Dust in house, I will try distilled water

[Rc_Guy]

We live in a pole barn house, only have a boiler fit heat, no furnace we are starting to see like a white dust on tables, eye glasses, wood chairs and stuff.

I think it has been a couple weeks now since I noticed it.

We just got a small humidifier on Wednesday because it is dry in the house also and the wife thinks maybe it is the humidifier but I think I was seeing the dust on y reading glasses last week.

Any guesses what is causing the dust?

 

[LopezBart]

Do you have a ERV?

 

[Rc_Guy]

Do you have a ERV?

Yes, but it’s not turned on.

The wife told me she boiled water a couple times last week also because the house is dry so I’m kind of wondering if it’s deposit in the water

 

[PCustoms]

All I see in that pic is some nasty toenails....

Are you getting dust on flat surfaces?

How often do you clean?

 

[Rc_Guy]

All I see in that pic is some nasty toenails....

Are you getting dust on flat surfaces?

How often do you clean?

Yes, on the flat surfaces should just watch the kitchen table on Thursday and it’s dusty today. My wife is a neat freak. She cleans all the time.

And that toenail was an ingrown toenail nine years ago and they ripped it off and said it would grow back normal and it didn’t so another podiatrist ripped it off again and it never has grown back normal.

 

[PCustoms]

Is your shop attached?

Any dusty projects lately?

How long you lived here?

 

[danski0224]

Those humidifiers that just spray water leave the dust.

The dust is minerals in the water.

 

[Rc_Guy]

Is your shop attached?

Any dusty projects lately?

How long you lived here?

Yeah, it’s just a pole barn house about 1500 square-foot house and 1600 square-foot garage all one building, don’t do any woodworking projects at all anything to create dust or smells in the garage because we have our food truck in the garage also.

we had this built in 2016

Those humidifiers that just spray water leave the dust.

The dust is minerals in the water.

That’s what we were thinking it was but we just got the humidifier on Wednesday or Thursday so I thought that it was something else but then the wife told me she was boiling water about three times in the last week and a half because it’s been dry in here before we got the humidifier.

We do have a water softener and another filter at the kitchen sink that filters drinking water. Maybe we’ll try that in the humidifier or try distilled water.

 

[WildBill]

We only use distilled water in our humidifiers for this reason.

 

[RegeSullivan]

It hard to see the dust on your glasses because the carma focused on the floor. A large majority of dust in a well sealed home comes from textiles and dead skin cells. Have you brought anything new large textiles into the house like bedspreads, towels, sofa cover... cheap facial tissue can be especially dusty.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

We only use distilled water in our humidifiers for this reason.

THIS! ^
Tap water in a humidifier will blow minerals (white dust) all over the place.

Want a great humidifier that won’t blow "dust" all over?……. Get a VENTA www.venta-air.com

 

[loganb]

Sounds like it's time for a couple air purifiers to help filter the airborne particles. We have been happy with the Levoit brand, purchased from Amazon. They have different sizes based on size of the room

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

View attachment 2282166


Any guesses what is causing the dust?

Skin flakes from a dried up foot?

 

[pcmeiners]

Those humidifiers that just spray water leave the dust.

The dust is minerals in the water.

Part of the dust deposit.

A large majority of dust in a well sealed home comes from textiles and dead skin cells.

The major part.

 

[danski0224]

The major part.

In this instance, the dust seems to have started after adding a humidifier.

 

[American Locomotive]

Ultrasonic "cool mist" humidifers if loaded with tap water will can very quickly fill a space with white dust. Especially if you a have a water softener because that means your water likely has a lot of dissolved minerals in it already.

The water droplets get sprayed into the room and evaporate. The dissolved minerals then get left behind and fall into the room. Boiling water will not do this, as the minerals will stay in the pan.

You either need to switch to distilled water, or get an evaporative wick type humidifier

 

[RegeSullivan]

In this instance, the dust seems to have started after adding a humidifier.

Maybe I read the the OP's posts wrong but as I understood it, it started before they used a humidifier, boiling water would only concentrate the minerals not release them into the air. Some types of humidifiers will.

 

[Rc_Guy]

Maybe I read the the OP's posts wrong but as I understood it, it started before they used a humidifier, boiling water would only concentrate the minerals not release them into the air. Some types of humidifiers will.

