Dusty house

[charlie]

My house here in Florida is extremely dusty. I would like to find out why.

I've asked local tradesmen, but to no avail. Perhaps some of you might have some ideas.

Here are some details: House 6 years old. Problem 6 years old. Winter/summer makes no discernable difference. Heat pump, overhead supplies to each of the rooms, overhead returns from rooms. No dust collects in supply vents. Some dust, I would say a minimal amount, collects on return vents. The electrostatic filter in the H/AC never gets very dirty, and is cleaned twice a year. Yet a fine white dust, (not the color of any carpeting in the house) settles in all heated/cooled rooms. The dust rapidly collects on the leading edges of the blades of fans in those rooms. This dust appears to contain fiberous material. Bathrooms and kitchen utility room all have tiled floors, yet have the same problem as bedrooms and living room and dining room and closets, which are carpeted. Most windows in the house, especially bathroom windows, are almost never opened. Garage is not heated or cooled, is not carpeted, and has popcorn ceiling, but has a minimal dust problem, and dust in garage appears more as dirt (dark, not white).

Any ideas?

Thanks........ Charlie

[Speedy Jim]

Electrostatic filters are not very effective compared to today's high performance deep-pleated media filters.

You might experiment by taping a dark cloth or paper over the supply register and seeing if it picks up particles over a week's time. That would at least confirm the source.

have no connection with them) Look at the AirBear filters and cabinets. Honeywell makes some too.

It may be a chore retrofitting a filter cabinet.

[Phisherman]

I suspect your filter is not doing the job. I use a passive static filter and clean it once a month. Carpeting, rugs, draperies. pets, kids, parties add lots of dust. Some vacuum cleaners add additional dust. Humidity should be 40-60%. You can consider running a hepa-filter air cleaner. When I lived near the 5 in LA I got lots of black highway "dust." Now that I live in the TN hills I get yellow pollen dust in the spring--not a bad trade-off.

[Goedjn]

Old-style blown-in insulation?

[minder]

that stuff is nasty, but he said the house is 6 years old, i think they use blown-in FOAM instead, which could possibly still be causing the problem, i couldn't see how though

[marybeth]

Hey Phisherman,

I'd like to know more about life in TN. I've been looking at maybe buying some land there with the thought of moving. There's nothing like firsthand knowledge from people who already live there.

Phisherman wrote:

I suspect your filter is not doing the job. I use a passive static filter and clean it once a month. Carpeting, rugs, draperies. pets, kids, parties add lots of dust. Some vacuum cleaners add additional dust. Humidity should be 40-60%. You can consider running a hepa-filter air cleaner. When I lived near the 5 in LA I got lots of black highway "dust." Now that I live in the TN hills I get yellow pollen dust in the spring--not a bad trade-off.

[Joseph Meehan]

A lot of good information there

I would add that the Electronic air cleaner should have a mechanical air cleaner upstream. If there is not one, I would suggest adding one. If you are only cleaning it twice a year, it is not getting cleaned often enough, or it is not functioning well or you have a very clean house.

[m Ransley]

I have heard of cronic dust from cellulose leaking into houses. Maybe your AC system is somehow pulling down attic air from a poor instal or not being sealed up right. Supply and returns are in the attic covered by insilation? There is a way to test ducts for air tightness or just seal them with Duct Mastic and be sure they are screwed together right. I dought your filter is good , get a large media like Air Bear, April Air is crappy since the case wont seal to the insert well. Maybe you can get a Media replacement to slide in your case and get it tight by using foam window insulation that comes in rolls. Try extra room airfilters and maybe a better vac or the small micron bags.

[DK]

Sorry, but that is completely normal. The dust is coming from everywhere, including outside. Part of it is your own shedding skin cells.

Hepa filters will help.

[maradcliff]

How much cocaine do you use per week? If you got a fine white dust your cocaine bag is leaking and it's spreading all over the house.

[Art Todesco]

Do you know the electronic filter is working? On mine, I found there was no high voltage; there is a button on the front that shorts out the high voltage. When you push it, you should hear an arc discharge. BTW, I replaced the

2 high voltage capacitors and all is well now. Also, I have heard that you should be cleaning the filters about once a month. The claim is that after that, they don't do much good.

[Phisherman]

[minder]

your vacuum might not collect any dust

[CDET 14]

[Steve]

Hey Charlie, We had the same problem here in Fl......the culprit was blown in cellulose in the ceilings. We discovered this doing a rebuild after the hurricanes a couple years ago. It explained why the house was so dusty all the time. I talked to an insulation guy I know, and he said thats a common problem with cellulose once it starts to break down a little after being up top for a while.

Take care Steve