My best guest is that it's coming from your heating/cooling vents (if you have them). If you have radiators then I'm not sure. If you do have forced air vents then I'd ask the landlords about having the air filters changed which should help.

I have the same problem as well and have to do serious dusting about once a week! I have radiating heat so it's not forced air.

I had this problem and it too was on all my plastic items. It was the type of jar candles I used. Hope that solves it!

If you have a wall heater unit, PLEASE TURN IT OFF IMMEDIATELY! I had the same exact thing happen here in my rental house for weeks and couldn't figure out what it was. It was only on the plastics at first, then I saw it on the grill of the heater unit and called the gas company. They said that the carbon monoxide in my house was off the charts. A toy poodle I had been fostering had died a week before and we couldn't figure out why. There was a tiny clog in the vent to the outside. They told us that it was a very common problem with gas wall heaters.

It could also not be soot. Many old buildings (we've lived in several loft/warehouse type spaces) shift with things like wind, weather, heat, cold. We almost always had a super fine layer of dust on things from the mortar in the brickwork and the dust that was between the boards that made up the ceiling.

OK. I'm going to sound like an alarmist. I'm sorry, I really am, but I was affected by the WTC dust and it screwed up my health for life.

This is not something you want to fool around with. You don't know what's in the dust, and it could be anything, including serious carcinogens, like asbestos, PCBs and what-not.

Call 311 or your fire department or the mayor's office or anyone else you can think of and figure out if what oversees indoor environments. They should come over and test immediately. (After 9/11, it seemed to be the city's environmental protection arm.)

While it's unlikely that the dust is WTC-related ten years after the fact, you live in a city with lots of pollution. Finding this dust is quite serious.

Do you live by a freeway or busy road? I lived next to a freeway and even though I had all the windows closed all the time, I still had the same problem - a layer of black, gritty (sometimes slightly oily) soot on EVERYTHING every morning. Makes you wonder what we have in our lungs from auto exhaust...

If it's soot, when you try to clean it, it's probably going to smear all over the place. My sister is currently having restoration specialists clean her house - covered by her homeowner's insurance. The filters in the furnace were black and there was a bird's nest in the flue. The restoration people throw out any food that might have been contaminated, clean all of the furniture, walls, etc., and then come back and paint in a couple of months. (They're too busy with ice damage restoration right now to do the painting.) All sorts of things have to be replaced - clothing, shoes, etc. Definitely call a specialist to take a look and see if it's something serious.

It's from the heating vents. I have the same problem too and it's worse in the winter when the heat is on. It drives me crazy!

Hmm. Well. If your landlord had the apartment shut up for a while before finding a renter, it might just be accumulated dust. I know I had to clean my floors VERY well when I moved in, but after the good scrubbing it wasn't an issue anymore.

If it persists, it might be road dust from your windows (keep them shut) or your vents need cleaning, as others have said. Another thing you want to keep an eye out for (which is v. serious!) is potential mold problems.

I agree that though this could be something minor, on the chance that it is serious you should act accordingly. Contact the landlord immediately and ask your neighbors if they have the same problem. Get a carbon monoxide detector if you don't already have one. And be careful! You really don't know what's in that stuff, but from asbestos to mold there are all kinds of pollutants that can be incredibly damaging to your health, and you need to rule them out.

It's your furnace filter. Replace it immediately.

I get something similar on my balcony. After cleaning tirelessly for weeks, I realized it was from construction and car fumes. I live very close to street level and there's been a major construction project going on next door for two years (I know). But that's only outdoors and I've never had any of it come inside so check your venting.

You don’t say where you live but if you live near an active volcano (around 300 miles or so) and the wind is blowing your way, it could be volcanic ash. That stuff is baby powder fine and seeps through the tiniest cracks.

Just thought I would mention it.

If you have or used to have oil heat, it could be soot from that, coming through the vents. Definitely would try the city health dept. etc. for advice as others have suggested.

I have no idea.... but please let us know when you figure it out!

Is the fireplace damper closed?

All of the above are great suggestions. I'd get someone there to check things out. Buy a carbon monoxide detector asap. We got one for Christmas & a month later it went off because of a wall unit malfunction. The amount of carbon monoxide was dangerously high.

I live in Los Angeles, and was alarmed by the daily layer of grey/micro dust that settles on every horizontal surface. I assume it's car exhaust and smog. Thank goodness I am leaving this car-choked town in a few months for the country...

I agree with everyone who says take it seriously and get it checked ASAP. Just in case.

Meanwhile, if it is sticking to plastic, now, that may be because of a static charge in the plastic holding the particles. Humidification could help, if you find out it's nothing dangerous.

Yup, the sticking to plastic issue happens with any kind of ultra-fine particulate matter. For example, when the demineralization cartridge in our humidifier needs to be changed, we get the "white dust" everywhere, and primarily on smooth plastic surfaces...even those closed up in closets.

Better safe than sorry...try to get your landlord to pay for testing. Ask people in the same building and in neighboring buildings if they have the same issue.

Wonder if the reason for this discovered? I had my basement flooded after hurricane Sandy, and no water go onto my first floor, but all of my plastic, noticeable on my white plastic, now keeps getting covered with this same black/grey look of soot. It doesn't look like mold and I've read that carbon dioxide is colorless, even though somebody posted about that that could be the culprit. I have radiators with a boiler that was flooded but was repaired, so it is on, but no fireplaces or anything that I can attribute to this problem. So, would love to know if the answer to this question was ever discovered. Thanks

Hi. I just came across this board. I have been living in my nyc apt since 8/2012 and have had this issue with dust. I have done everything I could think of...humidifier, air purifier, change the filter in the ac/heating unit, sealed the windows...no luck! Were you ever able to resolve the issue?? Thanks!!