Anyone having white pollen problems? (Denver, Greenwood Village: rental, fingerprints, appliances)

[PatanjaliTwist]

Is anyone in the Denver area (I’m in Greenwood Village) having problems with white pollen in their house? Every day, everything in my house is covered in white fingerprints, including the insides of DVD cases & DVDs, all appliances & surfaces of everything in every room… my handbag has to be brushed off each day, shoes, chairs… what on earth is it?

Odd thing is, it’s not a neat coating of dust/pollen, but looks like a ghost who has a love for baking bread spends his night going through my house & touching everything from top to bottom. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

I only have 2 windows, which I leave closed all the time… opening them is quite difficult. The sliding glass doors in the living room are normally closed 24/7… seems I have allergies since moving here, so I lock up everything & use ceiling fans or central air for short bursts only. Wouldn’t it be unlikely pollen could penetrate closed, locked doors windows & cover everything in prints?

Is it possible this powder can be junk spewing out from the a/c vents? The inside of all windows/glass doors is covered in powdery fingerprints, too, even after I just Windex’d them… what are the fingerprints & what is the powder? I’ll look tomorrow to see if it’s also covering the outside of the glass surfaces, but inside DVD cases which are closed & not near a vent??? What? By the way, I don’t put my fingers on the backs of DVDs… I handle them on the sides only so I don’t get fingerprints on them. Each day, I open each case & there are the powdery fingerprints, all over… not a few, they’re completely covered. I wipe them off with a clean cloth & sometimes DVD cleaner, put them away... same thing following day.

Is this a normal Denver summer, do I have some freaky mold/dust/infestation problem or do I need an exorcism to rid my house of my touchy-feely baking night time ghost?
Lastly, after Windex’ing my DVD player & speakers several hours ago (just bought them... they're 2-days old... yep, overnight, both covered in prints), I’m sitting here now looking at them half covered in powdery white prints… I haven’t touched either. No, I don’t drink heavily, sprinkle baby powder like fairy dust or have a cloud following me like Pig Pen in Charlie Brown. Anyone have any ideas???

Been here 3-mos & have had the problem since I moved in 1st wk of April. Thank you!

[hammertime33]

I haven't the slightest clue what this phenomenon you're describing is. It's certainly not Colorado normal. I think getting your vents cleaned (or at least looked at) is a great idea, and I'd change your air filter today.

[Mike from back east]

We get the white powder in our home too, not a lot though, and nothing like the OP describes. We change the filter several times per year, using the highest quality we can find, but still it's just the usual pleated paper type, not a HEPA or other specialized filter system.

Someone told me the white dust is from the gas range / heating system, but we get it in summer too.

IMO the atmosphere here is just dusty. The pollen we had back east was a greenish color and was a springtime occurrence.

[j96g]

Maybe you haven't dusted your ceiling fans and when on they spread the dust around. You'd be amazed on how some people don't do their ceiling fans.

[PatanjaliTwist]

Originally Posted by hammertime33

I haven't the slightest clue what this phenomenon you're describing is. It's certainly not Colorado normal. I think getting your vents cleaned (or at least looked at) is a great idea, and I'd change your air filter today.

Okay, thanks. I wanted to see what others thought before alerting maintenance... I live in a luxury apt complex, but have my doubts about the luxury part. I've had nothing but problems with this apt since moving in, the most annoying was no hot water for 11-days which took 4 visits & 3 different maintenance workers to correct.... I think they already hate me.

There is a closet in my kitchen with some beast of a machine in it. It controls the heat & a/c. I can see a large filter in the front, which looks fine... not sure if I can request vent ducts (or whatever they're called) to be cleaned.

Just thought of something else... as people have moved, their has been all day long banging in adjacent apts... replacing carpeting, etc. It's not a daily occurrance, but it's a huge complex & moving trucks are often on the property, so people do come & go quite frequently. Perhaps plaster or dust can be getting into my vents?

I'll call maintenance on Tues.

[PatanjaliTwist]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

We get the white powder in our home too, not a lot though, and nothing like the OP describes. We change the filter several times per year, using the highest quality we can find, but still it's just the usual pleated paper type, not a HEPA or other specialized filter system.

I only see 1 large, cheap paper/cardboard filter in the closet monster I described above, but since my apt wasn't move-in ready (no hot water, broken door lock, appliances not checked, etc), I'll assume they haven't changed it anytime in recent history & request they do it on Tues. It looks clean to me, but I'm not a good gauge of such things.

Someone told me the white dust is from the gas range / heating system, but we get it in summer too.

Maybe you've got something since my closet monster controls a/c & heat. I can see the gas pipes connected to it... but the rental office said the gas starts the beast, then it runs on electricity. (This is all new to me, so I have no idea if that's correct?) Since white dust is in every room, it seems to me it has to be coming through the vents... although I have seen the nasty green pollen you describe below (lived in Boston, NYC for many years) which insidiously gets into the house even if the windows/doors are rarely opened. Once/wk I wiped a thin film of green/yellow pollen from every single window sill & all venetian blinds... of windows which I never opened during spring pollen season.

