![]() Laguerre says PAHs can enter our homes after wildfire events via our buildings’ air filtration system. This smoke contains a chemical component (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs), that “can be in the air, but can also deposit as particulate matter on surfaces”, explains researcher Aurélie Laguerre. With the northern hemisphere seeing record-breaking wildfires last year, and the average American breathing in more harmful wildfire smoke in 2023 than any other year since 2006, an increasing amount of dust from wildfire smoke is reaching us, especially if we live on the west coast or are within the range of an extreme wildfire event. Read more What about dust that results from wildfires? We are potentially exposed to harmful components in dust via ingestion, inhalation and skin contact, with researchers now understanding that humans can absorb chemicals from ambient household dust through our skin. ![]() In homes where lead, asbestos and mold are present, these highly hazardous materials are also typically present in dust.Īdditionally, dust can contain microplastics, themselves tiny parcels of chemicals. Depending on where we live and what products we keep in our homes, these can include harmful PFAS, chemicals often used to treat stain- and waterproof fabrics which have been linked to certain types of cancer and lower birth weights.ĭust can also harbor flame retardants, which typically shed from older foam furniture, and phthalates, which are found in air fresheners and plastics both are linked to hormonal disruption and neurodevelopmental issues in children, among other health concerns. “Dust is basically a repository for indoor chemicals that have shed from various products,” says Tasha Stoiber, senior scientist researching indoor contaminants at the Environmental Working Group. This can comprise soil and other outdoor debris tracked inside from our shoes, and allergens like pollen.īut dust also contains chemical contaminants with more concerning health implications. According to a 2009 study of household dust in the US midwest, about 40% of the dust in our homes comes from outside, via air or the bottoms of our shoes. It contains things that are possibly irritating to our skin and airways, but don’t pose major health risks, such as dead skin cells, hair, pet dander, bacteria and microscopic mites. I have a Giottos Rocket Blower ($7.75 from ) that I use to blow air safely onto the sensor.Īfter blowing air onto the sensor, put your lens back on and take a new test shot of the sky.We’ve all heard that dust is full of dead skin, hair and other seemingly benign detritus, but the sheer robustness of my greasy dust made me wonder: what else is really in the stuff, and could it be making our homes less healthy? What is dust made of and is it harmful?ĭust has a lot of components. Do not blow into your camera with your mouth, or use a can of compressed air, etc. Use a blower tool specifically made for this purpose. ![]() Once you have your mirror out of the way, you can take your lens off the camera and attempt to blow air on your sensor to dislodge dust. Look up your camera model to see if you have something similar. This will lock the mirror up on the camera, giving me full access to the sensor. On my Canon 60D I have an option in the menu settings to “Clean Sensor Manually”. We need to remove the dust spots from the sensor, which requires access to the sensor itself. (Find a full answer to the “ why does sensor dust not show in wide apertures” question here.) Cleaning The Camera Sensor Those don’t show up in our final photo because when we open our aperture and shoot at f/7.1 or so for our interiors, the light hitting the sensor is spread out more-so than light at f/22. You’ll see plenty of lighter dust spots if you look closely. See that dust spot in the top right? That’s the spot that was causing the light circle in the interior photo at the beginning of the post. Point your camera straight up to the sky so you only see blue through the viewfinder, set your shutter speed to get a good exposure and take the shot. I use my 10-22mm lens at 10mm when doing this test, but you can probably use whatever focal length you would like. On a clear blue-sky day, head outside with your camera and set your aperture to f/22 and ISO to 100. Use a microfiber cloth and gently clean the lens glass so we know the only dust spots that show in our photos will be from the sensor. How Dirty Is It?īefore we check out dirty our sensor is, we need to be sure our lens glass is clean. You can barely see the dust spot in the photo above! But we need to make sure that when we see our sensor is dirty, we clean it as soon as possible before it creates a bigger problem. The culprit? Dust on the sensor! I’ll be the first to admit that this isn’t life or death.
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