Excessive dust?

[Steely]

OK, I am not the most compulsive housecleaner in the world - but I do try!
None the less, I am overwhelmed by dust lately. I have 4 animals, so I know, that is a bad start - and I have hardwood floors which shows everything - but there is dust everywhere! It seems to have gotten worse after the furnace was replaced, so I am thinking it may also be in the ducts - which I do not have the money to clean right now. So I am just wondering if you guys have any ideas, or tips in keeping my house less of a dust bowl. Yes, I do live in the South, but still!

I am dying here!

[trinityroyal]

That's no fun at all.

Have you tried replacing the furnace filters? Many of the newer furnaces have a cardboard-cartridge style filter. It fits in a pocket somewhere on the furnace, and they are so simple to replace. No clips, bolts or screws...replacement code number and measurements are usually printed on the cardboard frame of the filter.

It's astonishing how much dust and gunk a furnace filter can collect. The cartridges should be replaced about every 3 months, more often if you have lots of dust or pets.

If you've had your new furnace for more than a month or so, it might be worth checking out.

Replacement filters are easy to find at most of the big home hardware chain stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Rona, etc.)

Hope it gets better,
Trinity

[klmno]

Hey, WW! I don't know what kind of heating system you have, but if there is a return duct, replace or clean the filter. If you can't find it, it's probably at the side of the furnace. This is if you have a forced air system, which it sounded like this is the type of system you have. If that doesn't do the trick, you might need to get someone to come in and clean the ducts- you could call who ever replaced the furnace and see if they do this or can recommend someone.

Oh, sometimes a duct comes loose from the furnace so instead of blowing all warm air, it's sucking some dust/dirt from wherever your ducts run- through the crawl space or attic or wherever. If your furnace was just replaced, call and asked them to come check and make sure they attached and sealed all ducts before they left. They should do this without charging you anything.



Another thing I've had happen- as embarressing as it is- the belt on the vacuum cleaner was broken and it took me forever to figure out this was why my house wasn't getting clean- LOL -I just kept vacuuming away- DUH!!



BTW- my house is no place for a clean fanatic either! Or actually- maybe it would be a good place for them to come!



Good luck!! Stay warm-it's cold out there!

[Steely]

Ohhhh.........good idea about making sure all of the ducts were sealed when they replaced the furnace. I am calling them right now! I have replaced the furnace filters twice in one month, and they were disgusting.........I just can't keep up with it! And my house is not THAT messy that all that dust would be such a constant. I am spending my 3 days cleaning, sigh! I don't know what else it could be?

[busywend]

Thank you for the reminder to replace my filter!

LOL!

[Abbey]

Geez...try living in Vegas (desert) with 3 parrots!!

I have basically given up on cleaning on a regular basis. I do it once a day, and that it as good as you get. The dust from the ongonig construction and the birds is too much for me to deal with. I could spend my whole day continuously cleaning.

Abbey

[flutterbee]

I could have dusted every single day at my last house. I swear I could watch it accumulate as soon as I wiped the area. I was always replacing the furnace filter. It didn't seem to help.

This house has a brand new furnace and almost no dust. This house is also 40 years older than my other house. So, I'm assuming they had the vents/ducts cleaned when they replaced the furnace. What a difference!

[Hound dog]

There was a much older furnace in our last house. Keeping up with dusting was a challenge. I could/did dust every single morning and by the next morning it was there waiting for me again. argh

This house isn't so bad. But the ducts probably do need cleaning. Tons better than the last house though.

I do my furnace filters every 6 months at least. I also make sure all registers are cleaned out and I have screens in place to make this easier. Same with the cold air ducts, as that dust gets sucked right into the furnace. You wouldn't believe how much animal hair can collect in those places alone.

[hearts and roses]

Making sure all the ducts are sealed up is very important and having the ducts cleaned is of course the first choice. And make sure you replace your filters monthly.

But in the meantime....if your heat is fan forced through vents, which it sounds like since you have ducts....I strongly urge you to go buy some cheesecloth and cut peices to cover each vent. This will allow the heat to blow out, but it will catch any dust that is flowing along with the heat.

As an extremely allergic child growing up in a house with gas, fan forced hot air, my allergist made suggestion to my mother. So all winter, as the heat was flowing, all of the vents were covered with cheesecloth.

Doing this now will give you some time to save the money to have the ducts cleaned professionally, say, in the Spring when you're no longer heating your home.

Good luck.