J. Int. Environmental Application & Science, Vol. 1 (3-4): 107-119 (2006) 107 A comparison of the performances of dry and wet vacuum cleaners for the control of indoor particulate matters Bahtiyar OZTURK ∗ Ondokuz Mayis University, Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engin. Dept., 55139-Kurupelit Samsun- Turkey Accepted 11 December 2006 Abstract: Most of us use a vacuum cleaner (VC) in our home to remove dust deposits on the floor. But the fundamental question is: do the vacuum cleaners (VCs) really remove all dust constituents in our home? I investigated this question by using a room an (12.6m 3 ) and fully furnished living rooms of different houses. The work was carried out using two different types of vacuum cleaners: The first type absorbs dust/dirt in water located in a basin (called as wet vacuum cleaner, WVC) and the second one vacuums dusts using a filter-bag (called as dry vacuum cleaner, DVC). Most of the filters in the market were tested and their dust eliminating capability was compared with the results of wet dust absorbers as they are most efficient. WVC absorbed almost 100% of the dust while dust eliminating filters used in DVCs ranged between 91- 98% depending on the type of filter used. The concentration of suspended particle in some living rooms has also risen by a factor of three when the floor of the room was cleaned using DVC. Keywords: Particulate matter, PM10, dry vacuum cleaner, wet vacuum cleaner. Introduction The importance of indoor air quality has increased significantly over the last 35 years. After the 1970’s, because of energy conservation measures, the design of buildings and mechanical systems have continuously been changed by engineers and architects. These new energy efficient designs minimized the infiltration of outdoor air contributing to in increase the concentration of indoor air contaminants which can cause poor air quality in buildings. Indoor concentrations of many pollutants are often higher than those typically encountered outside. Therefore, scientist gave more attention to indoor air pollution in the last decade due to the larger amount of time we spend indoors. It is estimated that urban people spend on average 87% of their time indoors and only a mere 6% outdoors (Jenkins et al., 1992). One of the major indoor air pollutants is particulate matters. Many studies have found that the concentrations of suspended particulates (SPs: particles with aerodynamic diameters <10μm, similar to PM 10 using the US environmental standards) were higher indoors than outdoors when there were sources of indoor particulates in domestic homes (Chao et al., 1998; Jones et al., 2000; Kamens et al., 1991; Spengler et al., 1981; Wallace, 1996). The main sources of indoor particulates are outdoor air, tobacco smoke, combustion systems, building materials, ∗ Corresponding author: E-mail: bozturk@omu.edu.tr, Tel: +90-362-4576020/1317 Fax:+903624576094