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How to Minimize Dust in Your Home

Sometimes it seems like no matter how hard you try, you can’t get rid of the annoying dust in your home. Not only can it cause respiratory problems for your family, but it also looks like you’re not cleaning properly.

The majority of the time, dust comes into your home via air leaks in the walls, windows, or air ducts. However, you might also have an overload of dust because your vacuum cleaner isn’t efficient or you need to replace your HVAC filters. Use the following tips to minimize dust in your home.

Use the Right Type of Vacuum Cleaner

How to Minimize Dust in Your Home

Image via Flickr by Usodesita

If your vacuum cleaner is not catching all the particles it’s supposed to, the dust goes back into your home instead of staying in the filter bag. The best course of action is to buy a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter, as it catches the smallest particles, creating a cleaner environment.

Ensure Your Duct System Is Properly Sealed

The air ducts used by your air conditioning or furnace are usually inside the walls, in the attic, or in hard-to-reach places. These areas tend to be extremely dusty, so if you have an air leak in the duct system, it’ll suck all the dust and spread it around your home. It’s important to find the leaks and seal them properly.

Install a High-Efficiency HVAC Filter

Another easy way to tackle the dust problem is by upgrading your HVAC filter to a high-efficiency one. In that way, your air conditioning and heating system will work as a giant vacuum cleaner as it sucks (and filters) the air, improving your indoor air quality.

Fix Any Air Leaks in Your Home

When you take into consideration that most of the dust in your home comes from outside, it’s important to seal all cracks and gaps in your walls, doors, and windows. As a consequence, it might also help control humidity levels (less mold) and improve insulation, resulting in lower utility bills.

Turn on Your HVAC Fan When Vacuuming

Every time you clean your home, you should turn on your HVAC fan, as it helps get rid of all the dust in the air with its own filters. If you switch the thermostat from “auto” to “on,” instead of heating or cooling your home, the unit will be just ventilating, and you won’t waste any unnecessary energy.

Check the Indoor Air Pressure

Did you know that if you have negative air pressure in your home, it might be sucking in harmful air from the outside? You should run an infiltrometer blower door test to assess the airtightness of your house and ensure you create positive air pressure to keep all the dust away.

Having a dust-free home is a lot more about keeping allergens and pollutants outside in the first place than cleaning the house properly. So, unless you make sure you have the right filters in your vacuum cleaner and HVAC unit, and that all the leaks are completely sealed, you’ll be forever cleaning all the dust coming in.

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