What is this sticky dusty stuff?

I have a fairly new resident who called me last night to report what she calls 'soot' in her apartment (We do not have fireplaces). She showed me some plastic cups and utensils that were in her kitchen cupboard that had something on them that looked like dust. When she tries to wipe it off it doesn't come off, but it can be washed off with hot water and soap. They do not have any pets.

What could be causing this, how do I remove it, and how do I prevent it?

Any advice greatly appreciated!!

any moisture issues in the kitchen? sanitary issues in the apt? On another property, I had a resident with white spots on dishes, that we ended up determining (after about 3 months( were insect eggs... very teeny tiny spiders... while i hope it's not this, look for mold/mildew causes first, or it's just the plain old DW soap residue?

We have seen an issue similar to this on several occasions. Take a look on the Range hood and see if there is a similar residue. Also take a look at the hood filter if you find the same thing then it could be that the hood is not moving the air efficiently. If this is the issue then it is a combination of a layer of dust settling on a layer of greasy film. Which will cause it to look like it is only dust till you go to wipe it off then you notice that it is think and sticky dust.

TIP: Simple Green will work wonders for this, but you don't want to use it on food surfaces. You can soak the hood filter, and it should help to move the air better.

Thanks very much! We'll try replacing the hood filter and see if that helps.

We had a perhaps, similar, issue 10 years ago. After checking out the furnace, vents, hot water heater, stove, and oven, we figured out that it was candles that the resident burned. (Lower grade candles or candles that are burned too long or candles that do not have the wicks trimmed can smoke) The dust is exactly as you described and coats everything. Hope that helps!