The humidifier heats the water also for a warm mist.

 

[RegeSullivan]

The humidifier heats the water also for a warm mist.

I would avoid warm mist humidifiers except for occasional use. Might be good for 1 day a couple times a months but they are likely to breed bacteria and who knows what else. If you do use a warm mist humidifier consider daily cleaning following the manufacturer directions closely.

 

[mm08822]

Aside from the dust appearing on surfaces, the humidifier will experience a lot of buildup.

Use distilled water.

 

[BillK]

Aside from the dust appearing on surfaces, the humidifier will experience a lot of buildup.

Use distilled water.

How expensive will that get ???? I probably put 4 gallons of tap water a day in our console humidifier when it is really cold out and the furnace is running a lot.

 

[mm08822]

If he likes to dust, keep on keeping on.

 

[David Paul]

VentaTHIS! ^
Tap water in a humidifier will blow minerals (white dust) all over the place.

Want a great humidifier that won’t blow "dust" all over?……. Get a VENTA www.venta-air.com

Ok, please tell me more about your experiences with Venta. I use 2 wick style humidifiers to avoid the dust but need to replace the wicks every week or so. The Venta seems expensive but certainly may be worth while.

 

[rlitman]

...The wife told me she boiled water a couple times last week also because the house is dry so I’m kind of wondering if it’s deposit in the water

Boiling water does not create dust in the house. Only steam leaves the pot, and the minerals left behind from boiling will crust up the inside of the pot, but will not settle around the house. Steam is one of the cleanest forms of humidification.

If you have an ultrasonic humidifier, whether or not the mist is cool or warm, anything that sprays particles of water into the air and allows them to evaporate will create dust if you start with mineral bearing water. Put distilled water into the humidifier, and again, no dust, but unless you can distill your own water (NO, boiling is not the same thing), it gets expensive and inconvenient real fast.

Filter humidifiers either trickle water over a mesh or wick water up through a paper pad and blow air through that. These also don't create dust, because they're not spraying water mist into the air, so the minerals that get left behind from evaporation remain in the humidifier, but they also breed bacteria and require cleaning and chemicals.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Ok, please tell me more about your experiences with Venta. I use 2 wick style humidifiers to avoid the dust but need to replace the wicks every week or so. The Venta seems expensive but certainly may be worth while.

The Venta doesn’t have any filters, wicks or media to replace (this gets pricey over the years)….… It has two discs that rotate to "catch the water) and a fan to blow air on them creating evaporative humidity. I have had two Ventas for over 11 years now and outside of the original purchase (yes! they are pricey) I have not paid for any replacement or maintenance parts.

Here is what I do every morning: Fill the tank with water and turn it on.…… That’s it!
Here is what I do every week: Empty the tank into the toilet and wash out the tank with clean bath tub water.…….. Add some water treatment chemical into the tank, fill the tank and ready to go for another week. I have been making my own DIY water treatment with Jet Dry and Steramine tablets instead of buying the pricey Venta brand water treatment.

The water does get a little "scungy" from the dust and mineral particles because this also acts as a "air washer" so there is no "white dust" from minerals being blown around the room and it is not loud.

Sadly there are no discounts on these machines but Venta does sell reconditioned units at reduced prices when they have them.

Hope this helps!

 

[fitter30]

Small table top humidifiers are for just a bedroom not whole house. This is what i use. Uses tap water holds 3 gallons of water add some treatment to the water. Add water twice a day morning and night 4-5 gallons a day. There is no dust change evaporate panel once a year under $20. Have been using it for 6 years.

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

 

[BillK]

Ok, please tell me more about your experiences with Venta. I use 2 wick style humidifiers to avoid the dust but need to replace the wicks every week or so. The Venta seems expensive but certainly may be worth while.

Not sure why you have to replace the wicks ??? We have a 30 year old Sears console wick style humidifier and i change the wicks once a year ? It is very similar to this one:

AIRCARE Large Console H12-Series Evaportive Humidifier

The H12-Series Evaporative Humidifiers are designed for whole home coverage up to 3,700 Sq. Ft. It has a 5.4 gallon tank capacity that provides up to 45 hours of runtime. Choose from three inviting colors: Light Oak, Copper and Oak Burl.

www.natlallergy.com

 

[David Paul]

The Venta doesn’t have any filters, wicks or media to replace (this gets pricey over the years)….… It has two discs that rotate to "catch the water) and a fan to blow air on them creating evaporative humidity. I have had two Ventas for over 11 years now and outside of the original purchase (yes! they are pricey) I have not paid for any replacement or maintenance parts.

