How to Clean Tile Dust

Protecting Yourself

Put on a dust mask so you don’t breathe in any dust by mistake. Secure a mask over your nose and mouth so you don’t inhale any unhealthy particles as you clean. For a simple clean-up, pick up an N95 or P100 dust mask, which will protect you from most particles in the air. Visit your local hardware or home improvement store to find a high-quality mask that blocks out a lot of different particles.

Set up a box fan so your workspace is well-ventilated. Find a window or door where you can set up a box fan in the room. Turn the fan so it’s blowing away from the tile dust, which will allow air to spread and circulate through the room. If you just installed or removed some tile from your home, leave the fan in place for at least 3 days after the fact. Any kind of box fan will work for this. You can also open a window, if the setup of your room allows for it.

Replace the air filters in the room. Examine the air filters in your HVAC system to see if they’re really dusty. If your filter looks dirty, remove the filter and see if it has any distinguishing labels, so you can pick up a replacement from your hardware or home improvement store. Place the clean filter back into the designated slot in your HVAC system, so you can continue to breathe in clean air.

Removing the Dust

Vacuum the area in long, even motions. Grab a shop vacuum with a HEPA filter, then guide the vacuum extension along the ceiling to pick up any dust that’s collected there. Work your way down the walls, and finish by vacuuming the floors in straight, consistent movements. Continue vacuuming up the dust in long, straight lines to ensure that you're removing the tile dust instead of spreading it. You can rent a shop vacuum at most hardware or home improvement stores. It may help to go over the floor more than once, just to be sure you’ve collected all the tile dust. You can also use a dust mop if you don’t have a vacuum on hand.

Wipe down the floor with a damp mop. Dip your mop into some tile cleaner, then swipe the damp mop in smooth, consistent motions along the entire surface of the floor. This helps ensure that all the leftover dust is gone. You can find these supplies at most stores that sell cleaning products. It may help to clean smaller sections of the floor at a time.

Clean the walls with a damp towel if the tile dust spread there. Soak a clean towel or microfiber towel in lukewarm water, then wring out any of the excess. Tape the towel to the bottom of a broom, and rub it across the walls near your tile floor. Continue wiping down the entire wall so you can make sure there’s no leftover dust. It may seem strange to wipe down your walls for tile dust, but you may end up saving yourself from future dust build-up later on.

Pick up tile dust from the baseboards with dryer sheets. Grab a clean dryer sheet and rub it across the entire length of the baseboard that borders your tile floor. If needed, use multiple dryer sheets to wipe up all the dust.

Mop the floor regularly after cleaning up the dust. Create a regular cleaning schedule to prevent dust from building up on your floor in the future. Wipe down the floor with a tile cleaner and a wet mop to pick up any dust that builds up over time. Aim to clean the floors on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on how much dust collects. Depending on how often you use that particular room, a monthly or weekly cleaning schedule can work well.

Clean the inside of the air vents with soap and water. Check that the heat or AC in your home is turned off and remove any screws with the proper screwdriver. Fill a basin with warm water and a blueberry-sized amount of soap, then dip a clean rag into the sudsy mixture. Wipe down the air vent covers as well as the inside of the air vents to get rid of any dust build-up. Let both the vents and the vent covers dry completely before you secure the vent cover back into place.

Wipe down any dusted surface with soap and water. Dip a clean cloth in a mixture of soap and warm water so you can sanitize all the surfaces you just dusted off. Focus on any surfaces that you haven’t already mopped or cleaned off with soapy water or a special cleaner. Once you’ve done this, wait for all of these areas to air-dry completely. At this point, your space will be clean and free of tile dust!