I Hate Dust…

dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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…and haven’t yet found a way to reduce it.

There are few months in a year where I live where I am not using the air conditioning or heat and both result in a lot of dust landing on my equipment.

I am considering adding an air purifier to my music room to try to reduce it. I was wondering if anyone has been able to successfully tackle this issue.
 
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MarkusBarkus

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Feb 6, 2021
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...I live in a city in the NE US and dust is always a challenge. An open floor plan doesn't help.

Cleaning the ducts every few years and regular furnace filter management doesn't seem to greatly diminish the issue.

I think it's a feature of modern urban life. Air pollution, tire dust, pollens. I did not find filtering to visibly reduce the problem, although the filters fill up, so theoretically, they must be reducing particulate matter. Good Luck! Sincerely.
 
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dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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...I live in a city in the NE US and dust is always a challenge. An open floor plan doesn't help.

Cleaning the ducts every few years and regular furnace filter management doesn't seem to greatly diminish the issue.

I think it's a feature of modern urban life. Air pollution, tire dust, pollens. I did not find filtering to visibly reduce the problem, although the filters fill up, so theoretically, they must be reducing particulate matter. Good Luck! Sincerely.

My situation is the same, living in South New Jersey.

The unit that I am considering is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Coway-Airmeg...b65-bce0-80282d466f69&pd_rd_i=B01C9RIACG&th=1

People seem to claim that it reduces dust but I really don’t know until I actually get one and use it.
 

rando

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Try an air purifier with ability to select ionizing when desired.

In my case it took a week or two afterwards before one day suddenly realizing there is an amazing amount of dust on every surface. It never reappeared and was easier to clean up than normal dust, decharged.
 

dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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Try an air purifier with ability to select ionizing when desired.

In my case it took a week or two afterwards before one day suddenly realizing there is an amazing amount of dust on every surface. It never reappeared and was easier to clean up than normal dust, decharged.

I don’t understand. It created an amazing amount of dust? That seems to be what you wrote.
 

rando

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A small amount of investigation into ionization will prove helpful.

It's effectiveness might falter in your location with near proximity to the Eastern seaboard. Thus countering my experience in a drier climate.
 

dminches

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A small amount of investigation into ionization will prove helpful.

It's effectiveness might falter in your location with near proximity to the Eastern seaboard. Thus countering my experience in a drier climate.

I have been looking into ionizers but this is what I read:

However, the EPA says air ionizers are relatively ineffective at removing larger particles like dust and pollen, and they are more suited to removing smaller particles such as tobacco smoke and smog, which measure between 0.01 and 0.1 µm/microns.
 
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rando

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I can only say it had a large effect on something which did not return. The overall amount of dust that reoccurred was greatly diminished. Extensive dry dusting of every surface from the ceiling down wasn't clearing up my problem. I believe the lack of reliance on coated cleaning supplies or use of solutions was key to the eventual free release.
 

Neil.Antin

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Jul 9, 2021
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…and haven’t yet found a way to reduce it.

There are few months in a year where I live where I am not using the air conditioning or heat and both result in a lot of dust landing on my equipment.

I am considering adding an air purifier to my music room to try to reduce it. I was wondering if anyone has been able to successfully tackle this issue.
If your HVAC filter is adequate to keep the dust in-check, would it not be easier and cheaper just to periodically run your HVAC system with Fan-Only in Manual? Your HVAC system should have this option.

Otherwise, any room air filter with a certified HEPA (high efficiency air filter) should work. Probably the most bullet proof units made in the USA are Austin Air - Austin Air | Home - Welcome to Austin Air Systems. Clinically Proven Air Purifiers. There are no bells & whistles just a big/powerful fan with a large HEPA & carbon filter. The basic unit should be fine for your room - HealthMate - Welcome to Austin Air Systems. Clinically Proven Air Purifiers. However, reading the specs note that it is relatively noisy (consequence of the big-filter and powerful fan) but if you operate in-between listening sessions should be fine.
 
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Alrainbow

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Dec 11, 2013
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I think how the dust gates made is first
if you have central air-handlers
a hepa filter on it return is a good start
you can add a hep filter to supply to your room
air turn over is also a big part in cleaning the air
I'm curious to how long and how much over time
for me towels over items
tables , tape decks
 

Neil.Antin

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Be careful adding HEPA-type (high MERV >11) filters to your HVAC return. Unless you have at least a 2" and better 4" thick filter such as AprilAire is Healthy Air the pressure drop across the filter will be extreme and it can really make harm your HVAC system, the degree depending on what type of air handler your have - is it fixed speed fan which will result in severely reducing the system air flow or variable speed where the fan will try to speed up to overcome the pressure drop. And, either way, the fan draws way more power.
 

dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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I have a HEPA filter in my HVAC but it doesn’t do a great job of eliminating dust. I am due for a heating checkup tomorrow so I will discuss the filter options with my tech.
 
