Help Me Clean Up My Breathing Space!

[Turquesa]

Well, I think I got ripped off this morning. : I called one of those air duct cleaning places. He basically just shoved a vacuum hose in all of my vents and charged me $100.00. Now that I'm reading up on the matter, I've learned that it that doesn't do any good because it doesn't stop the dust from deeper in the system from circulating.

The worst part, however, was the high-pressure sales tactics and the bait-and-switch. By the time he named every last dirty vent, every filter offer, and every chemical that he intended to pour into the system, I was looking at a $1400 clean-up job! I stayed sweet and calmly declined, although I had to stay as persistent in my refusal as he was in his sales pressure.

That being said, I know that I have to do something. The musty smell is being caused by mold in my crawlspace, which doesn't have enough Visqueen to prevent mold from creeping up. We also had a leak in our roof last summer, and I've been too scared to go to the attic and see what kind of mold could be growing there, too!

The way the salesman wanted an instant decision (he didn't want me to talk over the matter with DH) sent up a red flag. Are these businesses legit? Are there some professionals that I SHOULD be contacting? Would a mold inspection specialist be better than these vent cleaning people? Is this a DIY task and, if so, what all does it entail? What are my best options for getting rid of the dust? The mold?

And for future reference, what do YOU do as preventative measures to keep your air clean? For example, how and how often do you dust? Do you have air filters? House plants?

Does this thread qualify for the 20 Questions game yet? (Sorry, ladies!)

[sofysmommy]

I want to know too!

[sunnysandiegan]

Well, I called one of those places when we first bought our house and they came out. They refused to do the airduct cleaning service, though. I forget the reasons. They did do the dryer vent service and sold us a lifetime filter for our furnace. We wash it every so often and it is never dirty. (We do not have air-conditioning.)

I go through phases with dusting. Sometimes I dust every single week and other times I dust once a month or less. I tend to clean our ceiling fans more in the warm months and less in the colder months. We live in San Diego, so that is more often than not. LOL

I have Fall allergies (trees), so that is the only time of year I keep the house closed up. The rest of the year, I tend to have open windows and doors to keep air flowing. I like fresh air for keeping humidity under control and clean smells, etc. Our humidity is darn near perfect most of the year, though, which is not the usual situation.

If I were in your situation, I would ask neighbors and local friends what they do. Judge the effectiveness for yourself, of course. Locale makes a difference, though. Also, I would ask for referrals for companies to do the work if the "handy" folks you know do NOT do it themselves. I don't actually know that much about mold, but I believe that is one of those things the experts handle better than homeowners and quality matters.

[Turquesa]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

Our humidity is darn near perfect most of the year, though, which is not the usual situation.

Yup! Ours, too. That's way I was a little skeptical. I'm glad I listened to my intuition, because I had three different estimators assess the situation and NONE of them found any mold!! We're still going to investigate gizmos like air purifiers and dehumidifiers and go from there. Thanks for the reply.