Dust prevention/protection of AV units/AV furniture

Sandesh

Active Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2013
Messages
502
Points
28
Location
Bangalore
Unfortunately recently I have realized over the years staying in a room on the terrace has a big disadvantage - Dust creeps in very easily and on a moment's notice. This is especially because Bangalore has become a far dustier and polluted city. Not to mention my TV and Music system/amp unit is bang opposite the main entrance door and even thought all my windows and are shut 99% of the time, opening my main door results in dust entering the room. How you folks protect your AV units and furniture?Any suggestion for my issue?
 
Unfortunately recently I have realized over the years staying in a room on the terrace has a big disadvantage - Dust creeps in very easily and on a moment's notice. This is especially because Bangalore has become a far dustier and polluted city. Not to mention my TV and Music system/amp unit is bang opposite the main entrance door and even thought all my windows and are shut 99% of the time, opening my main door results in dust entering the room. How you folks protect your AV units and furniture?Any suggestion for my issue?
I can garantee you that even if your door will be shut 100% of the time, the dust will still creep in. My avr PS4 etc are kept inside a cabinet with glass doors. So though it does reduce the dust from getting in, it doesn't stop it entirely.
You could go about it in different ways:
First approach, weatherproof your room. There are many kinds of weather strips available. I use some myself for my bedroom and they do reduce the dust coming in. It's usually a very simple DIY taking 5-15 mins per door/window.
Secondly get a closed cabinet and install weatherproof seal on it too.
Third, use a decorative protective cloth if the gear is not used daily.

And ofcourse you could go all out and do all of these or mix and match the ideas you like/consider feasible.
 
Unfortunately recently I have realized over the years staying in a room on the terrace has a big disadvantage - Dust creeps in very easily and on a moment's notice. This is especially because Bangalore has become a far dustier and polluted city. Not to mention my TV and Music system/amp unit is bang opposite the main entrance door and even thought all my windows and are shut 99% of the time, opening my main door results in dust entering the room. How you folks protect your AV units and furniture?Any suggestion for my issue?


We have a playground in front of our flat. Being on the ground floor makes it worse & there is a lot dust which settles everyday with windows being open. I have got cloth covers stitched for all the components including speakers & keep them covered since my music/movie usage is once or twice a week. It really prevents dust from going in & keeps the gear in good condition. Only pain is to remove them & put all the covers back again after they cool down after every use but it is worth the effort.
 
I can garantee you that even if your door will be shut 100% of the time, the dust will still creep in. My avr PS4 etc are kept inside a cabinet with glass doors. So though it does reduce the dust from getting in, it doesn't stop it entirely.
You could go about it in different ways:
First approach, weatherproof your room. There are many kinds of weather strips available. I use some myself for my bedroom and they do reduce the dust coming in. It's usually a very simple DIY taking 5-15 mins per door/window.
Secondly get a closed cabinet and install weatherproof seal on it too.
Third, use a decorative protective cloth if the gear is not used daily.

And ofcourse you could go all out and do all of these or mix and match the ideas you like/consider feasible.
@Dr.Lakshay Can you suggest a good quality weather strip with a strong adhesive? Since I have an open cabinet, I was thinking of using a transparent PVC sheet cover to cover the cabinet, so furniture can still be seen. I guess I will lift one side of the pvc sheet when I am using the system to allow for cooling and usage.
 
I have got cloth covers stitched for all the components including speakers & keep them covered since my music/movie usage is once or twice a week. It really prevents dust from going in & keeps the gear in good condition. Only pain is to remove them & put all the covers back again after they cool down after every use but it is worth the effort.

+1 to the cloth covers especially for hifi equipment that sits exposed on an open rack in a dusty humid environment. +1 to the added pain of removing speaker covers every listening session & waiting for amps to cool down after use but well worth the effort in the long run as I have learnt!
 
