How do I keep my dedicated room & gear cleaner?


I HAVE A DEDICATED LISTENING ROOM WITH MBL 101E MK2 RADIALSTRAHLERS, B.A.T. VK600SE MONOBLOCKS, B.A.T. VK51SE PREAMP, LINN SONDEK LP12 T.T., AND A MAGNUM DYNALAB MD102 FM TUNER. I LIVE OUT IN THE COUNTRY WHERE THERE IS LOTS OF AGRICULTURE, AND IT'S DUSTY ALL THE TIME. WHILE I ENJOY OPENING UP WINDOWS AND SCREEN DOORS WHEN THE WEATHER IS NICE TO LET IN FRESH AIR, MY GEAR GETS REALLY DUSTY-FAST. I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO COVER EVERYTHING UP ALL THE TIME AS I LEAVE MY SYSTEM ON FOR LONG HOURS, BOTH DAY AND NIGHT.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ABOUT USING SOME AIR FILTRATION STUFF? DOES TOO MUCH DUST BUILD-UP CAUSE ANY LONG TERM PROBLEMS WITH AUDIO GEAR AND/OR SPEAKERS?
martinmobile
Hey there Elizabeth, thanks for your response. Yes, I agree with you about doing damage to the surfaces. No matter how meticulous a person is. (and I admit I am pretty anal retentive when it comes to my stereo gear. Hey, my MBL speakers are less than 8 months old and in PERFECT, MINT, FLAWLESS condition). So those superficial blemishes and minor scratches WILL HAPPEN over time, no matter how hard you try to be careful. So yeah, I'm not wanting that to happen. Which is why I get that compressed air in a can. But even that doesn't do all that great a job on the driver elements (orbs). MBL and my local dealer both say NOT to touch the tweeter or midrange with your fingers, or any kind of wettness, cleaning solution, nothing at all. So I use a feather duster. Same goes for the watermelon shaped bass orb. No touchie-feelie says MBL. Again the feather duster comes out. But that does not really clean them off and they still look dusty and dirty. The covers I had made are great but not too practical. Clearly I am going to follow your advice and attack this at the source- the fresh(?) air coming into the house needs to be filtered and cleaned before it has a chance to spread its eebee-geebees all over the place, on my stereo, on friggin' everything.
Problem with a whole house fan is how it functions. Really no way to clean that outside air, that is coming inside, unless some type of filter system,(be it HEPA or whatever else),is positioned at the point(s) of entry. Usually a window, front screen door. When the Whole house fan is kicked on, it only "sucks" air from outside, into the house thru whatever intake point is used, that screen door or open window. All the crap, dust, pollen, etc. from outside gets pulled into the house and replaces the stagnent air, sucking it out of a big ceiling duct, which blows it into the attick, then ultimately escapes thru dormer vents on the roof. In order to filter the incoming (dirty) air, something would need to be done at the entry source? what to do has been an issue. Once the "outside" airborn crap makes its way in, then the problem starts all over again. Technically, whole house fans (at least the one we have in our home) really just circulate and get everything dirty. It definately works by bringing in the (fresh??) air and sucking out the old air. The system, by the very nature of its design, is not the best way to cool down yer house. Just a way to move air around. Then again, neither is opening up all your windows. Oh it all functions alright, but the downside is all the crap that invades the airspace in the process. We've had our carpets cleaned twice a year-for many years. Our curtians cleaned. Our wood blinds and shutters cleaned. Everything cleaned-frequently! The dedicated listening room with all the expensive audio gear is just one more pain in the ass cleaning "project" in a series of things we have to do in order to live our lives in peace, out in the country.
Kind of sucks. REALLY IT DOES. I have a good sized home, so running the a.c. can be VERY costly during the hottest times of the year. More than I want to swollow frankly! So we open windows, turn on ceiling fans, use our whole house fan...and so starts the problem all over again.
I really appreciate your ideas and input. I am going to go the Honeywell HEPA filter route. Attack the problem from the inside of the house. Wish there was another, more efficient way to clean up the incoming air before it actually got in to the house, but I don't see that being possible due to the way our system works. So I'm thinking, get a few of those Honeywells, position them at the (outside air) points of entry, or somewhere in the vicinity, and let em rip! It's either that, or close everything off, run the A.C. 24 hours a day during the summer, and kiss $2000 a month good bye. NO LIE. That's what it would be. It's been that before, numerous times. I hate that!! Rather have windows open and use ceiling fans. Kinda feels like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. But I HATE PROCESSED AIR. I hate paying big bucks for processed air. Maybe I should move to a cooler climate and away from rural agriculture, huh??? Ha Ha Ha!
I have an air exchanger in my home similar to this http://www.venmar.ca/AfficherProduit.aspx?page=361&langue=en&id=24ave

Systems like this generally won't help much if the windows are open because they rely upon balancing the pressure inside and out to create a "exchange" of air every couple of hours or so. Many other products but I like Venmar and would recommend their products highly. Website is no the easiest to navigate.

Good luck.
Bjesien, thanks for the link. I checked the site out, and learned some information that I never knew before, so cool!
Venmar is in Quebec Canada. I searched for dealers, retailers, and installers of their products here in California. Nothing came up, so I left my contact info. so they can call me.
Yeah, this leval of air filtration/recirculation is a hell of alot more sophisticated than I imagined. I was thinking of putting one of those OREK (tabletop) air purifiers in my listening room...and leaving it at that. Then I realized how little I knew about this subject. Hence, my question to all you Audiogoners! I never gave a bit of thought to my air quality untill it started making my gear look dusty and my shiney new Radialstrahlers kept bitchin' at me! Now all of a sudden, it's a call to action!
Who knew that OZONE screws up the rubber in audio gear? phono cartridges?
Now I'm looking at HEPA based air exchange systems! Funny how things just seem to take on a life all their own. But it's nice to know there are people out there such as youself, Hifigary, Elizabeth, and the others-who have offered up valuable advice and helped steer this thing for me. So thanks everybody for the input so far, and sorry for my longwindedness. I figured if I got real detailed and specific about my room and what is happening, folks would better be able to advise...and they have. One thing is clear, (and it's NOT the air in my house! HA HA HA),... there are definately steps to take and now I know a few more than I did when I started this thread. Still I need to do more research online, and talk to industry professionals more "in depth" as I need to learn more. As of right now I have no idea how involved, or expensive an air exchange system is to have installed. Elizabeth got me all excited about a free standing hepa filter that I can just set in the room. Who knows, maybe I will take things to a whole new leval and make my house a freakin' CLEAN ROOM. I will keep everyone posted as this progresses. Thanks so far for the input everybody.
Martinmobile,

We paid around $1600 for ours 10 years ago (not installed.) The technology is really simple. The installation depends on your duct system and how many modifications you will need, and also mounting, or hanging the unit in an appropriate location.

Our house is highly energy efficient, so it is sealed, no leaks at all. The important consideration for us was getting moisture out when needed and letting fresh air in. You want to concentrate more on dust and pollen elimination. We have that with ours, however it's not a HEPA unit.

There are many out there, including many USA made units. Web search air exchanger or air to air heat exchanger. It's important to match the system to your home size/needs.

May your gear be shiny and nice!
We also have farm land around us . We rarely open windows , if we need fresh air we go outside . For inside our furnace / airconditioner has an electronic filter that works very well .