Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 12/7/2008

Question
I moved into a newly built home in February, and started to notice a bunch of black on the walls and on the beams and on the furnace filter, pretty much on everything i spoke to someone who told me it could be construction ghosting have you ever heard of such a thing??

Answer
Hi Tyler, the term construction "ghosting" isn't familiar but I can see where it comes from.  If you ever look at a ceiling fan that has been in use for any period of time you will notice that the dirt on the blades is black and sooty looking.  The blades will also throw off this material and eventually a ring will form on the ceiling.  Dust that remains airborne during construction will eventually settle on something.  If your walls have texture on them then the ridges of the texture will catch these minute particles.  I suppose that could be called "ghosting".  Just vacuum it up and you should be okay.  If it is extremely bad and/or returns soon after cleaning then you might want to check your A/C or Heating air handler.  If the unit was in use during construction and they didn't use construction filters then your air handler may have an inordinate amount of dirt in it.  If you can, remove the cover and look at the coils inside the unit.  If the coils are dirty then they need to be cleaned and new filters installed.  This should help get this dust under control.  I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters sincerely, bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com