how to keep dust down in the garage

[pgoldston]

I have a unpainted concrete floor in my shop and it always seems that do anything I have a ton a dust and stuff. No matter how much I sweep I cant get it all up and then it looks like smoke in garage. I park a couple of my cars in there and bothers me the amount of dust and metal flake that can/does get on the cars paint. Just looking for Ideas. Only reason I havent painted it is because of the amount of moisture that seems to come out of it.

Patrick

 

[jimp]

Sweep with this and there will be no dust.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...P_PARENT_ID&storeId=10051&Ntpr=1&ddkey=Search

 

[pop pop]

Unless you seal the concrete it will continue to dust. That adds to the ambient dust.

 

[Steevo]

If you have moisture "coming out" of your slab, there may be drainage issues around the building.
Any unsealed concrete floor will always produce dust like you describe, where the dust is so light that it clouds the air when you sweep.
Using something like RadonSeal or any similar spray on, soak in type of concrete sealer will dramatically reduce or eliminate the dusting.
There are many products designed specifically for concrete sealing, since concrete floors are common in manufacturing facilities where they do not want dust.

 

[thdewey]

I built a filter fan out of OSB, two pleated filters and an old window fan that I got at a Habitat ReSale store for $10. It is mounted to the ceiling and I used a remote control switch with a key fob to operate it. Works great.

Tom

 

[rwreuter]

help me out here....dust is always a problem....how will sealing the floor cut down on the amount of dust. wouldn't you have to eliminate the source? the dust is still there, won't it just "stick" to something else?

 

[matt151617]

Is it mostly sawdust? If you're doing a lot of wood cutting, it might be worth installing some kind of vacuum system.

 

[mechanical]

wow, never knew that it was as simple as sealing the concrete, thanks for the tip!

 

[Jim in Wis]

Well, naturally it depends on what the dust is coming from. If you're not making sawdust or something and it just keeps getting dusty it's from the unsealed floor like Steevo said. That dust is powdered concrete - probably not good for nice paint jobs or machinery like lathes.

 

[wssix99]

Sweep with this and there will be no dust.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...P_PARENT_ID&storeId=10051&Ntpr=1&ddkey=Search

+1 Works like a charm.

 

[Jackfre]

+1 Works like a charm.

+2 Works like a charm

 

[Strouty]

+1 Works like a charm.

HOW?

Are your floors bare concrete or are they treated? I am interested in finding out, I too have dust issues, but I thought it would only be solved by sealing the concrete or painting it.

 

[M10]

Couldn't you give it a good shrub and treat it with a densifier to reduce dust? Cost would be minimal, might work?

 

[coal_man]

Using something like RadonSeal or any similar spray on, soak in type of concrete sealer will dramatically reduce or eliminate the dusting.

My first post here after being registered for some time.

I don't have any connection to the RadonSeal product or company, but it really helped reduce the dust on my overly troweled garage floor. I scrubbed my floor using a rented concrete grinder and then applied the RadonSeal using a standard garden sprayer. It's made a world of difference.

I bet some of the site sponsors would also be able to make a recommendation. Check them out.

coal_man

 

[pop pop]

You will have three sources of dust:
Generated dust from whatever you are doing, your clothes, you in general.
Infiltrated dust from the wind blowing in or vehicles and equipment bringing it in.
The most overlooked is the dust generated from the surface of the concrete loosing particles if not sealed. The sealer may be a paint, chemical, oil, etc. Oil will eventually evaporate. That is what is in the floor sweep compound.

 

[pgoldston]

Its not saw dust, I dont do many things in my shop that creates this amount of dust. I do alittle metal work but nothing like this. This is mainly the concrete dust. I have a concrete guying coming down this week to help my fill in my mechanics pit and install my lift I will talk with him about sealing the moisture issue.

 

[Jeepy]

Well, naturally it depends on what the dust is coming from. If you're not making sawdust or something and it just keeps getting dusty it's from the unsealed floor like Steevo said. That dust is powdered concrete - probably not good for nice paint jobs or machinery like lathes.

You're wright!

If you work in a metal fab shop where hydraulic machinery, LATHES, milling machine lay around...you can notice that the floor is painted with industrial grade paint, so it don't deteriorate as we walk, ride with lift and drop anything on it! Don't forget the air as to be sucked out and filtered if you want optimal result. Welding, grinding and even spray painting cause dust to suspend in the air!

My 2 cents...excuse my English skills !

 

[Jeepy]

And by the way don't try to SEAL your moisture issue...like Steevo said!

there may be drainage issues around the building.

You can't seal water you can only hope to manage it to stay away from you!

 

[CARS]

wow, never knew that it was as simple as sealing the concrete, thanks for the tip!

Guess what I am doing in the body shop this weekend!

And here I thought it was coming from the primer and body filler

 

[Daniel Dudley]

I sealed and painted my floor as a means of stopping moisture from rising. Now that it is painted, dust does not rise from it, and it is super easy to clean.You can sweep bondo off of concrete, but in my case, lots of it was still hanging out. Now I sweep, and it is gone.

I would say that it is cleaner after a light sweep than it was after using the shop vac. When I pressure washed the floor for painting, I was really amazed at how much dirt kept coming up, and I had sucked it up twice with the shop vac. The rougher your concrete, the bigger the difference this makes.

 

[Steevo]

I used the stain/sealer from RadonSeal, called LatiSeal on my shop floor.
The only dust I have is what blows in from outside. The floor is well sealed, and even oil wipes up without soaking in unless allowed to sit for a long time.

I went by the recommendations on the website and containers as to how much I would need, and ended up with more than twice as much as needed, so I sold some to my neighbor for his garage floor.

 

[Hmrhead]

Keep in mind if you use a sealer and in the future decide to epoxy the floor you have to remove all of the sealer in order to put the epoxy down. I have to drive 1/2 mile on a dirt road to our sub. Big fan of sweeping compounds. Regular house keeping is the best option until you seal or epoxy the floor. After that it is much easier to keep clean

 

[narampa]

I know that this is probably not recommended but a Friend of mine mopped diesel fuel on his new concrete floor of his garage. He kept working it in over a week while he framed the walls and did the roof etc.
I thought he was nuts! But he has no dust and the floor is sealed. This in a working shop lots of welding etc.
This was 20 years ago, Crazy EH.

 

[nehog]

Must have smelled good! Raw diesel smell makes me want to puke (due to some exposure while at sea once, never ever work hanging upside down, at sea, on a diesel engine if you can avoid it...)

I think the floor sweeping compounds are the best route. They sure do smell better!