Last Friday I saw some mold accumulating on a vent in my house. The house is 50 years old, as are its ducts, and although I had the ducts cleaned when I bought the house it wasn't a very thorough job. There has been a lot of reports in the news about duct cleaning and how it is often a scam (ineffective results, uses lots of scare tactics and very aggressive marketing, empty promises, etc.), so I had reason to suspect that I had never properly treated the house.
I didn't sleep well that night, and woke up at 4am under the delusion that the vent facing my bed was covering me with spores - no joke. I went straight to the computer and started researching. I started on Yelp, but finding very little, I went to the Better Business Bureau website, and found a very nearby inspection company with an A+ rating: http://www.bbb.org/south-east-florida/business-reviews/mold-and-mildew-inspection-removal-remediation/florida-mold-stoppers-in-hollywood-fl-90083743
A few hours later I was on the phone with that company (Florida Mold Stoppers), and within an hour or two, Doug Eddy and his V.P. Keith were in my house, checking out the situation in person. Getting here that quickly on short notice is what I call the textbook definition of "responsive", and a damn rare thing in South Florida! They were as knowledgable as they were prompt: I learned about mold generally, and the high profile work they did for high-end homes and businesses. It was a real education.
In my case, they felt that the mold was contained in the A/C, and immediately got in touch with another company called DUCTZ - again, they were able to get the owner to my house while they were still conducting their inspection - people move fast in the mold industry! (I separately reviewed DUCTZ at http://www.yelp.com/biz/ductz-of-north-fort-lauderdale-and-pompano-beach-pompano-beach). From this linked review you can see I was pretty happy with the work of that company also, and I owe Florida Mold Stoppers a debt for identifying a bona fide duct treatment company from a field full of wannabes and scammers.
The work (which in a nutshell involved taking apart the A/C and using a special paint to resurface its insides and all the ductwork), was completed a few short days later, and this morning I had a follow-up call from Doug asking if everything was all right, and to verify the work of the company he'd referred me to. This guy is amazing, and took nothing from me in return, which is why I have to recommend this company so highly and without reservation. If you are buying a new home or business and something smells funky (literally), give Doug a call before you sign the purchase agreement - that's advice from a lawyer (me). read more