Q. My husband and I recently moved into our country dream house. We have so much dust from our forced-air system that you can write your name on the furniture a couple hours after we dust.

We have had our heating and air-conditioning vents cleaned out twice already. We change our air filter diligently, and it’s always loaded with dust. We have even put cheesecloth over all the air vents to no avail.

How can we stop the dust from blowing out of our heating-and-cooling system? We have had our furnace guy check things out; no help.

It’s driving us crazy! – Kathy in Ohio

A. Who said it was your forced-air system that is creating all the dust? In reality, your air system might be trapping a lot of your dust, not creating it.

I recommend that you have a second (licensed) technician check your air furnace for rust or corrosion to be safe. But in the meantime, look at other possible causes for the dust.

Remember, you just moved to the country where pollen can be thick in the air. You might now live on a dirt road instead of an asphalt road, and sand streets will kick up a lot of dust. You can also shut down your air system for a day or two in mild weather. If the dust is still thick, you might be able to rule out your duct system.

I can’t tell you your exact problem, but I can tell you that it’s time to dust yourself off and start all over again.