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Where is all the dust coming from? Julie 09-16-2007
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Posted by trainfan1 on September 16, 2007, 5:11 pm
Julie wrote:
> I've done all that I can do and think of and I'm stumped. I need fresh
> input.
>
> My 10+ year old 2000 sqft house is always dusty.
>
> We have no carpets or drapery.
> The doors and windows are always closed.
> We have leather and wood furniture.
> We don't have children.
> We do have one dog that does shed and she mostly sleeps.
> I don't use the central AC because I suspect there's dust in the
> ductwork so I put in several window AC's (happily, my electrical bill
> plummeted).
> We don't live in a dusty area (e.g. a desert).
>
> There are dust bunnies under the couch several days after I vacuum and
> the leather chair that isn't used is covered with a layer of dust within
> days of being damp cleaned.
>
> So, I bought six( 6) Sharper Image Quadra units. After running them for
> a week or two, they all picked up near zero particles. When I returned
> them, the metal blades were still nice and shiny.
>
> I brought back all of the Quadra units and bought four (4) of the
> multi-fan driven Sharper Image Hybrids. Nearly $2,000. After a week,
> they didn't collect any dust either and I brought them all back.
>
> I bought five(5) of the severely maligned Sharper Image Ionic Breezes
> off of eBay. These units actually do collect tons of dust and I have to
> clean them weekly but the house is still very dusty. However, my
> chronic sneezing and dripping nose came to an immediate end with the
> Sharper Image air purifiers.
>
> Then I bought four (4) IQAir HealthPro Plus Air Purifiers
> (http://www.amazon.com/IQAir-HealthPro-Plus-HEPA-Purifier/dp/B00028P0S2).
>
> These are the size of small refrigerators. Each one is rated to clean
> 900 sqft at max fan speed. I leave them running at max speed for over 20
> hours/day but the house is still dusty. I have two (2) IQAir running on
> opposite ends of the open area downstairs plus a Sharper Image unit.
>
> The IQAir units are quite powerful. If you put a small piece of tissue
> paper on the floor about 6" away from the bottom of the unit, the tissue
> paper travels across the floor and gets sucked up.
>
> I went on a multi-week cleaning rampage. I tore the house apart and
> washed everything from ceiling to floor and then did it all over again
> and again. Call me compulsive or extremely thorough.
>
> I water vacuum wash the floors once/week to ensure that the floors are
> truly spotless.
>
> Even with the 5 Sharper Image cleaners and the 4 IQAir units, the house
> is still substantially dusty (small particles and long fibers). Even
> the filters to the air conditioners have to be cleaned every few weeks.
>
> My latest idea was to turn on all the ceiling fans in each room to
> prevent dust from settling and let the air purifiers do their job.
>
> Where is all the dust coming from? What more can I do?

It's coming from you & the pooch, spiders(& their prey), & the window
A/C installations.

Have your ducts cleaned, get an electrostatic filter for your central
HVAC & run it. Get a digital setback thermostat for your HVAC.

Open the windows & meet the neighbors. Get the dog out for a walk &
meet the neighbors. Take a Claritan.

Rob

Posted by Julie on September 16, 2007, 6:13 pm
trainfan1 wrote:
> Julie wrote:
>> I've done all that I can do and think of and I'm stumped. I need fresh
>> input.
>>
>> My 10+ year old 2000 sqft house is always dusty.
>>
>> We have no carpets or drapery.
>> The doors and windows are always closed.
>> We have leather and wood furniture.
>> We don't have children.
>> We do have one dog that does shed and she mostly sleeps.
>> I don't use the central AC because I suspect there's dust in the
>> ductwork so I put in several window AC's (happily, my electrical bill
>> plummeted).
>> We don't live in a dusty area (e.g. a desert).
>>
>> There are dust bunnies under the couch several days after I vacuum and
>> the leather chair that isn't used is covered with a layer of dust
>> within days of being damp cleaned.
>>
>> So, I bought six( 6) Sharper Image Quadra units. After running them
>> for a week or two, they all picked up near zero particles. When I
>> returned them, the metal blades were still nice and shiny.
>>
>> I brought back all of the Quadra units and bought four (4) of the
>> multi-fan driven Sharper Image Hybrids. Nearly $2,000. After a week,
>> they didn't collect any dust either and I brought them all back.
>>
>> I bought five(5) of the severely maligned Sharper Image Ionic Breezes
>> off of eBay. These units actually do collect tons of dust and I have
>> to clean them weekly but the house is still very dusty. However, my
>> chronic sneezing and dripping nose came to an immediate end with the
>> Sharper Image air purifiers.
>>
>> Then I bought four (4) IQAir HealthPro Plus Air Purifiers
>> (http://www.amazon.com/IQAir-HealthPro-Plus-HEPA-Purifier/dp/B00028P0S2).
>>
>> These are the size of small refrigerators. Each one is rated to clean
>> 900 sqft at max fan speed. I leave them running at max speed for over
>> 20 hours/day but the house is still dusty. I have two (2) IQAir
>> running on opposite ends of the open area downstairs plus a Sharper
>> Image unit.
>>
>> The IQAir units are quite powerful. If you put a small piece of tissue
>> paper on the floor about 6" away from the bottom of the unit, the
>> tissue paper travels across the floor and gets sucked up.
>>
>> I went on a multi-week cleaning rampage. I tore the house apart and
>> washed everything from ceiling to floor and then did it all over again
>> and again. Call me compulsive or extremely thorough.
>>
>> I water vacuum wash the floors once/week to ensure that the floors are
>> truly spotless.
>>
>> Even with the 5 Sharper Image cleaners and the 4 IQAir units, the
>> house is still substantially dusty (small particles and long fibers).
>> Even the filters to the air conditioners have to be cleaned every few
>> weeks.
>>
>> My latest idea was to turn on all the ceiling fans in each room to
>> prevent dust from settling and let the air purifiers do their job.
>>
>> Where is all the dust coming from? What more can I do?
>
> It's coming from you & the pooch, spiders(& their prey), & the window
> A/C installations.

