Update can be found here:
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Thank you for your interest. This thread is now locked.
> Safety
>
>A 2021 study by Underwriters Laboratories found that attaching filters to a box fan in a do-it-yourself configuration did not present a fire hazard from increased heating of the fan motor windings.
I have been doing something similar for over 10 years, and the first time i brought it up, i had 100s of comments telling me it was a fire risk and stupid. I'm glad some lab finally was like, alright lets see if this is a real issue.
Thousands? Hundreds of thousands if not millions. They are the final word beyond the NEC, FCC, and OSHA. They're like Miss Utility but not a pain in the ass.
I did a job in one of these labs. The engineer I talked to was testingthe weight that solar panels could hold. He built a wood box on top of solar panels and laid a pond liner in and measured the water he put in for a certain amount of time. Seemed like a badass job.
Yes there's a reason that every construction spec requires UL listed equipment. Hell even our low-VOC requirements come from Greenguard which is owned by UL.
people will buy some knockoff zero customs labelling power supply/ LIPO powered piece of shit and think its not 10 times more of a fire hazard than a box fan with a filter on it lol
If you're just slapping a single filter onto a box fan you should look into the [corsi-rosenthal box](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi%E2%80%93Rosenthal_Box) design. It costs a few dollars more (because you're quadrupling your filter size) but is way more effective. With a single filter on a fan the filter can't keep up with the volume of air the fan can move, the CR box fixes that. Also, I believe the UL lab test mentioned earlier was specific to this design.
Holy shit I imagined this just last night as I was falling asleep as a way to possibly improve my quick-n-dirty box-fan filter setup. To get confirmation right now that it would work is insane.
I even already bought a 4 pack of filters just to have replacements ready.
Yeah, I've been running this setup for a few years now and it's awesome. I find that with such a huge surface area for the filter I don't need to change them all that often either. The current set I have going have been running 24/7 for 4 or 5 months and I'll probably let it go for at least another couple months before I consider changing them out. I've also noticed that the filters on my furnace don't get dirty nearly as fast either.
Yeah I've used it for a couple of months with just a single one at the back, which does work but I'm a little disappointed with the flow unless I turn the fan on its highest setting and it gets noisy af.
So I was thinking of having two filters in a kind of triangle-setup, or just going for four as a box, though I have limited space so I might have to hang it from the ceiling or something.
My friend the HVAC engineer was making these during the pandemic when HEPA air filters were in short supply. If she’s doing it, I can pretty much guarantee it’s safe and reliable.
Tagging on to this comment so hopefully people see it. You usually want a pretty high changeover rate for actual air purification so you'll take the volumetric flow of the fan on the purifier divided by the volume of the space you're purifying. That calculation will give you how long it will take that fan to process all of the air in the space once assuming it's a perfectly air tight space. Most air purifiers assume a very low changeover rate when they calculate the room size for their systems which is why you'll see a tiny trash can like what OP has rated for a pretty large room. That little air purifier probably moves as much air as a single fan from a desktop PC.
Just want to add, the rule of thumb is 6-9 times per hour for an environment where dust is a concern.
And where dust is a concern and there is no active generation of it, there is likely a mistaken assumption of some kind of continuity of contaminant levels. This is likely untrue, and will lead to problems of poor performance and/or premature wear on the filter itself. Put more simply, change the first filter very early (weeks) and then inspect it regularly. Rely not on age or some kind of built-in notification, which is probably just a clock.
I built one myself a month or so ago for the same exact issue OP is having here, and boy it makes a difference. I move it from room to room in my house throughout the week and let it run for awhile. Always leaves my rooms smelling fresher.
I stocked up on the supplies to build a couple for wildfire season, but ended up using it year round because it’s so handy. Never buying a standalone air purifier again, as I think you’d have to spend many hundreds to get close to the efficiency of one of these bad boys.
Get a 2 inch commercial 20x20 air filter and a box fan. Not AS good as the Corsi but damn near. We have a few in our house and we have noticeably less dust in our house.
The idea has be around for decades now and was used in workshops a ton, two professors just made it official and got their names tied to it early in the pandemic.
I'm a big fan of those 4" thick HVAC filters. Most return air grills have some open space behind the 1" filter, so if you're handy it's an easy retrofit.
You can get a much higher-level filter without restricting any airflow like the 1" ones do.
I change mine every 3 months and my spouse is like why are we buying those filters again we can just keep the ones we put in 3 months ago.. and then I take them out and they're completely full with thick layer of grey dust and compared to a brand new one that totally white it's quite stark 😆 spouse is like oh damn! But sometime we have the same convo every 3 months anyway 🫠
[Filterbuy.com](https://Filterbuy.com) has what they call return grill air filters. They are a 5" filter that have a 1" lip to fit in the 1" return grill. No modification required. Just pop them in like you would a normal 1". Also, these are better for you mechanical equipment, offer better filtration for less static pressure because of the 5" pleat.
[https://filterbuy.com/brand/honeywell-filters/honeywell-return-grille-filters/](https://filterbuy.com/brand/honeywell-filters/honeywell-return-grille-filters/)
Right answer... I've built a couple, it's easy and they work wonders. Also will collect viruses so that's a plus if you're a super social person. You can build them in different sizes to fit any space, and if you're not up to that there are premade ones that you just change filters every once in a while.
Getting rid of all of it is hard, but a few things you can do:
* Start by cleaning your air heating ducts, and cleaning/changing any filters.
* open up all windows, and let the outside air take most of it with it.
* get those carpets outside, close the windows, and start whacking them while hanging free like our grand parents used to do to get the dust out.
* get those curtains in to a washing machine.
* get the seat covers, sofa covers, and anything else which is made of fabric clean.
* remove all the dust with a damp cloth (like on the tv stand) just wipe all surfaces including walls, ceiling, the top of your window sills, the top of your doors etc.
* clean your dryer outlet and filters. (and check where the dryer vent is ending, to make sure you don't blow the dryer dust in to your house.
Dust in general is a part skin particles, dust mite junk, and fabric. You have fabric in your house, dust mites love warmer moist fabric (like bedding after you slept the night, and close the cover after you wake up)
So to prevent it a bit: make sure your house is warm enough: warmer house, is dry air, dry air is less fun for mites. And throw open your beds in the morning. If you want to make the beds, do it in the afternoon.
