Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - cold air return dust

We have lived in this house for about five years. I was puttering around the basement and noticed a section of my cold air return sheeting had pulled away from the joist. As I focused my flashlight towards the gap, I was horrified by the layer of dust on the metal. A good 1/2 to 3/4 inch. I was ready to clean it when I came to this site and read up on duct cleaning and how sometimes it is better to leave the dust rather than stir it up. What should I do???

Hi:bigolaro

I think what was mentioned about stirring up the dust in a prior posting was referring to dust inside the ducting.

From what I am reading in your posting <I could be incorrect on this this> is dust you found lying on the outside of vent tubing <sheeting?>

Either way, if you have access to the ducting, I would suggest you use a shop vacuum and remove all that you can.

If the ducting has become seperated anywhere's, clean the area and reseal and correctly suspend the sections.

Good Luck,
TomBartco
Natural Gas Energy Technician and Consultant.

So you got a look inside your return air panning.......Yes they are dust collectors. This is the area of your return air system where the velocity of the air slows drasticly and the dust falls. Have a duct cleaning company clean them.