Dust to Dust

The origins of dust are many, including the dead cells we human shed continuously. Bearing in mind the annoying accumulation of dust in my own home, it has crossed my mind that some people may shed more dead cells than others, or do so at different rates. Hence dust accumulation within a fairly closed envrionment, say a bedroom in winter, might be a reasonable measure of metabolic rate. But, also bearing in mind the annoying accumulation of dust, albeit less dust, in rooms in my house into which no-one, not even the dog, goes for weeks on end, there are clearly other,  more clandestine, origins of the wretched stuff. Do dust-mites manage to multiply on the most meagre biological remnants? Or is it their own death that I am witnessing when I notice - infrequently, I confess - yet another coating of dust on what should be pristine shelves?