I put the window A/C in because of the dust. The window A/C's hasn't
exacerbated the dust problem.

>
> Have your ducts cleaned, get an electrostatic filter for your central
> HVAC & run it. Get a digital setback thermostat for your HVAC.

We had an electrostatic filter for our previous house but there's no way
to install one with these units.

>
> Open the windows & meet the neighbors. Get the dog out for a walk &

I have yet to see a person where I am in the deep south open the windows
when it's over 100 degrees in the shade with dripping wet humidity or
during spring when the pollen puts a thick coat onto everything.

>
> meet the neighbors. Take a Claritan.
>

I don't well with those drugs. That's why I've put so much money (e.g.
putting down hardwood floors throughout) and time into eliminating the
sources of the dust problem.

> Rob

Posted by aemeijers on September 16, 2007, 7:41 pm

> trainfan1 wrote:
>> Julie wrote:
>>> I've done all that I can do and think of and I'm stumped. I need fresh
>>> input.
(tale of woe snipped)
>>> Where is all the dust coming from? What more can I do?
>>
>> It's coming from you & the pooch, spiders(& their prey), & the window A/C
>> installations.
>
> I put the window A/C in because of the dust. The window A/C's hasn't
> exacerbated the dust problem.
>
>>
>> Have your ducts cleaned, get an electrostatic filter for your central
>> HVAC & run it. Get a digital setback thermostat for your HVAC.
>
> We had an electrostatic filter for our previous house but there's no way
> to install one with these units.
>
>>
>> Open the windows & meet the neighbors. Get the dog out for a walk &
>
> I have yet to see a person where I am in the deep south open the windows
> when it's over 100 degrees in the shade with dripping wet humidity or
> during spring when the pollen puts a thick coat onto everything.
>
> >
>> meet the neighbors. Take a Claritan.
>>
>
> I don't well with those drugs. That's why I've put so much money (e.g.
> putting down hardwood floors throughout) and time into eliminating the
> sources of the dust problem.
>
The window A/Cs may not have made the dust worse, but they haven't made it
any better. They have poor filtration, if any, (most are just a layer of
foam) and are sucking the outside dust into the house as bad or worse than
the central air. (I find it hard to believe that multiple window units burn
less juice than a typical 10 year old central air unit, unless you only run
the one in the room you happen to be in). None of the portable air cleaners
you described will do much good, and most (as you found) are simply snake
oil. But they do keep the air stirred up, which keeps redistributing
whatever point sources of dust you have, like the dog.

Yeah, I am hearing traces of compulsive behavior in the history you relate.
Is the dust setting your allergies off, or does it just make you feel like
the place isn't clean? If the latter, you need to learn to let go a little.
(I note that people with kids almost always lose their compulsive cleaning
habits- they simply have no time, and have more important things to worry
about.) Cashflow doesn't appear to be a problem, so I would hire an
abatement company to come in and test the place- take swabs and air samples,
and all that happy stuff, and determine exactly what the dust is. I'd also
have that company or a full-service insulation company do a blower door test
on you house to find where the outside air leaks are, for the outside air to
be coming in. I suspect that some minor tweaks to the weatherstripping
and/or attic sealing, and a real air filter on the furnace, will get the
house as clean as it is going to get. Sorry to say, but if you suffer from
allergies (as do I), house animals simply do not work. The dog has to move
outside. Hey, you are in the south- it'll live. Plenty of shade and water,
and maybe a short haircut every spring. (Or build a shed with a doggie door,
and put one of the window a/c boxes on that.) Being in the south, can I
assume there is no basement? If house is a slab, and that was not finished
or sealed correctly, it will produce dust forever (same is true for basement
floors, but those are usually well-finished.) If there is a crawlspace, is
there a good layer of plastic over the dirt, and are all the openings in
ductwork that runs through the space well-sealed?

Please don't take any of the above as a flame, especially if you suffer from
allergies. I have them bad, and it has affected who I can visit, and how
long I can stay there. So I do understand the urge to control the
environment. It took me years to lock in what my allergy triggers were, and
make the changes needed to at least make things livable. I found that
cleaning TOO often actually made things worse, by spiking the airborne
allergens.

aem sends....



Posted by Caesar Romano on September 16, 2007, 7:57 pm
Re: Where is all the dust coming from?:

>We had an electrostatic filter for our previous house but there's no way
>to install one with these units.

Try one of these

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03285264000P?vName=Appliances&cName=Small+Home+Appliances

Posted by trainfan1 on September 17, 2007, 10:07 am
Julie wrote:

>>> I don't use the central AC because I suspect there's dust in the
>>> ductwork so
>
> We had an electrostatic filter for our previous house but there's no way
> to install one with these units.
>

If you don't have a filter in your central A/C, this may be part of your
problem too. If there's a filter, you can order an electrostatic one to
fit the existing cut-out.

How about humidity? Where/how do you maintain it?

Rob

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