Posted 05.16.2011 at 5:45 pm
7 Comments
Skin Oil Helps Clean The Air
nojhan on Flickr
In a boon to slobs everywhere, a recent study shows that the same dust we hasten to remove from our mantles and windowsills when company calls is actually helping keep the air inside clean, reducing ozone levels by 2 to 15 percent.
Squalene, an oil found on skin cells, has six double carbon bonds in its molecules. These bonds can break apart ozone which, though great at protecting the Earth from radiation, is actually harmful down here on the ground. Breathing in too much ozone can cause lung damage.
Chemist Charles Weschler and his team analyzed dust from non-floor surfaces in Demark, showing that squalene was more effective than cholesterol (another oil found on skin) at removing ozone. And while previous research has shown that the skin, hair (especially dirty hair) and clothing of living humans removes significantly more ozone than dust, the dead skin cells in dust continue to react with ozone, even when humans are not present.
There’s no reason to let the dust build up, though--it could irritate allergies or even pass along microbes. Besides, the average human sheds around 500 million skin cells per day, meaning the squalene in your living room is being constantly replenished.
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what makes me laugh is how many people use chemicals to clean up the dust which is there for a reason. i feel bad for stupid people.
Apparently both squalene and squalane have low acute toxicity, and are not significant human skin irritants. However along with millions of others I share an allergic reaction to the pesky little critters that love to dine on those sloughed–off skin particles. DUST MITES! It’s actually what they excrete all over the place - their feces cause the irritation. - Each mite excreting close to 20 droppings per day. Apparently “Drinny26” doesn’t mind sharing space with the ample detritus left behind by these dusty poopers. It’s been estimated that a two year old mattress may contain anywhere from 100,000 – 10 million mites yuk! Imagine swimming in that every night. Poor drinny26 feels bad that stupid people make her/him laugh. - Which kinda makes me laugh because Drinny26 thinks stupid people like to have a clean house? And Drinny26 the “reason” dust is all over your place is because of you which doesn’t equate to a good thing BTW.
Too much ozone can be bad on the lungs but it’s ozone that gets rid of the smelly odors in your house – so does cleaning up. Perhaps the reason the ozone layer above the arctic is getting lager is do to too much dander in the atmosphere and people like Drinny26 not doing their share of dusting. We must all endeavor to invest in a mop and used slightly damp.
@ red green if you can't say it in a few sentences....you're ranting. vacuum your mattress when you change the sheets,I do, and don't use harsh chemicals when cleaning, I don't. see wasn't that easy, and I got my point across. lol
Which point? Stupid people control your emotions by causing you to feel sad?
Or People that use chemicals to clean cause you to laugh?
@drinny26
Obviously I’d rather have you laugh than feel sad, so allow me to share with you the following:
I use a full strength undiluted solvent commonly known as Di-hydrogen Oxide heated up to around 140 degrees F. This chemical treatment kills those little buggers in seconds.
And the Bonus: it’s still really cheap can be found just about everywhere.
Happy cleaning!
@Reed Green
Thats old trick. Over played. H20=Di-hydrogen oxide hehe hoho.
@Ianredneck
Dag nabbit you’ve unhinged my discombobulated ruse.
Ya it is old. I had to dust it off one more time. Now I'm sneezi'n all over the place.