Advice for keeping dust/dirt out of West TX home? (Lubbock: house, landscaping)

[pammybear]

It has been so windy this Spring and the dust is coming in through closed windows. Is there anything that I can get to cover the windows/make them air or dust tight so the dust doesn't keep coming in? I am vacuuming up piles of red dirt on the window ledges and floor several times a day. What do other West Texans (Midlanders) do? I don't remember it being this bad last year and this is only our second year here.

Thanks
Pam

[Westerner92]

This spring has been particularly windy, and it sounds like it's even worse in Midland. I'm pretty sure if you go to a hardware store explaining your situation, they will give you the perfect solution. You could maybe put the blue painting tape over the seals and then take it off when you want to open the windows. It isn't most aesthetically pleasing solution, but it should work. Good luck!

[pammybear]

thanks Western! I did something similar and used a pack of weather stripping I found on hand. It doesn't look the prettiest but it's keeping most of the dust out (I've put it around the window on the inside) The wind was pretty bad today---I think we're in for more too!

Pam

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by pammybear

It has been so windy this Spring and the dust is coming in through closed windows. Is there anything that I can get to cover the windows/make them air or dust tight so the dust doesn't keep coming in? I am vacuuming up piles of red dirt on the window ledges and floor several times a day. What do other West Texans (Midlanders) do? I don't remember it being this bad last year and this is only our second year here.

Thanks
Pam

Glad you got the problem solved, Pammy. Funny thing is--I never had this problem in my house in Midland over 30 years. Dust, yes, but not piles of dust in the corners!

I'd go show some homes out in Greentree and other places...and in some of the vacant homes, I would see exactly what you described! There were mounds of red dust in every corner!

I had double pane windows...and kept them shut, so that may have made the difference.

[pammybear]

Hi Cathy! I was just thinking that double pane windows might be a more permanent solution! I think we have this problem because we are on the edge of town and they are building a new road behind GT North---it goes out to Briarwood to the West and I think to the East it will connect with the road that goes to Lamesa---not sure. So since they haven't landscaped anything yet or planted grass, it's just a big dust field with a road in the middle of it! Another woman told me she puts a damp towel in the windowsil on the inside but that sounds like to much work to clean up afterwards!

Pam

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by pammybear

Hi Cathy! I was just thinking that double pane windows might be a more permanent solution! I think we have this problem because we are on the edge of town and they are building a new road behind GT North---it goes out to Briarwood to the West and I think to the East it will connect with the road that goes to Lamesa---not sure. So since they haven't landscaped anything yet or planted grass, it's just a big dust field with a road in the middle of it! Another woman told me she puts a damp towel in the windowsil on the inside but that sounds like to much work to clean up afterwards!

Pam

Aren't you in newer construction at GT, Pam? I would be surprised if you didn't already have doublepane glass! I lived in Northgate, which isn't that far from where you are. My house was built in 1982, and I added storm doors and windows a week or so after I moved in, which helped a LOT with insulation and keeping the dust out.

The wet towel does sound messy! I guess the easiest way is to just take a little dustbroom/pan set and sweep the windowsills every other day or so. It will help when it gets more developed, though, so you're right there.

Midland is starting to install desert landscaping in some newer construction, though I imagine it's going to take a long time for it to really catch on there, if it ever does. Most people hate it.

If I had it to do over again, that is exactly what I would have done--the front all desert/rock/gravel, and the back a small amount of lawn. That's what I have here, and I would not have it any other way. Midland is only one or two steps above desert, and it gets very old having to mow, trim and water all of the time. I had a sprinkler system, and even that gets to be a hassle with cleanout, replacement, etc.

I not only have far less dust and dirt because of the landscaping--the soil is clay, and packs down, rather than being sandy loam as in Midland. The winds here can get high, and the gypsum from White Sands does blow, but I haven't seen a dust storm here yet as bad as what Midland and Lubbock have.

Hang in there....spring will soon be over, with less wind.

[ally5307]

I know your pain Pam! I live in the same area and am having the same problem. The fine red dirt ends up completely covering the window ledges, the floor, and the blinds. It is so frustrating to spend several hours vacuuming/wiping all the blinds only to have the wind blow new red dirt all over them again a week later. My house is only about 4 years old and all of my windows are double pained and stay closed so I do not understand how all of this dirt is coming in. My friends have a house outside of town that is way older than mine and they have no problem with dirt coming in the windows on windy days. We cannot stop the wind but I wish I knew why this was happening in the first place so maybe I could fix it. Any window experts have a clue??

[jtur88]

Do what Canadians do -- take your shoes off at the front door, and put them back on when you go outside.

[losttechnician]

Originally Posted by jtur88

Do what Canadians do -- take your shoes off at the front door, and put them back on when you go outside.

Short of re-sealing all the doors and windows, there is very little you can do to keep it all out. Every time I have changed out a door or window, I try to get it sealed at every step of the way. I have managed to meet with some success, but there is ALWAYS a small film of dirt inside the window sills after a dirt storm.

Which is often this time of year.