[Guythunder]

This house I have been living in for ten years is so dusty you can't keep up with it dust one day and two days later it needs it again the dust is in everything drawers cabinets every where. And it is even dusty in the winter could I have ducts leaking in my heater & Air conditioner and blowing insulation in or could my carpet pad be so old that it is deteriorating and turning to dust it is 15 years old. Anybody ever have this problem:confused:

[glavine]

Id look into having your air ducts cleaned out. Also check your return filter, it may need replaceing. If you don't have a filter then any dust that is in the air will be sucked in and back out into the house.

[Guythunder]

It's funny the ducts are clean and I change the filter every month and it is full of dust I just don't believe how much dust I have. Thanks for you response but it must be something else.

[jack dandy]

Do you have the right size filter, if it doesn't fit in the slot snugly it could be the wrong size and the dust could be going around it, maybe try an upgrade in filters, one by 3M or other company's? Just some ideas.

[Guythunder]

It's the right size and I have bought some of the best out there and they do stop the dust going to the filter but there is still a lot in this house. I lived on a ranch with cows on both sides of the house and never had this much dust. I have even tried to put dryer sheets on the vents coming into the rooms and left them there for a few weeks and they are clean so I am leaning more to the carpet pad being bad put I am not sure how to check the pad without pulling it up.

[schwim]

Hi there Guy,

Since A/C systems are a recirculating system, I doubt very much that this is your problem. If you live in an environment that has a lot of dust in the air, then you need to find it's entrance point.

Wait until dusk or early morning and grab yourself a kick butt flashlight. Going from room to room, point the flashlight across(perpendicular) your field of vision and walk around each room looking for:

1) Stronger than normal concentration of dust suspended in the air

2) Current of air(moving briskly instead of stationary)


If you're using a vent fan or any type of air pusher for circulation, then I think you'll find your problem almost everywhere. Vent/attic fans pull air from the living space and your house will recoup the lost air any way it can(around windows and doors, any thing that breaches your living space seal).

First order of business would be to nix any ventilation system between the inside and outside. If you can't do that, you're going to have to create a well filtered "path of least resistance" leading into that house that allows it the makeup air sans the dirt.

Just some thoughts for you. Let us know what happens!

Thanks,
Json

[Guythunder]

Ill give that a try,But don't you think that its been raining out here for the past month and with all of that rain how could I be getting dust from the outside when everything is wet. I mean I get less dust in my garage than I do in the house. And no I am not moving into the garage.:)

[schwim]

Hi there Guy,

Seeing as how I've recently moved from your closet, I no longer have access to your weather patterns, so I apologize for my ignorance in regards to your recent precipitation levels :)

That being said, you understand that the dust has to come from somewhere. From your post, it seems that you have been cleaning your house very well, but in spite of this, the dust continues to appear.

This means that the dust is coming from an area that you're not cleaning: attic, crawlspace or outside. All three of these are outside of your living space, so you need to find where it's entering your living space. This seems(to me) like the best method of finding the entry point.

Since they say that dust is comprised 80% of dead skin, you might also want to check around your house for an extra 60 or so people.

Thanks,
Json

[Guythunder]

I looked under all of the beds and I couldn't find 60 more people so I guess I can blame it on my two dogs. So far nobody has said a thing about the old carpet pad, If it is old and wore out and every time we vacuum it brings the deuterating pad to the surface and then when we walk on the carpet it steres up the dust and then the celling fan moves it all around. There needs to be a reason as to why I have all of this dust I can't seam to find any leaks around doors or windows or even the crawl space in the attic. HELP! HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY ELSE HAS HAD TO HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS I KNOW THAT IAM NOT THE ONLY ONE PLEASE GIVE ME SOME HELP. I MEAN YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN TRYING BUT I HAVE CHECKED ALL OF THE THINGS YOU GUYS SAID AND THAT ISN'T IT.:mad: :confused:

[schwim]

I have never seen carpet padding degrade in 15 years to the point of disintegration, but if it's cheap pad, anything is possible. If you're up for the replacement, I'm not going to try to stop you.

Can you describe the consistency of the dust? Grainy? Fine? What color? Any clues as to whether it's organic or synthetic?

