This Thermostat Trick Helps You Dust Your Home

Your AC’s thermostat has a secret power you didn’t know about: It can help dust your home.

To tap into this power, do this: Right before you vacuum and dust your home, turn your thermostat’s fan setting to ON.

We’ll explain exactly what this setting does and how it helps dust your home.

The fan setting on your thermostat controls the AC’s blower, which circulates air into your air conditioner and then back into your home.

When set to AUTO, the blower turns on only when your home needs cooling.

But when set to ON the blower circulates air constantly.

This constant circulation is what you want when you are cleaning. This is because, as you start dusting or vacuuming, the dust gets kicked into the air and sucked into the return vent, getting captured by the air conditioner’s air filter.

So, essentially, your air conditioner becomes your personal airborne dust catcher.

Just make sure that when you’re done cleaning, you turn the fan setting back to AUTO. Leaving it set to ON would needlessly run up your electric bill.

Also, make sure you check your AC’s air filter before and after you dust and vacuum. A filthy air filter won’t catch any dust and can actually damage your air conditioner.

For those of you with allergies and asthma issues, dust isn’t your only agitator. Mold spores, and cat and dog dander are your worst enemies.

Unfortunately, disposable fiberglass filters (like the ones above), cannot capture those smaller airborne particles.

To do that, you’ll need a filter with a higher MERV rating, a measurement that tells you precisely what the filter can capture.

The MERV rating ranges from 1-20, 1 being the least effective at air filtration, 20 being the most effective.

For example, your typical fiberglass filter has a 4 MERV rating, which means it can catch some dust and pollen.

If you want to catch more dust plus mold spores and pet dander, you’ll need a filter with at least MERV 8, such as a pleated filter.

However, if you really want to get serious about cleaning your family’s air, we personally recommend the activTek INDUCT 2000.

It’s an air scrubber that’s installed in your ductwork and claims to actively clean your air and reduce up to 99.99% of mold, fungi, bacteria and viruses on surfaces in your home.