# How come dust is sticky sometimes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-dust-is-sticky-sometimes/509919 "2009-09-13T16:32:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-dust-is-sticky-sometimes/509919/1 "2009-09-13T16:32:12Z")
I’m trying really hard to achieve _three clean rooms at once_ (and two of them remaining clean for the past week, by the way! Well, cleanish.) and I’m tackling the bedroom, which hasn’t been really clean since we moved in. And you know how sometimes when there’s a lot of dust on a floor or something the dust is kind of sticky and gross on your hands? (No spills, nothing to make it like that.) Why is that? Is it because it’s partly you? Because that’s gross. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-dust-is-sticky-sometimes/509919/2 "2009-09-13T18:42:44Z")
Just a WAG, but it might well be broken down cobwebs - i.e. sticky spider silk dust. If you have household fauna like this [ubiquitous fellow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholcus_phalangioides), they can add to the dust quotient. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-dust-is-sticky-sometimes/509919/3 "2009-09-13T18:50:12Z")
Smoke, oil or candlewax in the air will condense on dust and render it sticky. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-dust-is-sticky-sometimes/509919/4 "2009-09-13T18:59:41Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Smoke, oil or candlewax in the air will condense on dust and render it sticky. Yeah. Does anyone smoke in the house? Do you burn candles or incense oil? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-dust-is-sticky-sometimes/509919/5 "2009-09-13T19:03:20Z")
Dust on fans is often quite sticky. I sometimes wonder if [van der Waals forces](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Waals_force)are responsible. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-dust-is-sticky-sometimes/509919/6 "2009-09-13T19:52:52Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Yeah. Does anyone smoke in the house? Do you burn candles or incense oil? No, no candles, no smoking, and it’s nowhere near the kitchen so no oils. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-dust-is-sticky-sometimes/509919/7 "2009-09-13T21:23:05Z")
I’m not sure what causes it but I have found cloudy ammonia to be the best thing for cleaning it.