How to Control Dust in Your Home and HVAC System

A build up of dust in your home can erode your indoor air quality and worsen allergy symptoms and respiratory conditions like asthma. If dust infiltrates your HVAC system, it can negatively affect its performance and energy efficiency. To avoid these problems, try these effective tips for controlling dust throughout your home.

Declutter routinely

Tidy up your closets, put off-season clothes in dust-proof garment bags, and use off-the-floor shelving to store shoes and other small items. Clear away dust-attracting clutter like books, papers and knickknacks frequently from counters, furniture and other surfaces.

Choose the right cleaning tools

Use an electrostatic duster or slightly dampened cloth to trap dust when you clean. Invest in a vacuum equipped with a HEPA filter for cleaning hard floors and always use the power agitator on carpets to pull out deeply-embedded dust and dirt.

Freshen textiles often

Wash sheets and blankets weekly using hot water. Gather up items that can’t be laundered, like throw pillows, comforters, bedspreads and area rugs, take them outdoors once a week and shake them vigorously. Put washable covers on mattresses, pillows and upholstered furniture and launder them often.

Run the blower fan when cleaning

Disturbed dust tends to go airborne, but you can help capture it by running your HVAC system on “fan only” whenever you clean. Leave the fan on for a couple of hours when you’re finished, but be sure to set it back on “auto.”

Increase air filtration

Choose an air filter with the highest recommended MERV rating to maximize the system’s filtration capabilities. If your home is always dusty, or anyone in the family has allergies or respiratory problems, consider having a whole-house air cleaner installed on the HVAC system.

Clean your HVAC registers

About once a month, remove all the supply and return register covers and wipe them down, then vacuum as far as possible inside each of the ducts.

For more tips about controlling dust, or to learn about the different options to boost air filtration in your Indian River, Martin, or Palm Beach county home, contact us at NisAir Air Conditioning and Heating.