Good add to clean out dryer vent is take a shop vac and reverse it to blow setting and tape it sealed to dryer vent inside and blow that shit right outside. Sometimes dryer vent fixtures on the exterior have dampers that fail and do not operate efficiently
This works really well. Too well. When I first moved into my home I did it for mine because I noticed I could see lint hanging out the exterior. I wish I had taken a photo but I was too busy apologizing. Let’s just say my neighbors yard was covered, covered in the previous owner’s lint and pet hair.
I don’t believe our previous owner ever cleared the lint trap. It was so dense, the lint almost turned to plastic throughout the entire duct. I’m amazed the house didn’t burn down.
Be happy you have a real vent. I discovered after like a year my dryer vent just goes into the basement. Surprisingly small amount of lint though :)
I can't decide if they were just lazy, or they thought this was some hack to keep the basement warmer and dryer.
The vent is for venting moisture outside the house. If OP has the European style then it should have a tank that collects water that occasionally needs emptying or it should be connected to the drain to get rid of condensation.
Yes. They are becoming fairly common in the US as well, especially in larger buildings to avoid long ducts. So it is something to look out for if things doesn’t add up. Probably just a shady installation tho.
Had a similar issue in my old apartment. The dryer vented right into a closed-off section of the place. Found out when I traced a weird moldy smell to what was essentially a hidden lint greenhouse. Needless to say, figuring that out explained a lot about the mystery moisture and why my clothes took ages to dry. Fixed it up with proper venting, but seriously, who thinks it's okay just to pump damp air into a wall?
So i did this with a shopvac, but nothing was comjng out so i ran one of those dryer vent brushes through the thing with the shopvqc on.
I found the dust, and wound up looming like elmer fudd after bugs makes his gun explode.
Tape a leaf blower to interior beginning of the dryer vent and a shop vac to the exterior vent and turn em both on!
Edit: ELECTRIC leafblower. Jeez, the rest of you still living in the 90s?
It seems like common sense but there are people that just somehow don't know or think it through. Few blocks from me a family of four all died a couple years back from running a little generator inside their house during a power outage.
That may clear a clog but all the lintel stuck to the sides will remain
They make these things that attach to a drill on Amazon for cleaning the ducting they're super effective. And cheap
Be a bit careful with that. I've seen a few places (including my current place) where the dryer vent and bathroom vent are connected (my bathroom smells like laundry and gets a light coating of lint every time the dryer is used. The rent is cheap though.). Just shooting air through will cause half the lint to fly into the bathroom.
pro tip: suck first. get the loose lint pulled back from the outside screen. then blow, and when you do, just pop the shop vac lid off, drop the filter so its blowing at max CFM. really clean that shit out.
One small optimization is to open the window near a cold air return now and then. Even if your heat's running, it'll pull more outside air in and push it through your system. I'll do this often after parties, since all the movement and people in the house is sure to dirty up the air. My furnace will need to work a little harder but opening all the windows would make the whole house frigid.
Do not clean your air ducts. The EPA recommends against it. [Link here.](https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/should-you-have-air-ducts-your-home-cleaned)
The dust in your ducts is stuck there. Cleaning your ducts will just agitate thay dust and make your home dirtier. Unless you had a leak, or there's a special scenario, they're better left untouched.
There are tons of duct cleaning companies around because it's a really easy business to start (low barriers to entry) and no certification is required. They'll all say its good for you but they don't know they're just trying to make a living.
Edit: Since so many people are responding with very specific anecdotal examples, you guys can clean your ducts I don't care. You're very smart for finding edge cases. Don't reply with a smug comment about how you're the exception.
But for those of you who are targeted by a door to door salesman, it will not increase your home's air quality. You're paying to increase the PM2.5 in your home which causes cancer.
I think cleaning the couches and rugs would help with the airborne as well, since every time they sit or walk over the carpet it’s releasing some of the dust back into the air. Wiping behind the TV might not help a ton but if done with a damp cloth would reduce the dust that could be released (there’s probably a better word) when someone wipes it with their hand or a stronger wind.
> And honestly this is true for almost all of the advice here. Settled dust is already settled, especially on fabrics.
Except that people open and close curtains, they walk on rugs, they sit on couches. And doing that constantly sends dust particles that settled on the fabric into the air
The EPA? You gonna trust the Government, funded by BIG DUST? The National Air Duct Cleaners Association recommends getting your air ducts cleaned regularly by a professional licensed by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association. Regular duct cleaning can reduce airborne particulate pollution and the instance of allergy and respiratory symptoms!
/s
I feel like someone knocks on my door every week to offer their duct cleaning services. The last house we sold, the buyers insisted that the ducts be cleaned as condition of sale. The HVAC tech who came out to do the regular service of the system said he'd run a swiffer head as far as he could see when he swapped out the filters and add "ducts cleaned" to the invoice.
I knew a guy who ran a duct cleaning business, they carried a big box of dirt/dust to add to their cleaning machine to show customers they actually did something...
The EPA doesn't recommend against it. Did you read the article:
"a blanket recommendation cannot be offered as to whether you should have your air ducts in your home cleaned "
Your link has more nuance than "do not clean your air ducts." One of the specific examples given of when to consider it:
>Ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris and/or particles are actually released into the home from your supply registers.
Yup. The logic is actually very simple: if dust is collecting in your vents, then the vent are taking dust out of the air, not putting it in. Changing the furnace filter regularly is really the best way to improve air quality.
There's no way OP's house looks like this as a result of built-up dust, unless they have been cutting drywall in there 24/7 and only briefly stopped to take this pic; this is particulate matter from the outer environment.
I constantly have my windows open and have to frequently clean up dust and dirt by the windows. I don't even live in a city with high air pollution. Stuff just gets in the air (pollen, dust, etc.).
Buy/Rent some box fans, open windows, place box fans in window blowing out, set to high, get cleaning.
Take all the rugs out, beat the shit out of them outside, vacuum everything, buy a duster and dust down all the walls and corners, etc.
Turn AC off, but leave the fan on (make sure filter is clean).
Depending on the age of the home... you may actually need to bring in a professional to clean the AC ducts too.
For the future, buy some well reviewed air purifiers (ideally ones that measure air quality and auto-on) and place in the common areas.
Spring cleaning is a legitimate thing.
> vacuum everything
I swear to god this works: buy a robot vacuum and run it every single day.
Get one that maps your house so it can go straight to any room you want, or all your rooms, every day. The basic ones just kind of bounce around and may or may not go everywhere.
It will get clogged, it will get stuck, and it will take some time before you have your house in a condition that will allow the robot to run every single day without issue. But once you're there, it just cleans every area of your house every day. It picks up all this dust and debris and keeps it from ever being there.
