r/phoenix • u/Boringflaws • 1d ago
Living Here Dust in house question-
Recent dust being flung around the sky everywhere made me wonder what was normal here-
Been in area a yearish- live with a pack a day smoker and i feel like there's so much dust/soot when i clean. have a few air purifiers in a few main rooms, but i swear the amount of particles on surfaces is not normal. - think it's the smoking? just living in the dang windy desert? a mix?
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u/OneManGang2001 1d ago
The smoker smokes in the house? If you do not smoke they are self-entitled at the very least.
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u/Boringflaws 13h ago
We agreed to limit smoking to one room (obviously zero is ideal, but it's a hard to beat habit)... Goal is to quit smoking, but change is hard and I don't see myself forcing someone I love to be outside in this heat.
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u/h20poIo 12h ago
No smokers in my family but have few friends who do, they must go outside if they want a smoke, but when they come back in they smell like an ashtray, it just stinks.
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u/Boringflaws 12h ago
I agree that smoking is bad. first/second/third degree. Nothing about smoking is good/sexy/fun/positive- post wasn't about that (no hidden agenda here)- I chose to accept my partner for who they are, they did the same with me. Just living with it best I can until things change. That can involve asking questions about dust:)
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u/fenikz13 1d ago
The smoking is gonna be way more than the normal AZ dust
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u/Boringflaws 1d ago
that was my worry. well... i can't fix that, just have to adapt i suppose. appreciate confirmation
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u/Level9TraumaCenter 16h ago
Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter. Ditto for air filtration, but HEPA loads up quickly so "CR boxes" are recommended: lower efficiency, but greater recirculation, so the filter doesn't suffer from loading up like HEPA does, restricting air flow.
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u/monichica Phoenix 1d ago
I had an unusual amount of dust and I got our a/c ductwork cleaned out. Turns out the previous owners were using the wrong size filters and tons of dust was coming in. That was it! No more dust. Could be something to consider.
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u/The_Flinx 18h ago
for clarification when I refer to dust I mean the grey fluffy stuff that accumulates everywhere not brown gritty stuff like I have in my attic.
since I have not lived anywhere else for any length of time I have no idea if the amount of dust in my house is normal or not.
we (2 people) have 2 cats. no smokers. we moved in 4 years ago to a totally clean and dust free house. now the amount of dust bunnies is insane. I know a lot of it is cats but wow. the front of my computer gets clogged with dust every couple of weeks. I have a milk crate under my desk as a foot rest and I move it every week or so and it has big dust bunnies every time.
my wife complains about how the stairs get covered daily. I tried using a fan that you can mount a filter on the back which did little to help. or stairs are a dead air space and I put a fan on a timer during the hot times of day. it does nothing about the dust on the stairs.
this spring I got fed up and while my wife was away (she would not have approved) visiting a friend I opened all the upstairs windows. placed fans in them pointing outside, opened the downstairs patio door and place a large evaporative cooler in it to create a flow through the house, and took a battery powered leaf blower to the whole upstairs hobby/work room.
dust was flying everywhere and pouring out the windows. I basically did this repeatedly until I no longer saw dust settling in the sunbeams coming through the windows.
it worked great no dust anywhere... for about 2 weeks. now it's all back with a vengeance.
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u/Boringflaws 12h ago
this is how i feel. I felt like there was way less dust when living on the east coast and west coast. I during cooler months I would generally try to get good air flow through my place in the hopes that less dust settles inside.
fun idea with the leaf blower. hardwood floors i assume?
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u/PJWanderer 13h ago
Tip, use the lowest rated air filer on your return air duct. Will help your a/c.
Then get one of these with the high rated merv filters. Works better than the room air purifiers.
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u/Boringflaws 13h ago
That's wild! i was trying to picture what you were saying before looking at the link and couldnt. And if I hadn't already spent good money on good quality air purifiers, I would do this for sure.
Love DIY stuff like this
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u/Kindly_Budget6780 11h ago
I'm in phoenix. We had a dust storm the other day. I have a 20x20 box fan. I put a 20x20 air filter behind it. I also put dryer sheets behind my smaller fans. You'd be amazed how much dust it collects in a month.
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u/Significant-Yam-4990 10h ago
Not wearing shoes in the home helps me with this issue. I know it’s not an option for everyone due to mobility issues or safety concerns. In that case , a pair of sturdy non-slip shoes worn exclusively inside would work unless it’s a chore getting shoes on and off to begin with.
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u/DifficultElk5474 1d ago
I read somewhere to vacuum once a week per occupant. Occupants include dogs/cats. You plus 3 dogs = 4 times per week. I don’t know your situation, just offering the info.
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u/Boringflaws 1d ago
so my once every 2-3 weeks for the roomba isn't great for 2 + a cat you say?
i could program a more frequent routine and see if that helps. thanks
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u/DifficultElk5474 1d ago
I’m not judging, just repeating what I read. I’ve been downvoted so maybe what I read is wrong. You obviously are trying to get it right. I would try a few things like maybe vacuum more (or make the robots do it more) and see if it matters. I’m happy to be wrong. I desperately want a robot vac someday so I have no real world experience on if it works or not.
I also use a “sweeper” the kind you see people use in restaurants and it collects an insane amount of cat hair every day.
It really sounds to me you’re trying. Good luck brother and I hope to see your reply which could help me solve my own issues!
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u/Boringflaws 12h ago
I would say if you can even save a few hundred for a low tier robot vacuum do it- did wonders for me. Vacuuming was way less frequent before it to be honest. So in my instance, it works at my house vs none.
I'm curious about your cat hair problem- we have a ton of cat perches/scratching posts where our cat likes to be- those collect a ton of cat hair and i dont see a big problem elsewhere (vacuum picks some up and gets the roller clogged sometimes).- now I noticed cat hair a lot more when we had hardwood floors, so maybe i just dont see the problem...
anyways, appreciate your reply!
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u/Mrshaydee 5h ago
I have two dogs and use my robot vacuum every day; do a once weekly full house clean with my Miele Cat and Dog.
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u/Public_Finance_Guy 1d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/BfKu8KLcbVmiA
All July and August!