White Dust from Heating System: Ways to stop it Fast
You may have been seeing a few specks of white dust coming from your heating system, and now you are looking for a solution. Well, do not worry; you are in the right place. By the time you are done reading this article, you will understand everything about that white dust, including ways on how you can stop it.
What is the white dust coming out of my heating system?
The white dust you see coming from your heating system is a combination of dissolved minerals and mist that has dried up. Both of these things come from the water you feed into the heating system.
Causes
So, what causes this white dust/particles to be deposited in various parts of your home? The main cause of this white dust is the contact between hard water and the heating system’s humidifier.
For you to understand exactly how this happens, you need to be conversant with a crucial part of a heating system known as a humidifier. Although not all heating systems have humidifiers, a huge number of them do. Some examples of heating systems with humidifiers include;
- The ultrasonic heating system.
- The impeller heating system.
This is important as we will use this specific type of heating system to explain why users get white dust in their homes. The reason why we have selected this type of heating system is that they are known to produce a lot of white dust/particles.
Back to the humidifier. A humidifier within a heating system is used to add moisture to the air. Moist air is good as it retains heat better than dry air. As a result, the house remains warm.
One vital thing you need to note is that for this heating system to work, one needs to add water. In most households, you will find that the residents usually add hard water (water that contains a lot of minerals). It is these minerals that contribute to the production of the white dust.
How does this happen? (Explanation)
When hard water is fed into the heating system, it undergoes a steaming process, where water turns to steam (vapor). Once the water turns to steam, it is spewed out through the system’s humidifier in the form of mist. Since the mist is a product of the hard water that was fed into the system, it contains the same minerals the hard water had.
When the mist is released into your home’s environment, it settles on various surfaces like on floors and furniture. The mist then dries up and forms whitish particles. Now, this is the white dust you see whenever you walk into a room that has a heating system.
NOTE:
There are instances where one may use soft water and still end up with white dust around their house. Soft water is water that has little or no minerals at all.
When this happens, there are very high chances that your heating system is faulty. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, the best thing to do is to call in the experts. This is because they are the ones who are in a better position to run a diagnosis on your system and fix it.
Prevention
It is good to put in place measures to prevent/stop the production of these white particles in your home as soon as you see them forming. There are a lot of reasons why this is necessary, and some of them include;
- They are harmful to the human body, especially when inhaled by infants and young children. They may also cause health complications for people with asthma, allergies, and sinuses.
- The white dust makes the house look dirty and messy.
So, how do you prevent/stop the heating system from producing this white dust? Below are a few measures you can implement;
- Fill Your Heating System with Soft Water
The first thing you can do is fill the heating system with soft water instead of tap water. One way of acquiring this kind of water is by “softening” tap water using a distillation chamber.
Distillation is a very effective way of getting soft water. This is because it evaporates the water and then collects it in another chamber/container. As it does this, ions/minerals that previously made the water hard, are left behind. Once you use this water in your heating system, you will certainly enjoy staying in a warm house with no white dust.
Another way of softening hard water is by using an ion-exchange filter. An ion exchange filter softens water by filtering the minerals out. As a result, you are left with mineral-free water (soft water).
- Installing a Demineralization Cartridge
Installing a demineralization cartridge can also help in preventing the production of white dust. Demineralization cartridges can do this because they trap the minerals before becoming airborne in the household.
- Invest in a Portable Warm or Cool Mist Humidifier
If you cannot get access to soft water, you can simply invest in a portable warm or cool mist humidifier. With this, having white dust in your home will be a thing of the past. Their ability to stop the production of white dust is just one advantage. In essence, these humidifiers can be carried from one place to another and still deliver exceptional results.
Note:
Although these humidifiers produce a little bit more noise than regular humidifiers, they are highly effective.
Conclusion
White dust is mainly formed when the minerals in hard water come into contact with the humidifier of a heating system and spew out in the form of mist. Although many people are not aware, white dust is actually harmful, especially to young ones and people with allergies.
Luckily there are ways in which you can prevent white dust from forming in your home. One way of doing this is by filling your heating system with soft water instead of tap water. Another thing you can do is install a demineralization cartridge. You can also invest in a portable warm or cool humidifier. Although it will produce a little bit of noise which may irritate you, it will definitely make sure there no white specks/dust in your home.