How to clean drywall dust?
Question:Hello! I am in a process of finishing the basement. I finished sanding the drywall, but it is covered with dust. Do I want to clean the dust off the drywall before applying primer? If so, what's the fast and quick way? Thanks!
Answers:
shop vac with a good filter then damp sponges don't think your going to get all of it at one time its still in the air and will take some time to settle
Yes, you do want to get the dust off. A vacuum cleaner will do.
Use a damp sponge and quickly wipe the walls, this works great. Also in the future, use a warm sponge to do some of the sanding for you.
Yes, you must remove all dust prior to painting. Wipe it down with a damp, NOT WET, rag, sponge or mop...
You need to remove the dust before priming to keep a good sticking surface.
be very careful using a vacuum cleaner or wet/dry vac. the particles are very small and must be well filtered or can wreck the motor in your vac. a fine filter is much safer for your vac. Sponge/ mop the majority up and see if there is a filter for your vac designed for dry wall .
there is construction and remodeling going on in my house too. use a damp sponge and vacuum the corners or tight areas you can't wipe with the sponge. amazingly, the dust goes EVERYWHERE!
you should also use one of those face mask while cleaning it up to avoid breathing in the dust.
get a shop vac and suck it all up, vaccum the walls too. then prime away.
I highly recommend a paper pre-filter on the shop vac.
It will save your motor and is reusable if you wash it carefully. Make sure it's sealed around your foam filter with rubber bands or string if you don't have the plastic ring for your vac
Shop Vac. Duh!
NO WATER!
VACUUM and dry cloth. Get a shop vac with a "drywall vacuum bag". It is made to keep the dust particles in the bag, other bags will release the dust back into the room. Microfiber cloth rags do a great job wiping off furniture and such. Water only makes the dust easier to adhere to cracks and scratches in furniture, leather, etc..
Dust everything off with the microfiber cloths and then vacuum, repeat until clean.
Next time you need to remove as much as possible from the room then cover everything in traps or painters plastic including the floor and the doorway while sanding.
Two other tricks that I have used when clean up is going to be a pain is: 1) there is a low-dust drywall compound you can get and 2) connect the shop vac to a small electric orbital sander where the dust bag goes (this is great but set it on low).
Good Luck!
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