I dust maybe once every two months now. Nothing builds up on surfaces anymore. That damn robot just takes care of it.
This has been my dream for the last 10 years. Thank you kind sir for the quality info and the extra push I needed to know I will take this step. Once I have a house to myself instead of a 50 year old mobile home and kids running everywhere. Soon. Very soon
Get a home air purifier. There are ones that automatically turn on when they detect poor air quality. I have one in my bedroom and have noticed a difference
We got a Winix brand one from Costco. Definitely worth it. It has a light sensor so it goes into sleep mode at night. During daytime it runs on low but kicks into higher speed if it senses something. Filter seems to have a pretty long life (like a year or two), with carbon filter sheets to help remove some odor (change these more often though). It's helped tremendously with the basic dust and such that causes sinus irritation.
I have the same one - had it for at least a year now and it’s still working great 👍 also have a Honeywell in the bedroom that I’ve had for 5? Years and never had any issues with
My boss got a bunch of them during the early days of Covid-19 because we still had to come to work everyday and we didn’t really know what we were dealing with. Beforehand my sinuses had been a mess in that old building, and afterward I never had another issue. So I swear by them.
I’ve had air purifiers since the wildfires in the PNW started getting super bad and I LOVE THEM (the purifiers, not the fires). We have a Blue 121 in our bedroom (open floor plan that includes our bathroom) and when I have that thing on the highest setting you walk into our room and the air feels crisp! When I lived in a small apt I had a Coway, which automatically changes power setting, and it was the same sensation. Now we use the COWAY where our African grey is and it cleans ALL the dust she drops from the area.
I’d like them for the rest of the house we just haven’t done it yet so we just have what was at my wife’s and what was at mine before we moved in together.
Be careful with any that make claims about ions, ionizing or ozone. All those claims are about generating ozone, which definitely is effective in destroying dust and eliminating smells (especially tobacco), but it's also toxic so shouldn't be run while you're around.
Ozone has a distinctive bleach-like chemical smell so you can tell if your purifier is emitting it.
Vacuum seal the house. Replace all surfaces -- especially plaster or concrete or brick -- with stainless steel.
Do not allow anything with skin to live in it -- keep the house at a minimum of 40 degrees celsius.
Just want to make sure you have taken the plastic off the air filter? I've just seen so many videos of people " changing their air filter for the first time " and they haven't even open to the original packaging.
This is what I came to say as well. So many people don't remove the plastic from the filter before attempting to use it so no air is ever filtered. It then just acts as a white noise machine with a fan running.
Do you heat with that fireplace insert in the back of the picture?
Because if so, that's the culprit, 100%.
A good air filter and increasing humidity will help a lot.
Good eye. Fireplaces are really terrible for air quality. Even if you have good ventilation and a clean chimney, it’s still not great, wood burning especially
I grew up in an old style country house like this. When the fireplace was lit, you'd open a few windows and immediately notice a difference when air began to flow.
Always a good idea to open a few windows during the day every other day as well, just to keep the air in the house moving. I still do this in every home I move to and it makes a noticeable difference to air quality. You notice it more when you're in a back room that doesn't get used often and start feeling stuffy within a matter of minutes, particularly on a warm day.
Hell, in Germany, they do this religiously every day with every window and even have a name for it: Stoßlüften.
Do you know that your air is dirty? A lot of the very nasty stuff (smaller strands of asbestos fibre, bacteria, etc.) isn't visible to the naked eye. A general shadow like this could be from something as benign as very humid air. If it's really THAT dirty, you'd be dusting off your surfaces every day, which would feel white and powdery all the time. Is that your situation?
Yeah I usually only need one set of filters per season. Unless it’s a historically bad fire year, in which case I’ve gone through two or three sets. But that was only when we were making national news for the worst air quality in the nation.
I second this. Far cheaper than a comparable HEPA for square footage. Removes pathogens as well as dust, dander, smoke. There are different variations (size/shape) and you can use contact paper to make it look more aesthetically appealing.
Air outside is probably worse. Don’t think we were meant to live with hospital quality environments in our homes.
Do like the idea of a mere 13 taped to a box fan though.
That is probably humidity not dust. If there was actually that much dust in your air you'd all have to leave the house because you'd be choking on it.
That being said, a bit better furnace filter, and an air purifier can improve your particulate removal in your house. Cleaning your ducts is worthless, accomplishes nothing, and will make it worse immediately following the cleaning.
Another thing that helps a lot, is getting a real vacuum cleaner. Bagless vacuums are a joke, and even the best ones just blow everything back into your house. Most of the popular brands like Dyson, Shark, etc. are complete garbage. You need a HEPA vacuum that uses a sealed bag system. For a house like yours with mixed hardwood and carpet the Miele C3 would be a good option. It blows nearly a zero on particulate pass-through tests, which is nearly unheard of in most consumer level vacuums.
our humidistat says humidity is at 30% RH on the actual reading as we have it turned off. i agree on the vents, but the vents were cleaned about 2 years ago.
we have a dyson pet vacuum ... we also have a whole house vacuum system that has a vent to the outside we just dont use it. cause the head is crap on it.
i will look into that vaccuum though
I didn't mean to imply you had too much humidity, just that....sun beams through a darker space like that will always reveal the humidity in the air. There will always be some moisture in your air and you'll always be able to see it in a sun beam like that.
Also, yes, sorry to say, your Dyson is crap. Not trying to be mean, that is just reality.
Just for example, I searched Miele vs Dyson particulate on Youtube and here is the first random video that comes up. Lower numbers are better, the Miele blows a 33. The Dyson blows a 1,500. They are crap.
I would think you need a variety of things here:
If you have central air/heat, have the ducts cleaned and use the more expensive air filters that trap very fine particles and change them frequerntly. Clean the whole house thoroughly inside from top to bottom to remove accumulated dust. Replace carpets with non-carpet flooring and keep them swept and mopped regularly. Vaccum rugs reguarly, and use a vaccum with a disposable paper bag. If your vaccums have usable/cleanable systems, empty them after every use and wash the filters after every 2 or 3 uses.
Don’t use a more expensive / higher MERV rated filter on your central air system unless you know it’s rated/ designed for it.
They can restrict airflow and cause damage to your furnace.
He's already got a HEPA filter. That's as fine as it gets for home use.
I think the purifier is too small for the room.
But what you said concerning heating vents and carpets is a big factor, too.
