Dust bunnies are everywhere. They hide underneath your furniture, cling to corners in the ceiling, and line the vents of your HVAC system. But how do dust bunnies form? We have the answer!
In a 2009 Esquire article, Lorin Matthews, a professor of physics at Baylor University, shared some of his paper “Formation of Cosmic Dust Bunnies.” He said, “The forces that hold dust bunnies together can be the entangled fibers themselves. They get matted, much like lint or felt. You can also have electrostatic forces between dust particles that help hold dust bunnies together.” Matthew’s paper and answer outline an essential truth: dust bunnies are made up of entangled fibers, dust, and dirt that accumulate over time. This stands out to us as an HVAC cleaning company because dust bunnies are a common sign of an HVAC system that needs cleaning.
According to House Digest, in a clean HVAC system, the dust and dirt that comes into your home from your outdoor air intake should flow through the vents and then get trapped in the HVAC filter. But when this filter is clogged, or the system is not performing well, all that dust and dirt doesn’t get trapped. Instead, it flows through your vents, landing on the surfaces of your home, so you have to do more dusting. But when the system gets clogged up, the dust accumulates in the vents and ducts and starts that entanglement process, forming dust bunnies.
Over time, dust accumulation in your HVAC system will damage the system. It will not perform as efficiently, and you will spend more money on heating and energy. To prevent this from happening, we recommend two courses of action.
- Regularly check your vents for dust build-up and dust bunnies. You can lift the vent covers and see how much building up is stuck to the cover. Remove the build-up and sweep out the vent as far as you can.
- Regularly schedule HVAC cleanings a few times a year to thoroughly clean out your HVAC system. We can help with this. Our trained HVAC cleaning team has the skills and tools to clean out your system, check for any potential problems, and recommend routine maintenance.
Despite the name, there is nothing cute about dust bunnies. They are a warning sign that your HVAC system is not performing as well as it could, and it’s time for cleaning. So remember, if you spot dust bunnies in your vents, call our HVAC cleaning team!
