The Unexpected Place Dust Is Hiding In Your Home (& How To Prevent It)

Some household tasks seem never-ending. You clear all the dishes out of the sink and wash all the clothes in the hamper, yet both are full again the next morning, as if jinxed with a refilling spell. And sometimes you wipe down a surface, only to discover it's covered with dust a few moments later. It may feel like witchcraft is at play, but it's more likely that your air conditioner is blowing dust into your room the moment it kicks on. 

If your house is always dusty, dirty air conditioner ducts or filters are a very common cause. An AC unit works by sucking the dusty air out of your home, purifying it by trapping dust and other particles, then sending it back at the correct temperature. If something is amiss with the HVAC's filtration system, it is just recycling dusty, dirty air, while adding to the debris with each cycle. This makes your house look dusty, negatively impacts the air quality, and lowers your HVAC's efficiency, leading to higher bills. Fortunately, you can fix most of these filtration issues with some essential air conditioner maintenance.

The first line of defense against dust is to check out the AC's air filter. The filter is usually found behind a grille on the wall or ceiling near your thermostat. The grille is easy to open, and the filter pulls right out, making regular replacement easy. The most common types of filters are fiberglass air filters, which should ideally be changed once a month, and pleated air filters, which should be changed every three months. You may need to replace it more often if you have someone with respiratory issues living in your home. 

There's also the possibility of the ducts being the cause of your unfortunate dust issues. The AC ducts are located in hidden areas such as your basement, so if a leak in the duct happens, it'll cycle all that basement dust into the cleaner parts of your home. Proper duct sealing will fix the problem. You can do this yourself or you can call an HVAC professional for help. 

The important thing, above all else, is to perform regular HVAC maintenance instead of waiting for a problem. Just like the doctor, you should schedule annual checkups with an HVAC technician to prolong the life of your unit, prevent major repairs, keep costs down with better efficiency, and improve the overall health of your home's occupants.