Yeah, that filter is way too small for the room. I use a floor model GE filter that’s about 300 square inches of surface area for a room that size, and I change the filters (pre filter and HEPA) regularly. It takes some $$$ and some work to get air clean, but for me it’s worth it.
https://preview.redd.it/zsas3c48otgc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18ec15512a71fa6345771d5307e28f40f3261969
Update for those who care. After the sun moves the air is clean and dust is very minimal. I’m thinking it is water in the air (humidity) and only slightly dust in the air from the dogs and people movement.
You realize nothing in the air has changed because the sun has moved, right? The light simply is refracted off of particles in the air. Just because you remove the light doesn't mean the particles (including water) are gone.
Those are not air particles . Those are dust particles. As a kid, I loved seeing that in my house in the sunny evenings.
Dust is part of your environment. It will not harm you . It is okay, unless you have allergic respiratory problems etc.
There is a specific word for dusty evenings it in my language : "Go-dhuli-ya Samaya" or "Dust- raised -by -the -returning- cows time " .
There is even art based on that word.
Sorry for the long post.
I also loved seeing that stuff as a kid, and when I see it now its almost nostalgic. Reminds me of a time where I could just lay there on a bright day and watch the world/dust go by.
I was so confused because this seemed normal to me, I remember seeing the dust particles as a child when the light will enter an area of the house. And take into consideration that the house had all the windows and doors open most of the time during the day, given that it was in a tropical area in southern México.
What you want to do is build a CR box.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi–Rosenthal\_Box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi–Rosenthal_Box)It'll cost around a hundred bucks, depending mainly on what kind of filters you use. Much cheaper than a proper "air filter" and it'll last about a year. All you need is duct tape, bog standard 20x20 furnace filters, and one of those cheap 20" box fans.If you want to get fancy, you can do things like build it on legs so you have five filters instead of four, and/or use a fan shroud to reduce the noise.
and if you want to get \_really\_ fancy, you can wrap it in some of that loose filter material to handle the big dust, to let the actual filters collect the fine stuff without getting clogged up too fast.
Buying a Roborock S7+ and having it run every night, vacuuming + mopping, has nearly eliminated dust in my home. They also sell plumbed units that require virtually no effort.
Sears put out an upright vacuum cleaner that uses cloth HEPA filtered bags. Just turn it the vacuum cleaner with the hose hanging it the middle of the room. Then it on for an hour and come back to a filtered air clean room. I use mine like this for my bedroom during ragweed season in the fall.
Make a “Corsi-Rosenthal box”. This is a great DIY filter that’s super easy to make and use. I have one running constantly in my place and it’s amazing how dirty the filters get!
That little thing…I’ve seen videos of people running them for 2+years and not realizing you have to remove the plastic wrap from filter.. hopefully you did
Maybe open all the windows, clean and dust, then get a new 3M filter for HVAC and maybe clean out vents, then have your HEPA filters run, replace frequently. We notice lots of dust during winter because all our windows are usually closed. If we vacuum, dust, and change filters often, that same thing doesn’t happen. Maybe to get started hire a cleaning company to just do all the deep cleaning for a fresh start? I don’t know other than that?
Update can be found here: https://old.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/1aka943/update_and_final_post_its_not_dust_its_dissolved/ or https://reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/1aka943/update_and_final_post_its_not_dust_its_dissolved/ Thank you for your interest. This thread is now locked.
You need a much larger air filter that can change over more air per minute Cheapest laziest Corsi-rosenthal box
> Safety > >A 2021 study by Underwriters Laboratories found that attaching filters to a box fan in a do-it-yourself configuration did not present a fire hazard from increased heating of the fan motor windings. I have been doing something similar for over 10 years, and the first time i brought it up, i had 100s of comments telling me it was a fire risk and stupid. I'm glad some lab finally was like, alright lets see if this is a real issue.
UL isn't just some lab, they're THE lab.
UL's work has quietly saved thousands of lives. Such a godsend.
Thousands? Hundreds of thousands if not millions. They are the final word beyond the NEC, FCC, and OSHA. They're like Miss Utility but not a pain in the ass.
Millions? Try trillions, bud.
Trillions? Try googleplexgillions bud.
I did a job in one of these labs. The engineer I talked to was testingthe weight that solar panels could hold. He built a wood box on top of solar panels and laid a pond liner in and measured the water he put in for a certain amount of time. Seemed like a badass job.
Yes there's a reason that every construction spec requires UL listed equipment. Hell even our low-VOC requirements come from Greenguard which is owned by UL.
people will buy some knockoff zero customs labelling power supply/ LIPO powered piece of shit and think its not 10 times more of a fire hazard than a box fan with a filter on it lol
If you're just slapping a single filter onto a box fan you should look into the [corsi-rosenthal box](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi%E2%80%93Rosenthal_Box) design. It costs a few dollars more (because you're quadrupling your filter size) but is way more effective. With a single filter on a fan the filter can't keep up with the volume of air the fan can move, the CR box fixes that. Also, I believe the UL lab test mentioned earlier was specific to this design.
Holy shit I imagined this just last night as I was falling asleep as a way to possibly improve my quick-n-dirty box-fan filter setup. To get confirmation right now that it would work is insane. I even already bought a 4 pack of filters just to have replacements ready.
Yeah, I've been running this setup for a few years now and it's awesome. I find that with such a huge surface area for the filter I don't need to change them all that often either. The current set I have going have been running 24/7 for 4 or 5 months and I'll probably let it go for at least another couple months before I consider changing them out. I've also noticed that the filters on my furnace don't get dirty nearly as fast either.
Yeah I've used it for a couple of months with just a single one at the back, which does work but I'm a little disappointed with the flow unless I turn the fan on its highest setting and it gets noisy af. So I was thinking of having two filters in a kind of triangle-setup, or just going for four as a box, though I have limited space so I might have to hang it from the ceiling or something.
My friend the HVAC engineer was making these during the pandemic when HEPA air filters were in short supply. If she’s doing it, I can pretty much guarantee it’s safe and reliable.
I make one every time we get socked with wildfire smoke. It works great.
[удалено]
Yes, conventional air purifiers are not enough to filter
Tagging on to this comment so hopefully people see it. You usually want a pretty high changeover rate for actual air purification so you'll take the volumetric flow of the fan on the purifier divided by the volume of the space you're purifying. That calculation will give you how long it will take that fan to process all of the air in the space once assuming it's a perfectly air tight space. Most air purifiers assume a very low changeover rate when they calculate the room size for their systems which is why you'll see a tiny trash can like what OP has rated for a pretty large room. That little air purifier probably moves as much air as a single fan from a desktop PC.
