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Hi Willy, hope all is well. Question - Do you think I should get my central air vents cleaned? The ones that run through the home? Thanks!
Willy's Reply: The short answer is NO. If your A/C ducts are made of plastic, they cannot be cleaned, and cleaning may damage the plastic liners. If they are metal, they may have some type of insulation inside them that can be damaged if cleaned. Even if they are unlined metal ducts, there have been studies that show if left undisturbed, dirt and dust that builds up inside ducts develops a hard shell over it. This shell harmless unless disturbed by cleaning and sometimes cleaning releases more dust and mold spores into the air.
Now there are conditions where you should clean the ducts - If there has been a fire in the home, it’s a way of helping to get rid of the smoke smell. If there is a continuing mold problem, then definitely clean the ducts. If there is a high moisture problem in the basement, the moisture can support mold growth inside the ducts. The best thing you can do is change your air filters in the heat and A/C system about every two to three months. I tell people to use the 3-M Filtrate pleated air filters with a merv rating of 8 (see pic above). They remove 99.9% of all the dust particles in the supply air. Because they are so efficient at removing dust they clog quicker than a fiberglass filter, so you must remember to change them more frequently. If you have pets like dogs or cats, then you will need to change them more often as well.
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Sometimes it IS necessary to cut right through a floor joist to get a toilet in just the right spot. This frequently happens in remodeled older homes. The problem here is that it was not re-supported afterwards with the proper floor framing (using headers and trimmers). Because of this, the toilet in the bathroom above is very loose - and yes, it was already leaking!
We were told that a licensed electrician completely rewired this 80-year-old home. New wiring and lots of holes were drilled through floor framing in the basement. A licensed electrician should know enough to not drill multiple holes through floor framing to install cables. Our guess is this electrician was not licensed. If this is what we saw in the basement do you wonder if there were other electrical problems in the dwelling? If you said yes, you would be right! This is not only a structural problem - bad wiring can cause serious injury and fires!
Home buyers are always concerned about water in their basements. One look at the exterior of the dwelling usually gives us clues as to what we may find and how to correct the problem. Maybe you can tell? Here are some exterior photos taken during routine home inspections.
Here is what we found inside. In both cases, exterior grading and directing the leaders so that they drain four to six feet away from the foundation will help or eliminate this type of surface water entry
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DICO Building Inspection Service provides home inspections, commercial building inspections, radon testing and home inspection consulting services in Northern New Jersey including Bergen County, Essex County, Morris County, Passaic County, Union County, Hudson County, Middlesex County, Somerset County, Hunterdon County, Sussex County, Warren County, and Monmouth County.
