While the job they did was great, the basement is now a complete mess, with drywall dust everywhere -- layer upon layer on the floor.

The taper indicated that there was something I could use on the floor that would be of tremendous help in alleviating the problem, but because he doesn't speak English could not identify the product enough for me to figure out what he was talking about.

I am under the impression that it is something in non-liquid form, that begins with the letter "M."

Any ideas? I'm at my wit's end with this. To top things off, my husband, who has been away from home since July 4, cannot come home until the mess is cleaned up, PLUS 14 days, and the dust seems to be multiplying. Tick tock. After the sheets went up initially, along with dusty mess throughout the house, I had the wherewithall to cover my vents and cold-air returns for the taping and sanding, so the rest of the house is in pretty good shape. Until I walk down to the basement and drag everything up with me. I feel like Pigpen.

Anyhow, I've searched the forums for anything remotely resembling assistance in this area, but haven't managed to find help with this one. Please advise. Thank you sincerely! Cheers

Sweeping compound works well. Its basically sawdust that has a few things added to it. Just sprinkle it on the floor and then sweep up. With drywall dust it usually takes quite a bit more than what is recommended on the package.

Having just finished up a new addition myself.... the only way I could get the dust off of "everything" was to repeatedly vacuum with clean bags. The floor was a bit easier because I have a wood floor and own a "wet scrubber" that only required two passes - though the floating dust ends up accumulating back on the floor after a day or two........

A shop-vac with a high efficiency bag and a HEPA filter works wonders. Just be sure you set the vac up in a relatively clean area or the exhaust will just stir up more dust. Start in one area, getting it as clean as possible and work out to avoid just moving the dust around. You can use the floor brush attachement on the walls as you will find that a lot of dust is sticking to them as well. It shouldn't take more than a few passess like this to get the vast majority of dust. You might also want to get a high efficiency filter for your furnace and change it frequently for a few months.


Okay, so I finally managed to get the walls and ceiling of my basement in good enough shape for drywall.

I had some "help" with drywalling the basement (I paid them, they did all the work). While the job they did was great, the basement is now a complete mess, with drywall dust everywhere -- layer upon layer on the floor.

The taper indicated that there was something I could use on the floor that would be of tremendous help in alleviating the problem, but because he doesn't speak English could not identify the product enough for me to figure out what he was talking about.

I am under the impression that it is something in non-liquid form, that begins with the letter "M."

Any ideas? I'm at my wit's end with this. To top things off, my husband, who has been away from home since July 4, cannot come home until the mess is cleaned up, PLUS 14 days, and the dust seems to be multiplying. Tick tock. After the sheets went up initially, along with dusty mess throughout the house, I had the wherewithall to cover my vents and cold-air returns for the taping and sanding, so the rest of the house is in pretty good shape. Until I walk down to the basement and drag everything up with me. I feel like Pigpen.

Anyhow, I've searched the forums for anything remotely resembling assistance in this area, but haven't managed to find help with this one. Please advise. Thank you sincerely! Cheers

I forgot to mention: Don't try to pick up any quantity of drywall dust with a regular house vacuum. I ruined one this way. :wall:

A shop-vac with a high efficiency bag and a HEPA filter works wonders. Just be sure you set the vac up in a relatively clean area or the exhaust will just stir up more dust. Start in one area, getting it as clean as possible and work out to avoid just moving the dust around. You can use the floor brush attachement on the walls as you will find that a lot of dust is sticking to them as well. It shouldn't take more than a few passess like this to get the vast majority of dust. You might also want to get a high efficiency filter for your furnace and change it frequently for a few months.

Printme,

Why cant your husband come home for an additional 14 days after cleanup? Is it a breathing/asthma condition?

Im just curious. I have little ones around and - although Im always extra cautious - its nice to know as much as possible about other peoples experiences... if you dont mind me asking.

Have sweeping compound and new shop vac, will get to work right away.

rkoudelka, my husband has non-hodgkins lymphoma and had a bone marrow transplant in July. Actually, because they never found a perfect match, he had a stem-cell transplant, which uses donated cord blood that's leftover after a baby is born. Anyhow, because the cells are brand-spanking new (literally -- they're frozen immediately, not more than an hour old), he has absolutely no immune system, and his doc is cautious about anything the framing/drywall might have knocked out of the "bones" of the house. '' I hope that's not TMI...

Thanks for the tips! Cheers!