I'm out of ideas, we'll wait till another guy comes along that likes a lot of capital letters in succession :)

Thanks,
Json

[hkstroud]

If your house has a crawl space, that is you do not have a basement and it is not a concrete slab, I suggest you install a plastic sheathing on the ground underneath if you don't already have it.. This will serve as a moisture barrier and a dust shield. Even though you have been having a lot of rain, the earth under there is probably (and hopefully) dry. This is probably the source of the dust. If you don't have insulation between the floor joist you should install some. This reduces heatingcost, reduces the amount of air entering the house therefore reduces dust.

[Guythunder]

The dust is a white color in color and a little grainey but you can roll it up into a ball, That's about all I can say except it is all over the place even on my clothes in the closet and in cabinets under the bed behind the TV in the TV everwhere. One more thing if my ducts are that dirty don't you think they would be clean by now after 10 years of using it because my filters seam to be catching particles going to the return.:rolleyes:

[hkstroud]

white color in color and a little grainey but you can roll it up into a ball

That doesn't sound like ordinary old everyday dirt dust. You might want to consider what inside you home could be giving off something. Look at soft goods like mattress, sofa and like you mentioned carpet.

[Guythunder]

I think I will take a good look at the carpet pad we have already bought new furniture and bed room sets, Plus I have a whole house fan that I think might be leaking so I will cover it with plastic and see if that makes any difference. Thanks for your help and if and when I find the trouble I will be back to post it.;)

[hkstroud]

when I find the trouble I will be back to post it.

Please do. Too often we never get to read the last chapter.

[simoneaugie]

Carpet. I call it wall to wall dust mites. My dogs bring in a lot of dirt, which turns into dust when it dries. Try dusting with a damp cloth. Soap and water is fine if you dry the wood finishes. Steam clean your carpet once per week for a few months. Don't need to move all of the furniture every time. Treat yourself to a new vacuum cleaner. Old vacuums just smell like they're working. Vacuum at least twice a day and change the bag frequently.

If the dust is still bad, rip out the carpet and pad. Throw it into a dumpster and get it off your property. At least 30 of those extra people will go with it. Finish the floors any way you like. Shiny hardwood is easy to maintain with a dust mop. Put down area rugs that can be thrown into the washing machine.

[flossie]

Grrrrrrrr... we're having the same problem with dust, but it is normal everyday dust. The house we are in is 5yrs old, we change the furnace filter every 3 months as recommended or sooner if we see it needs it. We have hardwood and ceramic floors on the main level and carpet on the upper level. I could dust daily, it's so frustrating. You can actually see dust particles in the air when the light hits them right! We have no dogs but 2 indoor cats that have been part of the family for the past 2 yrs (the dust problem arrived before the cats). We have had the ducts cleaned hoping we'd see an improvement - didn't happen :(
Any suggestions out there? We're tired of only entertaining friends once the sun's gone down! :)

[Guythunder]

I hope if one of you guys find out what could cause all of this dust that you come back and let us know. My dust is real fine and a gray color it gets in everything if you leave a shirt on the hanger in the closet for more than a month it will have dust on the shoulder of the shirt where the handger hits it, It gets in the drawers under the furniture just everwhere I have done just about everything but replace the carpet and if I don't find any other way to stop this dust the darpet will be next . Not a cheep way to stop the dust but I have done about all that I know to do.

[simoneaugie]

Not sure where you guys live. I live near the ocean and the streets are paved, so not much comes in from outside. My two Cockatoos keep my house dusty all the time. The feather dander is very fine and rolls into balls. A feather duster moves it around, off the visible furniture if company is coming.

When NASA first designed a dust-free environment, my mother wondered why houses couldn't be built that way. "If builders/designers were responsible for dusting, some more effective improvements might be made", she claimed.

[thegandyman]

Carpet pad, when it does degrade, pretty much stays under the carpet, the carpet is also where most dust goes, so I'm surprised if you have carpet that you also have dust issues. The garage being less dusty may be because it has no circulating air, the dust won't enter even if there's a gap if the air is stagnant inside.
As for your house, I would check on the inlet for your circulating air. Secure a filter over the inlet of your ac/heater. If that clogs faster than your regular filter has then you are dealing with an incredible amount of circulating dust, if however, it doesn't clog any faster, then the dust is getting in at another point between there and the filter, that means there is a rupture, possibly letting dust in from attic space or even outside, which would suck because your bills will be through the roof if it's outside.
Basements are unlikely sources for dust but if you have a connecting crawlspace, that may be the culprit.