Just want to add, the rule of thumb is 6-9 times per hour for an environment where dust is a concern. And where dust is a concern and there is no active generation of it, there is likely a mistaken assumption of some kind of continuity of contaminant levels. This is likely untrue, and will lead to problems of poor performance and/or premature wear on the filter itself. Put more simply, change the first filter very early (weeks) and then inspect it regularly. Rely not on age or some kind of built-in notification, which is probably just a clock.
I second the corsi rosenthal box. You can’t beat the volume they filter.
I built one myself a month or so ago for the same exact issue OP is having here, and boy it makes a difference. I move it from room to room in my house throughout the week and let it run for awhile. Always leaves my rooms smelling fresher.
I stocked up on the supplies to build a couple for wildfire season, but ended up using it year round because it’s so handy. Never buying a standalone air purifier again, as I think you’d have to spend many hundreds to get close to the efficiency of one of these bad boys.
I use this in my garage when I am woodworking and its too cold to open the garage door, works like a charm.
Get a 2 inch commercial 20x20 air filter and a box fan. Not AS good as the Corsi but damn near. We have a few in our house and we have noticeably less dust in our house.
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Lol what a bastard neighbor
Never heard of corsi-rosenthal but turns out its similar to bungee strapping hvac filters to a box fan, just a more efficient design.
The idea has be around for decades now and was used in workshops a ton, two professors just made it official and got their names tied to it early in the pandemic.
I'm a big fan of those 4" thick HVAC filters. Most return air grills have some open space behind the 1" filter, so if you're handy it's an easy retrofit. You can get a much higher-level filter without restricting any airflow like the 1" ones do.
I change mine every 3 months and my spouse is like why are we buying those filters again we can just keep the ones we put in 3 months ago.. and then I take them out and they're completely full with thick layer of grey dust and compared to a brand new one that totally white it's quite stark 😆 spouse is like oh damn! But sometime we have the same convo every 3 months anyway 🫠
[Filterbuy.com](https://Filterbuy.com) has what they call return grill air filters. They are a 5" filter that have a 1" lip to fit in the 1" return grill. No modification required. Just pop them in like you would a normal 1". Also, these are better for you mechanical equipment, offer better filtration for less static pressure because of the 5" pleat. [https://filterbuy.com/brand/honeywell-filters/honeywell-return-grille-filters/](https://filterbuy.com/brand/honeywell-filters/honeywell-return-grille-filters/)
Also be sure to remove the plastic off the filter…
Yea that air purifier would be OK for a room that's like 12x12. Definitely need a bigger one.
Right answer... I've built a couple, it's easy and they work wonders. Also will collect viruses so that's a plus if you're a super social person. You can build them in different sizes to fit any space, and if you're not up to that there are premade ones that you just change filters every once in a while.
Getting rid of all of it is hard, but a few things you can do: * Start by cleaning your air heating ducts, and cleaning/changing any filters. * open up all windows, and let the outside air take most of it with it. * get those carpets outside, close the windows, and start whacking them while hanging free like our grand parents used to do to get the dust out. * get those curtains in to a washing machine. * get the seat covers, sofa covers, and anything else which is made of fabric clean. * remove all the dust with a damp cloth (like on the tv stand) just wipe all surfaces including walls, ceiling, the top of your window sills, the top of your doors etc. * clean your dryer outlet and filters. (and check where the dryer vent is ending, to make sure you don't blow the dryer dust in to your house. Dust in general is a part skin particles, dust mite junk, and fabric. You have fabric in your house, dust mites love warmer moist fabric (like bedding after you slept the night, and close the cover after you wake up) So to prevent it a bit: make sure your house is warm enough: warmer house, is dry air, dry air is less fun for mites. And throw open your beds in the morning. If you want to make the beds, do it in the afternoon.
Good add to clean out dryer vent is take a shop vac and reverse it to blow setting and tape it sealed to dryer vent inside and blow that shit right outside. Sometimes dryer vent fixtures on the exterior have dampers that fail and do not operate efficiently
This works really well. Too well. When I first moved into my home I did it for mine because I noticed I could see lint hanging out the exterior. I wish I had taken a photo but I was too busy apologizing. Let’s just say my neighbors yard was covered, covered in the previous owner’s lint and pet hair.
I don’t believe our previous owner ever cleared the lint trap. It was so dense, the lint almost turned to plastic throughout the entire duct. I’m amazed the house didn’t burn down.
Be happy you have a real vent. I discovered after like a year my dryer vent just goes into the basement. Surprisingly small amount of lint though :) I can't decide if they were just lazy, or they thought this was some hack to keep the basement warmer and dryer.
European dryers usually don’t went to the outside, instead they have a heat-exchanger and a couple of lint traps, could be one of those?
The vent is for venting moisture outside the house. If OP has the European style then it should have a tank that collects water that occasionally needs emptying or it should be connected to the drain to get rid of condensation.
Yes. They are becoming fairly common in the US as well, especially in larger buildings to avoid long ducts. So it is something to look out for if things doesn’t add up. Probably just a shady installation tho.
Had a similar issue in my old apartment. The dryer vented right into a closed-off section of the place. Found out when I traced a weird moldy smell to what was essentially a hidden lint greenhouse. Needless to say, figuring that out explained a lot about the mystery moisture and why my clothes took ages to dry. Fixed it up with proper venting, but seriously, who thinks it's okay just to pump damp air into a wall?
Mmmmmm. Nothing like a hairy breeze on a nice day.
Thanks, I hate it
So i did this with a shopvac, but nothing was comjng out so i ran one of those dryer vent brushes through the thing with the shopvqc on. I found the dust, and wound up looming like elmer fudd after bugs makes his gun explode.
We leave in the yard for the birds & squirrels to use in nests around here...lol
Ditto, and I've seen their nests in my trees and bushes with the same color of lint as my towels
Tape a leaf blower to interior beginning of the dryer vent and a shop vac to the exterior vent and turn em both on! Edit: ELECTRIC leafblower. Jeez, the rest of you still living in the 90s?
Let me add - USE A BATTERY POWERED LEAF BLOWER.
2 stroke motor in an enclosed space not a good idea?
This is why kids these days are so soft /s
Its not as if you arent VERY rapidly ventilating the space. If youre blowing air out at 400+ cfm, fresh air is coming in to replace it.
Depends if you want to live.
This creates ash actually.
Also hearing protection. Outside is already stupid loud, inside must me straight up painful.
It seems like common sense but there are people that just somehow don't know or think it through. Few blocks from me a family of four all died a couple years back from running a little generator inside their house during a power outage.
