Every homeowner I speak to ask us why they have so much dust build up in their home. Many times you will see a thin black line all around the baseboards just where the wall meets the floor. And everyone feels they are the only one’s with this problem.
Many years ago this excessive dust build up was a real mystery as it could not be removed or cleaned and if one had a light or white carpet, it was a real eyesore. A lot of people in our industry misdiagnosed this as soot from a cracked furnace firebox or heat exchanger. We looked at all kinds of issues such as chimneys or clothes dryer vents and could not determine the cause of this thin line of dirt. It could be cleaned only to return immediately.
I even cut some fibers out a white carpet that was being changed to a dark color to mask this issue and we sent this sample into a lab to have it tested. It was, in fact, a mix of dirt, fiberglass shards, sheet rock and had a heavy concentration on fiberglass shards. This one clue led us to look at the attics of these homes.
What we finally found was the dirt and insulation forming the line was coming down the wall cavity from the attic and picking up sheet rock dust and construction debris left in the wall. Air would enter the wall through holes in the attic on the top plate of the walls and be pulled down to the baseboard.
The carpet actually worked much like a furnace filter stopping a portion of this dirt and debris before it entered the home, but a large amount still entered the home and was pulled around by bath fans, clothes dryer vents, kitchen hoods, and the air conditioning system. All these devices will create a negative pressure in a home causing this dust problem to be accelerated. The holes in the walls were drilled by the electricians, plumbers and HVAC installers to allow wires, pipes and cables to be pulled through the house. The holes are also produce wasted energy costs.
A few years ago, it was not required by the building code to seal this holes and it created a very dusty indoor environment. Today, it is a requirement to completely seal the attic around all openings, but this has only been in effect a few years. The way to stop all this leakage is to seal and caulk all the openings keeping this dirt and insulation in the attic.
It is also a good idea to seal around electrical outlets and a/c ducts. Even though it is now required to seal these openings, one should have their attic checked to make sure it was correctly performed. This lack of sealing also causes much of the heated and cooled air in a home to be pulled into the attics and other unconditioned areas where it is wasted.
All homes should be checked to make sure all these construction gaps and holes are sealed and caulked. The space around the attic staircase should be airtight and sealed along with all the air conditioning grills and registers. This simple repair will cut down on dirt buildup and save hundreds of dollars on wasted energy costs. Call the experts at www.reliableair.com for help.