can you buy a device to reduce dust??

spencer999

WE are semi rural but live on an A road.  House is about 10 yards set back from the road.  If you do a spring clean you can write your name in the dust an hour later.  Gets so DUSTY.  Can you buy a plug in device that somehow takes the dust out of the air?  If so are they worth the money and which is the best one? From memory I think I saw one in ikea.  Has anyone done the research (so I don't have to)?

grumpy_codger

I think the device is called 'air purifier', but have no idea how efficient they are.

QrizB

grumpy_codger said:

I think the device is called 'air purifier', but have no idea how efficient they are.

The ones with HEPA can be very effective, they'll even pull COVID out of the air. You do need to change the filters regularly.

Grandad2b

If it's really that bad I think you might need industrial air filtration. 

twopenny

Interesting because my bungalow, away from main roads, accumulates dust in the bedroom mostly. No idea why.
It affects my breathing at night. 
So I'm interested in the answers too.

FreeBear

twopenny said:

Interesting because my bungalow, away from main roads, accumulates dust in the bedroom mostly. No idea why.

Dead skin cells sloughing off overnight. Pollen blowing in through open windows (or trickle vents). Out in the countryside, fine grains of soil being picked up off fields. Near roads, tires abrading on road surfaces and soot particles from vehicle exhausts. Some days, you can get dust being transported from the Sahara all the way across to the UK.

QrizB

Most of the dust in our house seems to be degrading carpet fibres. We do need new carpets, the current ones are getting on a bit!

Ectophile

You can buy air purifiers that are simply a box containing a fan and an air filter.  The filter will need cleaning or replacing at regular intervals.  Check how much replacement filters are going to cost before you buy.  And also check how noisy they are, but many will allow you to turn down the fan speed at night.

Then there's the controversial option...

Air ionizers used to be very popular, and were sold in major retailers (e.g. Boots).  But they have now fallen out of fashion.  They work by streaming out charged ions.  These ions hit dust particles, making them charged too.  So the dust sticks to anything it touches (e.g. walls or furniture).  This is good as you don't breathe in the dust, and bad because everything gets coated in a layer of sticky dust.

Ionizers use very little power and make no noise except possibly a faint hiss.

They aren't so readily available any more, but the Chinese made ones do appear in on-line retailers.  I have a couple of Puremate branded ones https://puremate.co.uk/products/ionic-air-purifier-and-ioniser .  I find if I turn them up to maximum, they start producing ozone, which is both smelly and harmful to breathe in.  But on the lower power, I can't smell any ozone.

Eldi_Dos

Around here since June 2024 ten of the months have had way below average rainfall, so it is no surprise that dust and other levels have been higher. A couple of good cloudbursts will help I would think.

If it is a nuisance in the home a good fan with a cleanable filter would help.

Traffic passing on the road is only going to stir up the dust which will be on it.Hopefully it will get washed away soon.

gm0

Upptavind - ikea

£29 with the initial filter.  £3 for a spare filter.  Try one.  What do you have to lose.  We have a couple and are happy with them

It will do most of what more expensive similar "appliances" pretend for domestic setting.  And the filters are rectangular so easy to make if IKEA stop selling them.  And cheap while they do.

spencer999

thanks folks, we don't have problems with breathing or pollen, it's just the dust that settles on every surface.  I'll check the ikea ones, as me and the missis always say to each other when we choose any purchase, "it's a brand you can trust"