I've been mulching my leaves since last year. My wife was skeptical- 34 years of living has told her that you rake up the leaves in the fall, and dispose of them. I talked her into the leaf mulching scheme, and this year she's 100% onboard now. What happens is that the leaves get shredded up real fine (sometimes an extra pass is necessary) and by mid May, they've completely decomposed into the lawn. I've been evangelizing this scheme to everyone I know. I have noticed that by adding the leaf mulching plate to my Deere LX176, less passes are required because the leaves stay under the deck longer to be chopped. The Gator blades are also very helpful. As for pine needles, this doesn't work to well for them. They don't mulch well, and take a while to decompose. For pine needles, I'll actually bag 'em and put 'em curbside, though I'm actually tempted to cart them into the woods.

Came back to let you know what happened just now. The clear side was getting green inside around the top, and I figured it was a loss (didn't see any roots). I went and cut it off. I popped it open pulled the cane out, dropped it...then noticed it had a couple roots on it. I hurriedly grabbed a high country pot, and gently potted it in organic potting soil, watered it, and put it in a shady spot. I don't know if it will survive, but I now have hope for the 3 new ones. I fully stripped the cambium layer on the 3 new ones, and covered the clam shell with foil, so sunlight stays out. I think this first one was slower to root, because I left a lot of the cambium layer, and the green mildew was from light hitting the clear side. So yeah it works, I just needed to tweak some things. Give it a go! This video helped a lot, and shows exactly where and how to strip the bark right under a leaf node. https://youtu.be/rOjf7LliPmM

Thanks, everyone! A whole-house unit isn't in my budget--and possibly not useful anyway. I do have forced-air heating, but it doesn't extend to the bedrooms. I didn't realize the good portable units cost that much. This is going to be an "interesting" year, as I need a new roof and also anticipate buying a new oil burner or propane burner if I switch to propane heat (a topic for another thread soon). I checked my three vacuum cleaners (one for each floor, including the attic, where a couple of cats like to hang out. Two of them, including the one I use most often, have HEPA filters. One of my family members is very allergic to my house. We thought it was residual allergens from our dogs, but I haven't had a dog in several years. So now I'm thinking it might very well be something else in this house, possibly the same thing that's now bothering me. Does anyone know if those DIY home mold tests are any good?

All interior spaces need daily fresh air. even in times of extreme weather (hot or cold or humid). The not free but most comprehensive way to do it in a house is to have an ERV or HRV fresh air device installed by an HVAC contractor. They bring in outside air and temper the incoming air using outgoing air (using a heat exchanger to extract the heat or coolness, depending on the season) to avoid the extreme temperature differences. The fresh air is realesed either directly into a room through a vent or into an existing HVAC system duct. A no-cost way to bring in regular outside air is to turn on a bathroom exhaust fan, leave the bathroom door open and then open a window an inch or two in a different part of the house. You should feel an incoming airflow through the open window and that works even if there's no breeze at all outside. The old fashioned way still works too - open two (not one) windows on opposite sides of the home.