Here is what I do every morning: Fill the tank with water and turn it on.…… That’s it!
Here is what I do every week: Empty the tank into the toilet and wash out the tank with clean bath tub water.…….. Add some water treatment chemical into the tank, fill the tank and ready to go for another week. I have been making my own DIY water treatment with Jet Dry and Steramine tablets instead of buying the pricey Venta brand water treatment.

The water does get a little "scungy" from the dust and mineral particles because this also acts as a "air washer" so there is no "white dust" from minerals being blown around the room and it is not loud.

Sadly there are no discounts on these machines but Venta does sell reconditioned units at reduced prices when they have them.

Hope this helps!

It does, thank you.

 

[David Paul]

Not sure why you have to replace the wicks ??? We have a 30 year old Sears console wick style humidifier and i change the wicks once a year ? It is very similar to this one:

AIRCARE Large Console H12-Series Evaportive Humidifier

The H12-Series Evaporative Humidifiers are designed for whole home coverage up to 3,700 Sq. Ft. It has a 5.4 gallon tank capacity that provides up to 45 hours of runtime. Choose from three inviting colors: Light Oak, Copper and Oak Burl.

www.natlallergy.com

Unfiltered/unsoften well water. They load up with minerals.

 

[American Locomotive]

Unfiltered/unsoften well water. They load up with minerals.

I also have a Bemis/Waterwick/Aircare (whoever bought the company this week) wick type humidifier, and I push about 3/gallons of un-softened well water a day through it. The wicks seem to last about a season before getting too crusty. I use the BestAir 246 water treatment though, and it greatly reduces the build up on the filter. I can get about a season and a half out of one bottle of treatment.

Going through a filter a week is crazy.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

It does, thank you.

Forgot to mention………. These Venta air washers are only good for a bedroom or single room up to 600 SF.

 

[rlitman]

The Venta doesn’t have any filters, wicks or media to replace (this gets pricey over the years)….… It has two discs that rotate to "catch the water) and a fan to blow air on them creating evaporative humidity. I have had two Ventas for over 11 years now and outside of the original purchase (yes! they are pricey) I have not paid for any replacement or maintenance parts.

Here is what I do every morning: Fill the tank with water and turn it on.…… That’s it!
Here is what I do every week: Empty the tank into the toilet and wash out the tank with clean bath tub water.…….. Add some water treatment chemical into the tank, fill the tank and ready to go for another week. I have been making my own DIY water treatment with Jet Dry and Steramine tablets instead of buying the pricey Venta brand water treatment.

The water does get a little "scungy" from the dust and mineral particles because this also acts as a "air washer" so there is no "white dust" from minerals being blown around the room and it is not loud.

Sadly there are no discounts on these machines but Venta does sell reconditioned units at reduced prices when they have them.

Hope this helps!

The filter style humidifiers that I've owned had a pump that worked off the blower fan shaft which lifted a trickle of water over a coated expanded metal in a frame, that if you didn't know was expanded metal, you could easily confuse for a wicking paper humidifier filter. The metal didn't require cleaning (mineral buildup on it would only increase the surface area), so long as you used treatment in the water (I too bought mine in bulk for cheap). But the problem with the ones I had was that the water was always trickling down the filter, so it had a constant waterfall sound.

Does the Venta make just the fan sound, or can you hear water dripping in it, or some other sort of noise?

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

The filter style humidifiers that I've owned had a pump that worked off the blower fan shaft which lifted a trickle of water over a coated expanded metal in a frame, that if you didn't know was expanded metal, you could easily confuse for a wicking paper humidifier filter. The metal didn't require cleaning (mineral buildup on it would only increase the surface area), so long as you used treatment in the water (I too bought mine in bulk for cheap). But the problem with the ones I had was that the water was always trickling down the filter, so it had a constant waterfall sound.

Does the Venta make just the fan sound, or can you hear water dripping in it, or some other sort of noise?

No dripping sound because the water is "picked up" on the discs…….. Just the sound of the 3 speed blower fan and I keep ours on medium speed and it is hardly noticeable.