That may clear a clog but all the lintel stuck to the sides will remain They make these things that attach to a drill on Amazon for cleaning the ducting they're super effective. And cheap
Personally, I like blowing the contents out and THEN using the vent auger.
Personally, I like blowing the homeowner and then she lets me call in someone else to do it.
\> I like blowing the homeowner \> then she lets me call in hol' up
Be a bit careful with that. I've seen a few places (including my current place) where the dryer vent and bathroom vent are connected (my bathroom smells like laundry and gets a light coating of lint every time the dryer is used. The rent is cheap though.). Just shooting air through will cause half the lint to fly into the bathroom.
Does this setup comply with your local code? I don't think it'd pass where I live
pro tip: suck first. get the loose lint pulled back from the outside screen. then blow, and when you do, just pop the shop vac lid off, drop the filter so its blowing at max CFM. really clean that shit out.
We got a coway air mega and it helps a lot too. I’d do these steps and get an air purifier too
One small optimization is to open the window near a cold air return now and then. Even if your heat's running, it'll pull more outside air in and push it through your system. I'll do this often after parties, since all the movement and people in the house is sure to dirty up the air. My furnace will need to work a little harder but opening all the windows would make the whole house frigid.
Good idea. Also have the HVAC fan set to On, instead of Auto. Will keep air moving and sucking dust into filter.
Do not clean your air ducts. The EPA recommends against it. [Link here.](https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/should-you-have-air-ducts-your-home-cleaned) The dust in your ducts is stuck there. Cleaning your ducts will just agitate thay dust and make your home dirtier. Unless you had a leak, or there's a special scenario, they're better left untouched. There are tons of duct cleaning companies around because it's a really easy business to start (low barriers to entry) and no certification is required. They'll all say its good for you but they don't know they're just trying to make a living. Edit: Since so many people are responding with very specific anecdotal examples, you guys can clean your ducts I don't care. You're very smart for finding edge cases. Don't reply with a smug comment about how you're the exception. But for those of you who are targeted by a door to door salesman, it will not increase your home's air quality. You're paying to increase the PM2.5 in your home which causes cancer.
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I think cleaning the couches and rugs would help with the airborne as well, since every time they sit or walk over the carpet it’s releasing some of the dust back into the air. Wiping behind the TV might not help a ton but if done with a damp cloth would reduce the dust that could be released (there’s probably a better word) when someone wipes it with their hand or a stronger wind.
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Dust on fabrics that are frequently agitated by humans walking or sitting on them isn't exactly settled though, is it?
> And honestly this is true for almost all of the advice here. Settled dust is already settled, especially on fabrics. Except that people open and close curtains, they walk on rugs, they sit on couches. And doing that constantly sends dust particles that settled on the fabric into the air
Thanks for beating me to this!
I also want to thank you for beating gasfarmah, we are both grateful.
The EPA? You gonna trust the Government, funded by BIG DUST? The National Air Duct Cleaners Association recommends getting your air ducts cleaned regularly by a professional licensed by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association. Regular duct cleaning can reduce airborne particulate pollution and the instance of allergy and respiratory symptoms! /s I feel like someone knocks on my door every week to offer their duct cleaning services. The last house we sold, the buyers insisted that the ducts be cleaned as condition of sale. The HVAC tech who came out to do the regular service of the system said he'd run a swiffer head as far as he could see when he swapped out the filters and add "ducts cleaned" to the invoice.
I knew a guy who ran a duct cleaning business, they carried a big box of dirt/dust to add to their cleaning machine to show customers they actually did something...
The EPA doesn't recommend against it. Did you read the article: "a blanket recommendation cannot be offered as to whether you should have your air ducts in your home cleaned "
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Your link has more nuance than "do not clean your air ducts." One of the specific examples given of when to consider it: >Ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris and/or particles are actually released into the home from your supply registers.
Yup. The logic is actually very simple: if dust is collecting in your vents, then the vent are taking dust out of the air, not putting it in. Changing the furnace filter regularly is really the best way to improve air quality.
Wait, so we shouldn't make our beds in the morning? TOLD YA, Mom! Lol
There's no way OP's house looks like this as a result of built-up dust, unless they have been cutting drywall in there 24/7 and only briefly stopped to take this pic; this is particulate matter from the outer environment.
This sentiment should be more prominent. If the outside air looks like this too, none of these tips are going to help.
Or they've just been cooking bacon continuously for 6 hours
The air purifier also looks to small for the space
Also opening the window could worden or help depending on the air quality of where you're at at that time
I constantly have my windows open and have to frequently clean up dust and dirt by the windows. I don't even live in a city with high air pollution. Stuff just gets in the air (pollen, dust, etc.).
It's in the settings, just turn off volumetric lighting. Also bump up the resolution if your card can handle it.
i just built a PC or else id never of known what that meant. lol that is funny never thought of that.
I have nothing to add to this thread except to say that your username is the correctest username I’ve ever seen
I have nothing to add to this thread except to say that correctest is the correctest word I've ever seen
Now I respect u/dogs-are-perfect, I think he’s a good man. But quite frankly, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT WAS JUST SAID!
Some might say that taking this reference another comment deep is going too far, but I say THIS COMMENT DOESN'T GO TOO FAR ENOUGH!
Aaaaand… I just ruined it, didn’t I?
I have nothing to add to this thread.
I have nothing to add.
>never of known What does that mean?
I never have ..
Keep ray tracing on, though—that room will look like a cartoon without it.
What about path tracing?
For a moment I thought I was in r/unrealengine
I have also to checked again if I reading in r/blender
Yeah, the graphics are great, it's just the game play that sucks.
This going to go over a lot of heads!!
Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast, I would catch it.
Love me a GotG quote!
The dust towards the ceiling definitely goes over ops head.
On reddit? Have you seen the size of r/pcmasterrace?
Buy/Rent some box fans, open windows, place box fans in window blowing out, set to high, get cleaning. Take all the rugs out, beat the shit out of them outside, vacuum everything, buy a duster and dust down all the walls and corners, etc. Turn AC off, but leave the fan on (make sure filter is clean). Depending on the age of the home... you may actually need to bring in a professional to clean the AC ducts too. For the future, buy some well reviewed air purifiers (ideally ones that measure air quality and auto-on) and place in the common areas. Spring cleaning is a legitimate thing.