+1 to the cloth covers especially for hifi equipment that sits exposed on an open rack in a dusty humid environment. +1 to the added pain of removing speaker covers every listening session & waiting for amps to cool down after use but well worth the effort in the long run as I have learnt!


Thanks for your kind words Seandsilva. It has become like a ritual for me :) whenever I have to listen to music or to watch movies. But at the end of the day it keeps the gear more or less dust free since they are in an open rack & looks like new even after many years.
 
the biggest dust-disperser at our home, obviously is, the morning house-cleaning session (brooming particularly)! not that its very bothersome to me, yet still, i use my blower to keep cleaning the AVR and TV from time-to-time off the dust that accumulates, and microfiber mitts to clean the speakers consoles etc. have a specially crafted cloth-cover for the TV that i put on it before the daily cleaning starts. AVR has a simple cloth atop it. nothing on the speakers except the front grills.
@spirovious could you pls recommend the type of plastic sheets you mentioned above, to cover atleast the AVR? or any simple plastic sheet (that doesnt make the equipmet look ugly)?
 
the biggest dust-disperser at our home, obviously is, the morning house-cleaning session (brooming particularly)! not that its very bothersome to me, yet still, i use my blower to keep cleaning the AVR and TV from time-to-time off the dust that accumulates, and microfiber mitts to clean the speakers consoles etc. have a specially crafted cloth-cover for the TV that i put on it before the daily cleaning starts. AVR has a simple cloth atop it. nothing on the speakers except the front grills.
@spirovious could you pls recommend the type of plastic sheets you mentioned above, to cover atleast the AVR? or any simple plastic sheet (that doesnt make the equipmet look ugly)?
Can you suggest the mitts and blower you use? Could you also give me the details about your cloth cover? I have an LG C9 and would like to make some kind of cover that would be light and sit easy on a really thin TV screen...
 
Same dust issues in Mumbai, earliest I used cloth, non woven matls, transparent plastic etc etc but non worked as intended
Finally I have Tailor made squarish cover from Umbrella cloth & elastic band at bottom for snug fit. Umbrella cloth is very light weight, very easy to remove & put back & store also, I feel it’s gives better dust & moisture protection than cloth.
 
If there is so much dust that you are considering a cover for your music system, I feel that you should be more worried about your own health first. Install an air purifier at the least. It will keep the air clean and also prevent dust from settling over the equipment.

Also, if you are opting for covers, then consider this too - every time a cloth based cover is used some fibers fall into the vents and can be a greater problem than the dust itself. If you use plastic / cellophane kind of stuff, there can be a very different micro-climate inside the covers which you may not be able to guess. Such a micro-climate may have high humidity or heat which can also be damaging to electronics.

My recommendation - use an air-filter, and for your own peace of mind - use 'breathing' covers. I use lint-free, tightly knit micro-fibre cloth for covering, when I don't intend to use the system for more than a fortnight. For long term solution, discuss with your society and start planting trees all around.
 
After a couple of hit and trial methods I am now settled with bath towel being used to cover hifi gear placed on the open rack.
I bought few large towels from amazon and cut as per the size of equipment to be covered including the sides as can be seen in the picture.
Initially I made individual covers with very thick cloth and elastic band at lower borders of the covers but backside was difficult to cover this way.
Speakers are covered with thin and cheap curtain cloth.
 

Attachments

  • 20210316_194031.jpg
    20210316_194031.jpg
    485.5 KB · Views: 96
My suggestion, keep the doors/windows open at least to allow natural light and air. Keeping opposite side windows/doors for cross ventilation is always better and avoid dust resting on equipment. You will be having always fresh air moving around which is good for health, compared to closed doors, using AC, Air purifier etc...

Don't worry about dust. Keep 15 Minutes a day for dusting the equipment and Vacuum clean once in a month. That is what we do at home. Some of the windows kept open 24x7. My wife keep floor very clean, with wet clean every day morning. It is my daughter's job to clean the dust of all the equipment including TV, fridge, oven etc... with micro fiber cloth every morning, before going to bath. Seriously, they never miss it.
 
