WHNT NEWS 19 Puts "Pure Kleen" Under The Microscope

You've probably heard about the dangers of mold in your home. It can be hazardous to your health. It's that fear that one local company may be using to deceive consumers.

A WHNT NEWS 19 Taking Action Investigation warns you about the practices of Pure Kleen. You may have seen their full-page ads in the newspaper promoting air duct cleaning at a relatively low price. Our hidden camera investigation reveals what happens when they come to your home may end up costing you.


Ken Payer is the owner of Pure Kleen LLC. When we tried to talk to him about his business practices, he got in his car and sped off.

His assistant is a woman named Lori Miller. Payer also has a bodyguard.

When we tried to Take Action and Get Results for a WHNT NEWS 19 viewer, Payer's bodyguard used the company's ad to cover our camera lens and then he prevented us from going anywhere near Ken Payer.

Our investigation began after a Pure Kleen customer contacted us concerned about how things unfolded with Pure Kleen. She does not want to be identified because she's far too embarrassed.

She said, "Well, I thought that was a pretty good deal. Ten vents, one main and one return," referring to Pure Kleen's full-page ad in the local newspaper promoting air duct cleaning for $79.95.

"First thing they said as I went to the door was you have mold and you need to take care of it. And, we can do it. I thought how did they know I had mold? In fact, I asked that question and he said, 'Oh, we can smell it.' So pretty good nose there."

We asked her if they told her she had mold in her house even before they stepped foot in the house.

She responded, "They were standing at the door."

Being told she had mold in her house was alarming. She said, "I have a grandchild who has asthma. I have a grandchild who has cystic fibrosis and I thought, you know, if I have mold, I need that taken care of."

So, she gave Pure Kleen the go-ahead.

She watched the Pure Kleen technicians do their thing. She said, "They used a brush and a vacuum and cleaned the vents and then they sprayed something in after they cleaned. And, that was chemicals to kill the mold." Or so they said. And then, she said, "They gave me a bill for $5,000. It went suddenly from $79.95 to $5,000."

"I fell for it," she said. And, then she gave them a check for $5,000.

But something didn't sound right. "I think it's a rip-off. They've been trained to say this," she told us.

"We are trained to look for mold, find mold. And even if we don't find mold, we're told to call in write up a huge estimate and call in for a discount."

The man who spoke to us did so on the condition of anonymity. He knows the Pure Kleen practices all too well. He said, "They come into town, they rape the town and then they leave."

Now he wants to expose their tactics. He admitted to us that the instant mold test kits Pure Kleen uses to detect the presence of mold are all for show. He said, "We use false mold test kits that always turn up purple, always turn up positive for mold. I could swab my leg and it would turn up positive for mold."

He said the deception went further in terms of the instant mold test kits. "A lot of times we ran out. So, we used the old ones that were purple already. And, went and would swab not letting the customer see it," he said.