Dusty house
 

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

Dusty house
 

charlie wrote:

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



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.

http://shortyshvac.com/
(I 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.

Dusty house
 

On Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:04:56 -0500, "charlie"
wrote:

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



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.

Dusty house
 

On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 01:52:43 GMT, Phisherman wrote:

On Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:04:56 -0500, "charlie"
wrote:

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



Old-style blown-in insulation?

Dusty house
 

Old-style blown-in insulation?

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

Dusty house
 

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.

Dusty house
 

marybeth wrote:
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.

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.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Dusty house
 

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.

Dusty house
 

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.






On Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:04:56 -0500, "charlie"
wrote:

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

Dusty house
 

On Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:04:56 -0500, "charlie"
wrote:

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


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.
lol

Dusty house
 

charlie wrote:
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
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.

Dusty house
 

Mild winters, long hot summers. Low cost of living. No state wage
taxes here, sales tax is very high. People are predictable, friendly,
generally overweight. Entertainment is somewhat expensive. The
mountains are beautiful. Great hunting, fishing, hiking. Food is
"southern." Religion and sports important. Pace is slow, can be
backward. Pockets of various "cultures." Pets generally welcome.

On 12 Dec 2006 20:42:00 -0800, "marybeth"
wrote:

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.

Dusty house
 

your vacuum might not collect any dust

Dusty house
 

This happened in a customer's home. The dryer vent was clogged and the
fibrous white dust was lint backing up and out of the system. Look
closely at the 'dust'. Could this be the problem?

Alisa LeSueur
Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician
http://CleanYourOwnDryerVent.com

charlie wrote:
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

Dusty house
 

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