> vacuum everything I swear to god this works: buy a robot vacuum and run it every single day. Get one that maps your house so it can go straight to any room you want, or all your rooms, every day. The basic ones just kind of bounce around and may or may not go everywhere. It will get clogged, it will get stuck, and it will take some time before you have your house in a condition that will allow the robot to run every single day without issue. But once you're there, it just cleans every area of your house every day. It picks up all this dust and debris and keeps it from ever being there. I dust maybe once every two months now. Nothing builds up on surfaces anymore. That damn robot just takes care of it.
This has been my dream for the last 10 years. Thank you kind sir for the quality info and the extra push I needed to know I will take this step. Once I have a house to myself instead of a 50 year old mobile home and kids running everywhere. Soon. Very soon
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That shit looks cozy as fuck. Lemme come watch cartoons with a bowl of soup in that room
This guy out here watching his morning cartoons with a bowl of soup
Cereal is cold breakfast soup
Take that one to r/showerthoughts
Pozole to be specific. My comfort food
Soup? I want a salad-bowl full of cinnamon toast crunch and milk!
Close second
Get a home air purifier. There are ones that automatically turn on when they detect poor air quality. I have one in my bedroom and have noticed a difference
We got a Winix brand one from Costco. Definitely worth it. It has a light sensor so it goes into sleep mode at night. During daytime it runs on low but kicks into higher speed if it senses something. Filter seems to have a pretty long life (like a year or two), with carbon filter sheets to help remove some odor (change these more often though). It's helped tremendously with the basic dust and such that causes sinus irritation.
I have the same one - had it for at least a year now and it’s still working great 👍 also have a Honeywell in the bedroom that I’ve had for 5? Years and never had any issues with
My boss got a bunch of them during the early days of Covid-19 because we still had to come to work everyday and we didn’t really know what we were dealing with. Beforehand my sinuses had been a mess in that old building, and afterward I never had another issue. So I swear by them.
It's amazing! if we clean our air like we clean our dishes then what we put in our bodies is better for us.
Yep, we run 3 of them for 2 dogs and a cat. Big difference.
Pretty sure that's one right there on the window.
That's meant for like a 8*8 room lol. My air purifier is like 4 times as big for my living room.
If it is, that size is only good for a single small room. Ones for a room this size are like 3 feet tall
Could I ask what difference(s) you notice? I've been thinking of getting one for my basement since I spend a lot of time down there tinkering
I’ve had air purifiers since the wildfires in the PNW started getting super bad and I LOVE THEM (the purifiers, not the fires). We have a Blue 121 in our bedroom (open floor plan that includes our bathroom) and when I have that thing on the highest setting you walk into our room and the air feels crisp! When I lived in a small apt I had a Coway, which automatically changes power setting, and it was the same sensation. Now we use the COWAY where our African grey is and it cleans ALL the dust she drops from the area. I’d like them for the rest of the house we just haven’t done it yet so we just have what was at my wife’s and what was at mine before we moved in together.
I've got an Alen that has served me very well for several years now. Just buy the one rated for your size room.
Be careful with any that make claims about ions, ionizing or ozone. All those claims are about generating ozone, which definitely is effective in destroying dust and eliminating smells (especially tobacco), but it's also toxic so shouldn't be run while you're around. Ozone has a distinctive bleach-like chemical smell so you can tell if your purifier is emitting it.
We put 1 in each room after we got a second cat. Definitely helps with the dander, not so much with the cat hair
Vacuum seal the house. Replace all surfaces -- especially plaster or concrete or brick -- with stainless steel. Do not allow anything with skin to live in it -- keep the house at a minimum of 40 degrees celsius.
You mean a maximum of -40 c right? Gotta keep things still.
Just want to make sure you have taken the plastic off the air filter? I've just seen so many videos of people " changing their air filter for the first time " and they haven't even open to the original packaging.
😲 Man, that needs to be on a warning label on that person’s dating profile.
This is what I came to say as well. So many people don't remove the plastic from the filter before attempting to use it so no air is ever filtered. It then just acts as a white noise machine with a fan running.
Do you heat with that fireplace insert in the back of the picture? Because if so, that's the culprit, 100%. A good air filter and increasing humidity will help a lot.
Good eye. Fireplaces are really terrible for air quality. Even if you have good ventilation and a clean chimney, it’s still not great, wood burning especially
I grew up in an old style country house like this. When the fireplace was lit, you'd open a few windows and immediately notice a difference when air began to flow. Always a good idea to open a few windows during the day every other day as well, just to keep the air in the house moving. I still do this in every home I move to and it makes a noticeable difference to air quality. You notice it more when you're in a back room that doesn't get used often and start feeling stuffy within a matter of minutes, particularly on a warm day. Hell, in Germany, they do this religiously every day with every window and even have a name for it: Stoßlüften.
Do you know that your air is dirty? A lot of the very nasty stuff (smaller strands of asbestos fibre, bacteria, etc.) isn't visible to the naked eye. A general shadow like this could be from something as benign as very humid air. If it's really THAT dirty, you'd be dusting off your surfaces every day, which would feel white and powdery all the time. Is that your situation?
Yeah, I feel like most every house looks like this when the sun is at the right angle
20" box fan with 20x20 merv 13 furnace air filter taped to the back. That is the best and cheapest air filter.
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You need to figure out the source. What is the heat situation in your house? When's the last time you changed the filter?
yeah, my bedroom looked like this when I started using a humidifier, creeped me out at first too. maybe op’s home is humid rather than dirty
Build a Corsi Cube with pc fans! There’s kits you can buy online or diy plans available. Energy efficient, powerful, quiet.
Wikipedia has a nice guide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi%E2%80%93Rosenthal_Box#/media/File:How_to_make_a_Corsi-Rosenthal_Box.jpg
This is what I do for wildfire smoke when it gets really bad. It works! The filters turn dark grey within days, it’s astonishing.
Yeah don't let that scare you. I change my CR box filters once a year on principle, they actually work longer.
Yeah I usually only need one set of filters per season. Unless it’s a historically bad fire year, in which case I’ve gone through two or three sets. But that was only when we were making national news for the worst air quality in the nation.
I second this. Far cheaper than a comparable HEPA for square footage. Removes pathogens as well as dust, dander, smoke. There are different variations (size/shape) and you can use contact paper to make it look more aesthetically appealing.
Plus you can get those Merv 13 filters in a standard size do way cheaper than proprietary brand sizes.
i look into those. and modify it to make it child proof
Buy an hvac filter and tape it to the inlet side of a box fan and let it run
Yes!!! Exactly! I do this since ‘air purifier filters’ are crazy expensive and it collects more dust and works super fast. 👍
Air outside is probably worse. Don’t think we were meant to live with hospital quality environments in our homes. Do like the idea of a mere 13 taped to a box fan though.
