How To Reduce Dust When Sanding Drywall [Your DIY Guide]

Drywall dust is arguably one of the worst things to deal with in a drywall sanding project. The dust gets everywhere, obscures visibility, and is also pretty difficult to get rid of once you are done.

Well, are there any ways to reduce dust when sanding drywall?

There indeed are, and we are going to talk about a few in a bit.

But first of all, we would want to discuss one thing that you may have never thought about – the health hazard of drywall dust.

Is Drywall Dust Dangerous?

When dealing with drywall dust, people are usually more concerned with the safety of their furniture, equipment, as well as the cleanness of their homes.

Aside from these, drywall dust is actually a huge health hazard as well.

Trying to protect your furniture and keep your home clean are perfectly valid reasons to fight against drywall dust, but your personal safety is a much bigger reason for carefully thinking about your anti-dust strategy.

What’s the harm of drywall dust though?

Drywall Dust Is Very Fine

Drywall dust is very fine and invasive, and it’s impossible to fully get rid of.

It is about 10 micrometers/microns in diameter (1 micrometer is one millionth of a meter or about 0.001mm/0.000039 inch).

Human hair, for example, is about 75 microns in diameter on average.

Drywall dust is extremely invasive, and it can easily make it into your airways, causing a wide array of respiratory problems.

Drywall Dust May Cause Severe Diseases

Aside from fineness, there’s one more hazardous thing about drywall dust – its ingredients.

Among the ingredients used in drywall joint compound are talc, calcite, silica, mica, and gypsum.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), some of these ingredients have been found to be associated with irritation of eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory organs.

NIOSH also warns that long-term exposure to drywall joint compounds may lead to persistent coughing, throat and airway irritation, phlegm production, and asthma-like breathing difficulties.

Things could get especially bad if silica is present.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) writes that breathing crystalline silica dust can lead to silicosis, an incurable lung disease that could result in disabilities and death.

As OSHA explains, silicosis typically occurs after 15-20 years of “occupational exposure” to crystalline silica.

Aside from silicosis, exposure to crystalline silica also increases the risk of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and even kidney disease.