IMO the atmosphere here is just dusty. The pollen we had back east was a greenish color and was a springtime occurrence.

And, now that you mention that, I just remembered my deck is coated in light colored dirt every single day. I can sweep & sweep & sweep... it never seems to be clean. I also have landscaping all around me, it's extremely windy every afternoon... I'm guessing if it's not the vents, it's a combo of vents & dust. I loved solved mysteries. Cheers, Mike.

[PatanjaliTwist]

Originally Posted by j96g

Maybe you haven't dusted your ceiling fans and when on they spread the dust around. You'd be amazed on how some people don't do their ceiling fans.

Quite right, high ceilings... I'd need a high ladder, which I don't have. But, I only use the one in the living room (& not often)... I have dust throughout the entire flat... 3 rooms in has a coating of white dust everyday. It's definitely not the problem. But, good idea nonetheless... I'll borrow a ladder & clean the fans.

[hammertime33]

Originally Posted by PatanjaliTwist

Okay, thanks. I wanted to see what others thought before alerting maintenance... I live in a luxury apt complex, but have my doubts about the luxury part. I've had nothing but problems with this apt since moving in, the most annoying was no hot water for 11-days which took 4 visits & 3 different maintenance workers to correct.... I think they already hate me.

There is a closet in my kitchen with some beast of a machine in it. It controls the heat & a/c. I can see a large filter in the front, which looks fine... not sure if I can request vent ducts (or whatever they're called) to be cleaned.

Just thought of something else... as people have moved, their has been all day long banging in adjacent apts... replacing carpeting, etc. It's not a daily occurrance, but it's a huge complex & moving trucks are often on the property, so people do come & go quite frequently. Perhaps plaster or dust can be getting into my vents?

I'll call maintenance on Tues.

Are you friendly with other people in your building? Do your neighbors have the same problem, or does it just appear to be your unit?

[PatanjaliTwist]

Originally Posted by hammertime33

Are you friendly with other people in your building? Do your neighbors have the same problem, or does it just appear to be your unit?

Ahh, thank you... check out the problem solving skills on Hammer & you guys!

No idea who lives around me. I rarely see or hear anyone in my bldg, because I'm on a night schedule... I creep around the bldg at 3am like a serial killer getting mail, taking out trash, working out in the fitness room. In fact, I was beginning to think I live here alone, like in The Shining, hence the creepy fingerprints.

If I see someone, I'll ask. Otherwise, I'll just visit the rental office on Tues & ask if they've had similar complaints and/or if someone can check my vents.

Several weeks ago, I've gone so far as to visit Bed & Bath to buy special cleaners... PerfectGlass, PerfectKitchen & special microfiber cloths, which are supposed to clean sans streaks. Previously, I looked up cleaning tips online & found sites which suggested cleaning with a peroxide/vinegar mix... did that, to no avail.

Here's what I did today... I used the PerfectKitchen spray & clean cloth to clean off the TV/VCR/speakers at 4pm, as a test to see when the white prints return. I haven't used them or touched them since. Now, at 10pm, they're COVERED in white fingerprints & white streaks... completely covered, front, back, top, bottom. But, this is AFTER turning on the a/c 1/2-dozen times throughout the evening. Prior to using the a/c, I didn't notice anything. If I wipe my finger across the surface of any of those, it looks like I just swiped baby powder, meaning it's that thick.

My next test will be tomorrow when I'll be out all day. I'll clean those surfaces again before I leave, then see what they look like when I return. Lastly, I already reported this to maintenance after 2-wks here... turns out my dryer hose wasn't completely connected, BUT, it was spewing gray lint, not white powder. I thought that would be the end of it... not. I've checked the dryer hose... it's fine & they really glued/taped it down good into the wall.

The outside of my terrace/walls are covered in light colored soot... like chalk dust. If I run a broom over any surface outside, I can sweep over & over & it's still not clean of white powder. I think I've gotta go with Mike on it being a dusty environment. I know pollen, dirt, pollution soot can creep into apts even if the windows aren't opened (like I had forever in NYC/Boston). As I said, mine aren't ever opened, because I suddenly have allergies here... maybe they're not allergies & just all the junk either coming in from outside or through the vents that are causing me to sneeze constantly without OTC allergy pills. Never had allergies before & I've lived all over the world.

Thank you for your help. I do appreciate everyone who is helping me to find out what on earth is in my flat... maybe I sleepwalk, wander into the kitchen to roll dough & then touch everything in the house??? That's the oddest thing... on the eastcoast, I had an even coating of green/yellow pollen on surfaces once/wk (through closed windows/doors)... here, it looks like fingerprints & it's everyday... can't figure that part out. (Yes, I'll post pics so people don't think I have a drink/self-medicating problem.)

I'll take your advice & ask a neighbor, if I ever wander into one, or the rental office will get another visit from their favorite tenant on Tues.

[Mike from back east]

We lived in an almost new rental home for a few months while our home here was being built. I noticed that a lot of drywall debris and dust had been swept into the air ducts at floor level by the contractor's people. That could be an issue for you.