Dust is an unfortunate reality of the Indian subcontinent. You will see pretty pictures of Europe and America and may other Far East countries without a spec of dust in the landscape. These geographies see at least a few minutes of rain every week to moisturise the soil. Then there is snow for months to keep the soil well moisturised and keep the entire surrounding landscape clean.

India on the other hand sees completely dry weather for months until June. The soil loses its moisture completely and dries up and cracks up and the wind raises fine dust like talcum powder and carries it far and wide to blanket window sills, terraces, buildings and roads 1000s of km away - much like Europe US and Korea is blanketed in snow on parapets, roofs and roads for months, India is covered in dust due to the weather phenomenon most of the year. Also few people realise that the sand storms in Arabia give rise to dust particles 10s of km up in the clouds that travel all the way to South Asia and result in rains when the particles become too heavy in moisture laden clouds. Indeed there would be fewer rains in South Asia if not for sand storms over Arabia. India is dusty for various reasons the last being lack of laws and regulations to clean up construction debris. Even that is likely contributing only 1/3rd of the dust in cities. In olden times widespread forest cover and resulting rains possibly kept the situation better but for today’s generation it’s a curse we have to live with.
 
It is expensive. get a Rainbow SRX water based machine, and use it on the next to lowest , or lowest speed setting. ( there are four settings ) Nothing equals this appliance in any home. Wet dust can not fly !!


drlowmu.
 
Dust is an unfortunate reality of the Indian subcontinent. You will see pretty pictures of Europe and America and may other Far East countries without a spec of dust in the landscape. These geographies see at least a few minutes of rain every week to moisturise the soil. Then there is snow for months to keep the soil well moisturised and keep the entire surrounding landscape clean.

India on the other hand sees completely dry weather for months until June. The soil loses its moisture completely and dries up and cracks up and the wind raises fine dust like talcum powder and carries it far and wide to blanket window sills, terraces, buildings and roads 1000s of km away - much like Europe US and Korea is blanketed in snow on parapets, roofs and roads for months, India is covered in dust due to the weather phenomenon most of the year. Also few people realise that the sand storms in Arabia give rise to dust particles 10s of km up in the clouds that travel all the way to South Asia and result in rains when the particles become too heavy in moisture laden clouds. Indeed there would be fewer rains in South Asia if not for sand storms over Arabia. India is dusty for various reasons the last being lack of laws and regulations to clean up construction debris. Even that is likely contributing only 1/3rd of the dust in cities. In olden times widespread forest cover and resulting rains possibly kept the situation better but for today’s generation it’s a curse we have to live with.
Another major reason for the suspended dust particles in the air which is omnipresent especially in the cities is also due to the rampant road digging for various reasons which appears to be the national past time. Sometimes one does wonder whether humans have originated from apes or rats.
 
I can garantee you that even if your door will be shut 100% of the time, the dust will still creep in. My avr PS4 etc are kept inside a cabinet with glass doors. So though it does reduce the dust from getting in, it doesn't stop it entirely.
You could go about it in different ways:
First approach, weatherproof your room. There are many kinds of weather strips available. I use some myself for my bedroom and they do reduce the dust coming in. It's usually a very simple DIY taking 5-15 mins per door/window.
Secondly get a closed cabinet and install weatherproof seal on it too.
Third, use a decorative protective cloth if the gear is not used daily.

And ofcourse you could go all out and do all of these or mix and match the ideas you like/consider feasible.

I'm planning to build a AV Cabinet with closed doors too. Something like the below one. I'm apprehensive about the heat build up and frying the components. How do you manage the air circulation inside? I saw someone using a speaker grill cloth instead of glasses and it sounded like a good idea. Otherwise, need to look at cabinet fans option. Would like to know about your setup.

sdav2_27224-wenge_resized.jpg
 
Back
Top