The problem

A Henrico family had been dealing with chronic congestion, unexplained allergy symptoms, and a persistent low-grade headache pattern for several years. The kids in particular were waking up congested every morning and clearing up once they were out of the house for the day. The family had cycled through over-the-counter allergy meds, an HVAC duct cleaning from a different contractor, and a couple of cheap air purifiers, with no real improvement. They had called other HVAC companies and been told repeatedly that the system was fine, which left them out of ideas. They called us for what they described as one more look before they considered moving.

Where we started

We didn't start in the living room. The principle behind a real IAQ diagnosis is that the answers are almost never in the parts of the house you can see. We started in the attic, the crawlspace, and inside the ductwork itself, because those are the parts of the system that move the air the family is actually breathing.

What we found

In the attic, the return ductwork had a section of mold growing on the interior wall of one of the trunks, near a spot where the insulation had compressed and the duct had been sweating in the humid Virginia summer for years. Inside the air handler, the cooling coil had a thick mat of dust and biological growth on the upstream side. The filter slot at the air handler had a gap around the filter that was letting air bypass entirely, which meant the MERV 11 filter the family had been changing every three months was barely filtering anything. In the crawlspace, the vapor barrier was torn in several places and the dirt floor was visibly damp, which was sending humid air up through the floor and into the living space. And the system had no dedicated fresh-air ventilation at all, which is increasingly common in homes built in the last 25 years that have been tightened up for energy efficiency.

What we did

We did a full duct cleaning, replaced the section of return duct that had mold growth, and sanitized the rest of the system. We installed a UV-C light at the air handler aimed at the cooling coil, which keeps the coil and the surrounding air handler clean of biological growth going forward. We upgraded the filter slot to take a MERV 13 media filter (4 inches thick instead of 1 inch, much better filtration, much less air bypass), and sealed the slot so air actually goes through the media. In the crawlspace, we patched the vapor barrier and recommended a dehumidifier sized for the space. And we scoped out an ERV (energy recovery ventilator) install for the next phase, which would give the home a continuous supply of filtered fresh air without dumping conditioned air outside.

Equipment we used

Sanuvox UV-C light at the air handler, Aprilaire 4-inch media filter cabinet with a MERV 13 cartridge, and a sealed filter slot retrofit. The next-phase ERV is specced as a Panasonic Intelli-Balance with HEPA filtration, scheduled for installation in the fall.

How the family is doing now

The morning congestion the kids had been waking up with has dropped significantly. Both parents reported that the lingering low-grade headache they had been chalking up to just life with kids went away within about two weeks of the work being completed. The family is not planning to move.

Notes on the project

Most IAQ problems in Richmond-area homes are not in the parts of the system you can see. Ductwork, the upstream side of the cooling coil, the filter slot, the attic, and the crawlspace are where the real problems live. A standard HVAC tune-up does not check any of those things, which is why families can have IAQ symptoms for years and be told repeatedly that everything is fine. A proper IAQ inspection takes longer (usually 2 to 4 hours on site) and costs more than a tune-up, but it is the only way to actually answer the question of what is wrong.

Why work with Fresh Air

Fresh Air is one of the few Richmond-area contractors that does IAQ as a real diagnostic service, not as an upsell on a tune-up. NATE-certified technicians, licensed in Virginia under 2710051155 (HVAC) and 2705143403 (electrical, gas, and plumbing). Written reports with photos and a prioritized action list, not a verbal pitch.