Dust and How Your Air Conditioner Can Help Reduce It

It’s just a fact—dust collects everywhere inside Arizona homes. No matter how often you clean your house, this fine particulate matter scatters onto appliances, furniture, bedding, carpet, flooring, blinds, and curtains. Composed of dirt, lint, pollen, animal and human skin cells, organic fibers, and anything that can break down, dust is just a fact of life—especially in the desert. And keeping dust accumulation under control requires more than flicking surfaces with a feather duster. In fact, what keeps your home cool and comfortable in the summer is an important part of reducing dust. Yes, it’s your air conditioner.

So, how can you ensure your air conditioning system is doing its role in combatting dust? Keep reading.

Ductwork

The beautiful Sonoran Desert is one extremely dusty place to live. Ductwork not properly sealed or damaged can pull in dust, hot air, suspended particulate matter, such as pollen and dust mites, and even attic insulation. When the air conditioning system is running, it can operate like a vacuum cleaner bringing debris and dust inside and distributing it throughout your home. Damaged and leaking ductwork may even be the cause of return airflow not passing through the HVAC system air filter.

Look at the grills and vents inside your home. Do you spot dust or dirt around the vents and grills? Gaps between the ductwork and the ceiling line can cause dust to be pulled in from your living spaces.

Air Filters

Improving indoor air quality is important for reducing dust and controlling allergens. Clean HVAC air filters are key to removing dust particles from your home’s air. Installing a higher efficiency air filter with a MERV rating of 9 will filter most pollens, dust mites, mold spores, and carpet fibers. A MERV rating of 16 will also filter bacteria, tobacco smoke, and pet dander. Changing your air filter more often than the recommended every three months may further reduce indoor dust for those with seasonal allergies or lung diseases such as asthma and COPD. After dusting your house, run your HVAC fan for 15 minutes to allow your indoor air to cycle through your air filtration system.

If you have any questions about how best to reduce household dust, contact our HVAC experts. Give us a call at 480-968-5652, and we will be happy to schedule a service call to get your house ready for the summer.