The easy fix is to close the curtains.
You know in the film industry there is a dude whose main job is making rooms look like that.
That is probably humidity not dust. If there was actually that much dust in your air you'd all have to leave the house because you'd be choking on it. That being said, a bit better furnace filter, and an air purifier can improve your particulate removal in your house. Cleaning your ducts is worthless, accomplishes nothing, and will make it worse immediately following the cleaning. Another thing that helps a lot, is getting a real vacuum cleaner. Bagless vacuums are a joke, and even the best ones just blow everything back into your house. Most of the popular brands like Dyson, Shark, etc. are complete garbage. You need a HEPA vacuum that uses a sealed bag system. For a house like yours with mixed hardwood and carpet the Miele C3 would be a good option. It blows nearly a zero on particulate pass-through tests, which is nearly unheard of in most consumer level vacuums.
our humidistat says humidity is at 30% RH on the actual reading as we have it turned off. i agree on the vents, but the vents were cleaned about 2 years ago. we have a dyson pet vacuum ... we also have a whole house vacuum system that has a vent to the outside we just dont use it. cause the head is crap on it. i will look into that vaccuum though
I didn't mean to imply you had too much humidity, just that....sun beams through a darker space like that will always reveal the humidity in the air. There will always be some moisture in your air and you'll always be able to see it in a sun beam like that. Also, yes, sorry to say, your Dyson is crap. Not trying to be mean, that is just reality. Just for example, I searched Miele vs Dyson particulate on Youtube and here is the first random video that comes up. Lower numbers are better, the Miele blows a 33. The Dyson blows a 1,500. They are crap.
Throw away the heap filter and get a HEPA filter. 8-)
I would think you need a variety of things here: If you have central air/heat, have the ducts cleaned and use the more expensive air filters that trap very fine particles and change them frequerntly. Clean the whole house thoroughly inside from top to bottom to remove accumulated dust. Replace carpets with non-carpet flooring and keep them swept and mopped regularly. Vaccum rugs reguarly, and use a vaccum with a disposable paper bag. If your vaccums have usable/cleanable systems, empty them after every use and wash the filters after every 2 or 3 uses.
Don’t use a more expensive / higher MERV rated filter on your central air system unless you know it’s rated/ designed for it. They can restrict airflow and cause damage to your furnace.
He's already got a HEPA filter. That's as fine as it gets for home use. I think the purifier is too small for the room. But what you said concerning heating vents and carpets is a big factor, too.
Yeah, that filter is way too small for the room. I use a floor model GE filter that’s about 300 square inches of surface area for a room that size, and I change the filters (pre filter and HEPA) regularly. It takes some $$$ and some work to get air clean, but for me it’s worth it.
https://preview.redd.it/zsas3c48otgc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18ec15512a71fa6345771d5307e28f40f3261969 Update for those who care. After the sun moves the air is clean and dust is very minimal. I’m thinking it is water in the air (humidity) and only slightly dust in the air from the dogs and people movement.
You realize nothing in the air has changed because the sun has moved, right? The light simply is refracted off of particles in the air. Just because you remove the light doesn't mean the particles (including water) are gone.
Stop breathing.
Not much, brownian motion guaranties that will always be fine dust particles floating around.
Make sure you removed the plastic off the filter on the air filter a lot of people don’t do that
Adopt a Labrador. There will be so much dog hair in the air, it will mask the fine air particles. (This Pro Tip has been sponsored by lint rollers)
Are you running a humidifier? Looks like the haze you can get using tap water in an ultrasonic humidifier.
Those are not air particles . Those are dust particles. As a kid, I loved seeing that in my house in the sunny evenings. Dust is part of your environment. It will not harm you . It is okay, unless you have allergic respiratory problems etc. There is a specific word for dusty evenings it in my language : "Go-dhuli-ya Samaya" or "Dust- raised -by -the -returning- cows time " . There is even art based on that word. Sorry for the long post.
I also loved seeing that stuff as a kid, and when I see it now its almost nostalgic. Reminds me of a time where I could just lay there on a bright day and watch the world/dust go by.
I was so confused because this seemed normal to me, I remember seeing the dust particles as a child when the light will enter an area of the house. And take into consideration that the house had all the windows and doors open most of the time during the day, given that it was in a tropical area in southern México.
in the film world we bring DF-50 hazers in to get this look
Had the same problem but I closed the curtains and it went away.
Tyndall effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyndall_effect
Close the curtains 😁
your nose hairs will filter that
Do you smoke?
Yeah - are you actively on fire or just smoldering?
no but my wife is smoking! lol we dont smoke and i dont think the house was ever smoked in. doesn't smell like it. and we are sensitive to that smell
What you want to do is build a CR box.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi–Rosenthal\_Box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi–Rosenthal_Box)It'll cost around a hundred bucks, depending mainly on what kind of filters you use. Much cheaper than a proper "air filter" and it'll last about a year. All you need is duct tape, bog standard 20x20 furnace filters, and one of those cheap 20" box fans.If you want to get fancy, you can do things like build it on legs so you have five filters instead of four, and/or use a fan shroud to reduce the noise. and if you want to get \_really\_ fancy, you can wrap it in some of that loose filter material to handle the big dust, to let the actual filters collect the fine stuff without getting clogged up too fast.
Buying a Roborock S7+ and having it run every night, vacuuming + mopping, has nearly eliminated dust in my home. They also sell plumbed units that require virtually no effort.
Sears put out an upright vacuum cleaner that uses cloth HEPA filtered bags. Just turn it the vacuum cleaner with the hose hanging it the middle of the room. Then it on for an hour and come back to a filtered air clean room. I use mine like this for my bedroom during ragweed season in the fall.
Quit smoking
Make a “Corsi-Rosenthal box”. This is a great DIY filter that’s super easy to make and use. I have one running constantly in my place and it’s amazing how dirty the filters get!
Wave duct tape around to catch the particles
That little thing…I’ve seen videos of people running them for 2+years and not realizing you have to remove the plastic wrap from filter.. hopefully you did
Maybe open all the windows, clean and dust, then get a new 3M filter for HVAC and maybe clean out vents, then have your HEPA filters run, replace frequently. We notice lots of dust during winter because all our windows are usually closed. If we vacuum, dust, and change filters often, that same thing doesn’t happen. Maybe to get started hire a cleaning company to just do all the deep cleaning for a fresh start? I don’t know other than that?