If Your House Is Always Dusty, You Might Be Overlooking One Thing

Dealing with dust in your home can be a major pain, and cleaning it all up is one of those never-ending tasks that will always keep coming back. However, if you seem to have an excessive amount of dust in your home and have an especially hard time keeping up with it, you might need to more carefully consider its source. In many cases, a home may constantly be dusty because of drafty windows.

When you have improperly sealed windows in your home, dust is far more likely to blow in a lot more often, which means more effort in keeping your home dust-free. On top of this, drafty windows can also cause a lot of other problems, such as temperature fluctuations, reducing your home's energy efficiency, and higher energy bills ... which can be a problem if you're trying to save on heating and cooling costs in your home. Window drafts can also increase moisture, lead to mold and mildew growth, and cause poor indoor air quality. If detected, you should fix your leaky windows as quickly as possible to prevent these problems and keep your home clean and comfortable — and most importantly, a little less dusty.

Detecting drafty windows is pretty straightforward. First, you'll want to examine the appearance of the windows. If the window glass is foggy, it's a pretty clear sign that it's letting air inside, along with all that dust that you keep noticing. Also, take note if you see any cracks in the window frame or window seal. Rubber window stripping and caulking may be damaged and could be allowing air to come inside and create a dusty house. When turning the lights off inside, you might notice that light enters around the window frame.

You can also feel for a window draft as well. With the air conditioner and fans off, put your hand out and feel for any air that's flowing along various sides of the window. You may notice a draft or cold spots if there's any air getting in. Another clever trick is to use a candle to detect drafts. As before, turn off any appliance that could circulate air, and then hold a candle near the window seams. While holding the candle steady, the flame may move. If so, it could mean that you have a window draft. 

If you discover that your window is indeed letting air in from the outside, you should consider adding or replacing caulking or weatherstripping. For an inexpensive, fast, and easy solution, window weather stripping tape can cover up any gaps to stop drafts and dust from entering your home. In some cases, however, it may best to invest in a window replacement instead.