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Kcin

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A whole house HEPA filter should work quite well in conjunction with a 4"-5" MERV 11 filter on the furnace. You should be running your fan on your furnace continuously 24hrs a day for it to work. Running a an ECM DC motor is really where its at with these systems for electrical and air movement efficiency. Systems like these can scrub the whole volume of air in the home 50-100 times a day through the HEPA bypass.

If you are having issues, the capacity of the unit, infiltration of the house from the outside or static pressure of the system should be checked. Of course the filters and the ducts should be clean.
 

dminches

Well-Known Member
Oct 22, 2011
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A whole house HEPA filter should work quite well in conjunction with a 4"-5" MERV 11 filter on the furnace. You should be running your fan on your furnace continuously 24hrs a day for it to work. Running a an ECM DC motor is really where its at with these systems for electrical and air movement efficiency. Systems like these can scrub the whole volume of air in the home 50-100 times a day through the HEPA bypass.

If you are having issues, the capacity of the unit, infiltration of the house from the outside or static pressure of the system should be checked. Of course the filters and the ducts should be clean.

I think my filter is a 5” Merv 10 filter. I am not sure how I add a HEPA filter to that in my Carrier system.
 

rando

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Sep 22, 2019
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A whole house HEPA filter should work quite well in conjunction with a 4"-5" MERV 11 filter on the furnace. You should be running your fan on your furnace continuously 24hrs a day for it to work. Running a an ECM DC motor is really where its at with these systems for electrical and air movement efficiency. Systems like these can scrub the whole volume of air in the home 50-100 times a day through the HEPA bypass.

If you are having issues, the capacity of the unit, infiltration of the house from the outside or static pressure of the system should be checked. Of course the filters and the ducts should be clean.

In any case there is no escaping the expense and inconvenience of clogging multiple filters multiple times if you take the simplest mechanical path throughout. Common sense would dictate a clean start with any changes to full house filtering that attempts to prevent the increasingly large issues he desires solving.

A good start would be establishing the source stands good chance of being the significant forces exerted only in his listening room. Might be the ceiling is releasing some material, a rug deciding it has held onto extraneous fibers long enough, or maybe the room just needs a good thorough clean and an industrial size piezo lighter spark or 10K to restore domestic bliss.
 

Kcin

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I think my filter is a 5” Merv 10 filter. I am not sure how I add a HEPA filter to that in my Carrier system.
Your HVAC tech can advise you. If you have about 16" or so of floor space- or attic space you can have a whole house hepa installed It installs so that about 60% of the air bypasses to the HEPA at any given time and eventually through a 24hr cycle all the air in the home gets scrubbed against the HEPA.

Not to get into too much detail but my wife suffers greatly from asthma and upper respiratory concerns. HEPA was a game changer for her health and dust in our home. If you have Carrier- get the GAPA electrostatic furnace filter to go with the HEPA that's one of the best residential systems available anywhere.

Goodluck
 
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Neil.Antin

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I think my filter is a 5” Merv 10 filter.
MERV 10 is not very efficient. With a 5" thick filter, you should be able to use a MERV 13 w/o any significant noise/power impact. Adding a true HEPA filter unless it has its own fan, is going to result in higher fan power to maintain fan speed that maintains air flow if you have variable speed fan (i.e., electronically commutated motor) and this dependent on the HEPA filter thickness.

NOTE: High efficiency particulate air [filter] - HEPA; is a type of pleated mechanical air filter. As officially defined by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, this type of air filter can theoretically remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and any airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns (?m).

How companies report their MERV efficiency can vary - and the better filters will cut sheets such as aprilaire-2000-merv-16-spec-sheet.pdf (sylvane.com). Item to note is Static Pressure Drop which is the pressure drop the filter adds to the overall system. The smaller the filter and the higher the flow, the greater the pressure drop.
 
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Ron Resnick

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tima

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As you, Neil and I have discussed, a HEPA filter machine for the record cleaning area can help. I have one that I use near the drying area - a question I ask myself is where is the best place for it. If I place it near the records that seems like it would draw air and the dust in it closer to them.
 

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