Dust control in home DC?

[MadHatter]

This is a continuation of sorts from the gallery thread a few weeks back. I was wondering what those of you do to control dust in your home racks. I find this to be a constant battle with my equipment and have been playing with some different solutions recently.

As of now I have 2 of these devices in the room that are left on 24x7:

Product Link

I also picked up a used HEPA fan and put in some new filters. This unit is a bit more power hungry so I have it run 3 hours every afternoon on a timer.

Product Link

I try to dust often around my place, always have the windows closed, and keep AC filters clean.

I was debating purchasing some sticky mats - but they get pretty pricey (as you go through them pretty quickly) (product link) but other than that I'm wondering how else I can keep in control off the dust. How do you all deal with this?

 

[AMD_Gamer]

how do you know which air purifiers are good for dust control?

 

[dandragonrage]

Those are crap. You want an Alen, IQAir, etc. You NEED one with a filter for it to not suck, so forget about the ionic-only crap. The only one of those that's not VERY crappy is the Friedrich unit which still sucks but less than most of those.

http://www.air-purifiers-america.com/lc_home.asp?linkid=globalNav2

 

[Veeb0rg]

ditch the carpet if you have it, try to seal the room off from the rest of the house if possible.

My stuff lives in the basement with a concrete floor, it very rarely needs cleaning.

 

[MadHatter]

Those are crap.

Well, based on the link you sent me - the Honeywell HEPA I have is rather decent. I am aware the Ionic Breeze devices don't accomplish much, but they were meant as a secondary form of dust control (and were a gift) which consume VERY little power.

Unfortunately, ditching the carpet doesn't seem to be an option. I'm awaiting a battery replacement for my Roomba - would having it vacuum daily help with issues regarding the carpet?

I've thought a bit about cutting HVAC filter material to place on the cabinet door to filter some of the incoming air - but feel that it may block too much incoming flow.

 

[dandragonrage]

Well, based on the link you sent me - the Honeywell HEPA I have is rather decent.

Depends on how you look at it. The IQAir is 23x as good as far as I'm concerned.

IQAir = 99% = 1% left
That Honeywell = 77% = 23% left

IQAir = 1/23 the amount of particles in the air compared to the Honeywell.

Or you can say that the IQAir removes ~29% more particles compared to the original amount, but I think looking at how many particles are left is more useful.

 

[MadHatter]

Depends on how you look at it.

You're right - but I guess a variable left out here is the price for the unit. I was able to acquire the honeywell for $10 used and then $10 for a replacement filter.

Anyways, we can be picky about the difference in efficiency between these two but I'd rather further this thread by getting input as to what others do to keep dust out of their equipment.

 

[cymon]

It might say it removes 99% of particles on the box, but unless it says what size the particles are, that's a pretty useless number. Typically, electrostatic filters are good at removing fine particles. A good combination would be a mechanical filter (like the ones used in home HVAC systems), cleaning out larger particles before it goes through the electrostatic filter.