Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Cleaner air?

I got up before 7, having had a little bit of trouble falling asleep, then remembered to turn off the router. I am not sure if that helped or not. I checked e-mail with my HappyLight, and saw message from our agent asking what she could do to help. I left her a voicemail saying it would help if she returned my calls. I drank lots of water, and exercised. I was almost ready to leave when the duct-cleaning people called and wanted to come in 10 minutes rather than this afternoon. I hemmed and hawed but finally capitulated. So then I rushed around hiding things from the bathroom that I didn't want on display when the vent people came, knowing that they will be in every room of the house. Just then Parker called. I talked to her until the men knocked on my door. One man came in and asked to be shown all the registers. He lifted them up and pointed to something he called mold, said it caused the rust. He also reached inside and pulled out handfuls of debris and carpet shag. He said the system needed to be sanitized. He was not wearing gloves or a mask. I called Sharon, the rental agent, and she said that is what these companies do: tell them to submit their findings. So one man cleaned the registers while the other one tried to sell me more intensive services. He gave me a form to sign. Reading the small print, it said I agreed to everything on the b,ack. So I read the back. Whoever typed it up did not proofread it. The two things that stood out were agreeing that I had read the MSDS on any chemicals they used, and that I would pay today when they were finished. The helper told me I needed a larger air filter, 25x25. He threw the old one out. When they were finished, I called Sharon and she said they could come by the office and she would write them a check. This did not sit well with the 'spokesman' but I handed the phone to him and she convinced him. After they left, I sat down at the laptop to find a source for a nearby new filter. It turned out to be Target. Parker called, said to ask for mold inspection, and then we talked about getting someone to do what Ralph hadn't. I went in my car to get kimbap and sprouts. When I got back, I took Chris' car to Target to get the new filter. On the way I stopped at the intersection for the light in the left turn lane. I thought I was in first gear, but must have been in 3rd cause the car stalled when I let off the clutch. Then I put it in reverse by mistake. (It may be fool-proof, but it isn't Fern-proof). I got it running and just made it through the light, so no one behind me got to go. When I got back with the filter, it was such a tight fit that I had to fiddle and fiddle to get it in. Then it would not go all the way down. The screws on the front were so tight that I could not get them off. Of course the guys used a power drill. William gave me one, but it wasn't charged. So I put the battery in the charger. I sat down at the computer to look up filters on-line, get a better one since Target only had one kind. But then I wasn't sure if I wanted the 25x25 or if I would be happier with the 24x24. I decided that that decision could wait until I got the cover off and saw how the 25x25 really fit. Sharon called back and promised to have someone more professional come out to inspect for mold. Then I remembered seeing watches at Target so I went through the ones on Amazon and put one on my wish list. I started feeling faint. I supposed it was something stirred up by the cleaning, so I went outside to mow leaves in the front yard. I came in for a hot cup of tea. I read e-mail, and watched a 20 minute video on how we are depleting ground water much faster than it can be replaced. I rested in the chair next to the salt lamp. The temp in the house was lowering. I checked the drill battery, and the green light was on, so I attached it to the drill, but nothing happened. Plan B – corded drill. It got the first screw out, but the cord was too short to reach the second screw. I got an extension cord, but it did not help. The screw was in too tight and it just rounded out. But I was able to bend the cover back just far enough to determine that the filter was covering the hole so it was ok to turn the heat back on. I searched again for better filters, then narrowed it to Filtrete 2200. Chris called me on Skype so we talked for half an hour. Then I went to condense my search windows because I have too many windows open to manage. I posed to my blog and hoped to be in bed by 10.

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