Healthy Home Tips: The Seller’s Trojan Horse

Your family is growing in size and you have to find a roomier home. You may feel lucky if the person moving out is leaving behind a refrigerator or some stylish carpeting, but beware. Many things left behind in a house should be cleaned or removed prior to occupancy, especially if you or someone else in your family, particularly a child, has allergies, asthma or other environmental sensitivities.

1. The Refrigerator. There is often allergenic dust on the sides and back of the appliance, as well as dust trapped in the coils and insulation. These surfaces can be HEPA vacuumed with a 36-inch crevice tool (found on-line; Google “36-inch crevice tool” AND “vacuum”). A drip tray, if present, can be contaminated with mold, bacteria and yeast. When the refrigerator compressor turns on, by-products of this growth can become airborne and be inhaled. The tray should be removed and cleaned. A few tablespoons of salt in a clean plastic (not metal) drip tray can help deter such microbial growth. (In newer refrigerators, the drip tray is on top of the compressor and only accessible for cleaning from the rear after removal of an access panel; salt shouldn’t be used here.)

2. The Washer and Dryer. Biodegradable lint can pile up in back of a dryer, and if the washer has ever leaked, there can be mold growth on the floor or the lower few inches of wall behind the appliance. The washer/dryer should be moved and the area thoroughly cleaned. The dryer hose should be checked to be sure that it’s not kinked or squashed, and that it vents to the exterior. For confined spaces, I recommend a solid metal, periscope-style dryer duct rather than a hose that is likely to be crushed. Never use flexible plastic hose.

3. Built-Ins in Unfinished Basements. Below-grade spaces are prone to mildew growth, so work benches, pegboards to hold tools, and built-in wooden shelves and seats are often covered with mold, and should be removed or cleaned and painted to adhere moldy dust.

4. Carpeting and Built-Ins in Finished Basements. I would say that more than half of the finished basements I investigate end up in a dumpster because they haven’t been consistently dehumidified in spring/summer/early fall or heated in the colder months. Relative humidity has thus been elevated and mildew has sprouted, usually invisibly, on the lower few feet of walls and built-in bars, on the bottoms of shelves, and in carpet dust. (Hold a bright flashlight parallel to smooth, finished vertical surfaces to see the spots of probable mold colonies at the lower foot or two, as well as higher up on outside corners.) A moldy carpet should be removed under containment, and replaced with vinyl or ceramic tile flooring. Any built-ins should also be removed or cleaned and painted to adhere residual dust. The lower few feet of pressed-board or painted walls can be cleaned with a bleach/water solution or a household cleaner suited for the purpose. Unfinished wood should be lightly sprayed with paint or an appropriate sealant, to adhere residual dust. If off-gassing is an issue, use an Elmer’s glue and water solution (one part glue to one to two parts water). Painted surfaces can be repainted.

5. Carpeting in Other Spaces. People often replace wall-to-wall carpeting in rooms but leave the carpeting on stairs and in hallways, yet it is these areas that often receive the most foot traffic and where the carpeting is sometimes most severely contaminated with allergens from pets, dust mites, and even mold growing on captured dust.

6. Window Treatments. Some window shades off-gas a vinyl smell that can be irritating to those who are sensitive to chemicals (like fragrances). Such blinds should be removed from the house, along with the Seller’s other possessions. Sometimes curtains contain mold growth on surfaces that are near the cool floor or that have rested up against a cool window or slider. Curtains and drapes can also be full of allergens from pets and dust mites. Such curtains should be cleaned if possible or replaced.

7. Furniture. Perhaps the family moving out of the home is downsizing and thus is interested in selling you some furniture. If that includes a bed or two, replace each mattress and box spring, and clean the frame of all dust. If any of the furniture pieces are antiques, they may have been stored in a damp basement or garage at some point and can contain a nearly invisible fuzzy film of mildew growth on solid surfaces, especially the bottoms and backs; there may also be mold growth in cushioning or on upholstery. If you want to accept such hand-me-downs, buy new mattresses, reupholster pieces, and clean solid surfaces. Inheriting someone else’s dust mites and other allergens and irritants shouldn’t be part of the deal.

©2009 Jeffrey C. May