(ARA) - It's a common complaint. Just a few days after a thorough house cleaning, that unsightly dust is back, settling on every surface in your house. Dust can also contribute to respiratory allergy suffering. Although the visible dust is most obvious, health scientists now say it is the very small invisible particulates and noxious gases we should be most worried about. Here are seven proven ways to greatly reduce dust and breathe easier in your home.Identify and Seal Air Leaks That Let In Dirty Air A good deal of the dust in our homes comes from internal sources such as skin flakes and fabric fibers. However, new research has found that in many homes a significant amount of the dust actually originates from outside the living space. The hot or cold outside air that leaks in through gaps and cracks often brings a lot of dust along with it. The air from outside always contains airborne particles such as mold spores, pollen, soot, tire rubber and agricultural dust. Building scientists have recently discovered that in the typical home, most of the incoming air first passes through dirty areas such as the attached garage, outside walls, crawlspace, basement, attic or even from underground.

This incoming air is often contaminated with pollutants such as mold spores, carbon monoxide, automobile exhaust, carcinogenic radon gas, insulation fibers, pesticides and volatile organic chemicals. Contact your HVAC contractor and ask for an Infiltrometer blower door test to pinpoint where the bad air leaks are. Many leaks can be easily repaired by homeowners as weekend projects. Others such as leaks in your air ducts, or through recessed can lights are better left to professionals. Finding and fixing the leaks that let in bad air will make your home healthier, more comfortable and less dusty. Your home will also have more controllable indoor humidity levels. Fixing these air leaks will even pay for itself through lower heating and cooling bills. In fact, duct leakage alone has been found to waste 20 percent to 40 percent of most systems' heating or air conditioning. Fix Negative Air Pressure Many homes operate under what is called "negative air pressure," created unintentionally by the mechanical systems.

The air pressure becomes lower in the home than outside. This accelerates the inward flow of potentially dusty outdoor air, and can even back up furnace and water heater chimneys, allowing poisonous carbon monoxide gas into the home. Ask your HVAC contractor to test your home for negative air pressure and proper venting of gas and oil appliances. Create Positive Pressure with Ventilation Air While negative air pressure is bad, a slight positive pressure is good. A house at an intentional positive pressure has much less dust. Ask your HVAC contractor for information on how to create positive air pressure. The first step is an Infiltrometer blower door test to determine how leaky your house is, so that the right amount of pressurization airflow can be determined. Upgrade Your Central Air Filter Typical throw away furnace filters do not even adequately protect your equipment from getting fouled up, let alone protect you from invisible respirable particles. Ask your HVAC contractor for recommendations on installing a new high efficiency filter at the equipment.

One of the best are pleated media filters, typically four to six inches thick, that only need to be changed once a year. Have your HVAC contractor first test the duct system static pressure to ensure your system can handle the increased pressure created by a good filter. On larger 4 and 5 ton AC systems it is often necessary to split the airflow in two and have two filters. best air cleaner harleyInstall a Whole House Central Vacuum Cleaner Vacuuming helps control dust, but most vacuum cleaners simply don't catch the very small particles. air knight air purification system top techThe majority pass right through the filter bag. advantage of electronic air cleanerAlthough a new vacuum with a "HEPA" filter is good, the best solution is a central vacuum cleaner that exhausts the small particles directly to outside.

Run Your Furnace Fan When Vacuuming Even the best vacuum cleaner agitates some dust into the air. If your forced-air system is equipped with a good filter, you can filter out some of that dust before it settles by switching your thermostat to "fan on" while vacuuming. Get Your Duct System Cleaned Many duct systems contain large amounts of dust and debris. If you get your ducts cleaned, be sure the contractor thoroughly cleans the furnace/air handler and cooling coil as well. Note that if you have dirt accumulating on the supply air vents, the cause is most likely duct leaks in the vicinity, not dirt from inside the ducts. A good sealed duct system, with filtration at the inlets, rarely if ever needs cleaning. Article courtesy of ARA Content Related Videos & Photos See What's Going Down with a Glass Sink Signs of Allergic Reactions in Children Is It Allergies or a Cold? Safety and Severe Food Allergies Air duct cleaning may help freshen up your home, but can it really reduce your allergy symptoms?

Find out what the experts say. Staying inside during allergy season won't necessarily limit your exposure to allergens — allergies to substances such as mold, dust, and pet hair can be troublesome year round in your home. In fact, over half of all homes contain at least six detectable allergens, according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. If you or someone in your home is among the millions of people with indoor allergies, you may have heard about air duct cleaning as a way to reduce your exposure to indoor allergens. What Is Air Duct Cleaning, and Is It Effective? Air duct cleaning is removal of dirt from the surfaces of the air ducts inside your home in an effort to reduce the levels of allergy-producing particles in the air. But there is controversy over whether cleaning your air ducts will actually reduce your allergy symptoms. For someone with an allergy, duct cleaning "tends not to be helpful," says Julie McNairn, MD, an allergist/immunologist in Cincinnati.

But, she adds, "It is surprising how much garbage you can find in your ducts." According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there is not enough evidence about the effects of air duct cleaning to recommend it, so each person must consider the potential benefits and drawbacks before making a decision. What's Involved in Cleaning Air Ducts? The EPA suggests that you should consider air duct cleaning if: The surfaces of your ducts or other components of your heating and cooling system have a substantial amount of visible mold on them. An air duct cleaning service may be able to show you this mold, if it is present. You have rodents, insects, or other vermin infesting your ducts. The ducts are clogged with dust and debris. Dust or debris is being released into your home through your system's air supply registers. Currently, there is no evidence that duct cleaning can prevent health problems, and studies have not shown that dust levels inside of homes is increased by dirty air ducts.