Are Dust Storms Invading Your Yuma Home? What to Do?

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The dust storms that strike during the monsoon have the power to move dust into your home through the smallest cracks. Wind speeds easily exceed 50 miles per hour, and unless your home is virtually airtight, it’s likely you’ll find deposits of fine dust anywhere your home has any cracks or crevices.

Consider these steps to keep the dust out of your home and cooling system:

  • Seal all the visible cracks around window and exterior door frames. You can visually inspect the outside of the window frames. Use caulk to seal any cracks from the outside. Locking all your windows improves their airtightnAre Dust Storms Invading Your Yuma Home? What to Do?ess, as well. Light coming through the exterior door frame indicates the weatherstripping needs to be replaced.
  • Replace the vacuum cleaner bag with one that has a HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter. Dust storms kick up fine particles of sand and soil that may blow through ordinary bags. A HEPA filter stops particles as tiny as 0.3 microns, smaller than the typical dust particle that infiltrates your home. In lieu of a HEPA bag, run the air handler while you vacuum and shortly after to remove any dust that vacuuming kicks up.
  • Check the air filter for the air handler and change it when it’s covered with dust. It’s important to keep the fine dust out of the air handler, since it can cover the evaporator coil that carries the refrigerant. The refrigerant removes the heat, and when the coil is dirty, the process slows, increasing cooling costs. A dirty coil can also hasten wear and tear on the equipment. Like your vacuum cleaner bag, you may want to upgrade the air filter to one that traps smaller particles. The pleated filters widely available will trap smaller particles than fiberglass filters. Before putting in a high-efficiency filter, check the owner’s manual to see the maximum density you can use with your system.

While Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company can’t stop the dust storms, we can help you improve the efficiency of your cooling system. We’ve provided outstanding HVAC services for Yuma area homeowners since 1952.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about dust storms and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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