Now that the dust has settled…

We got back to Liz’s apartment to find that the entire place, and I’m talking every surface from the bathroom to the living room, was covered in a thin layer of dust.

The landlord was doing some work on the place, and had some workers install a new front door. To do so, they had to cut through a good amount of brick. Liz was warned about the dust, and told to cover up any belongings that were still in the hallway. On top of that, the workers threw some tarps over the boxes/stuff in the hallway.

However.

The dust came in under the doors, and literally coated everything in her apartment. The fans in her bedroom were literally ENCRUSTED with dust. Nasty nasty nasty. I’m telling you – it was pretty bad in there. When we walked in, the apartment looked hazy due to all the dust still in the air. Yeah. :|

We spent from about 7PM – 11PM cleaning the place, top to bottom. Every surface, every room. The dust was thick enough that you couldn’t simply use a Swiffer and pick the stuff up. You had to use a rag and gather everything up. Liz’s roommate Lisa helped out, as did Lisa’s fiance, James.

Here’s James, working with a steamcleaner on the carpet.

The landlord’s son was nice enough to go pick up a steamcleaner for us. But in talking with him, Liz worked out an agreement that she’d get a rent reduction due to all the dust. Cleaning up after construction is one thing – but the severity of what happened was such that it warranted a rent adjustment, in my opinion. We were cleaning for hours, when we were really just looking forward to hanging out and maybe watching a movie.

Note to anyone living in a place that will have dust/construction: seal it up. All of it. The dust gets everywhere, and the time you spend preventing is worth it.