I moved out of my old duplex on March 16th in San Jose, CA. We did a move out inspection on that day and my landlords only comment was that the blinds must be professionally chemically cleaned even though I cleaned them myself. I asked for a signed paper that day including any damages she intended to charge me for and she said that wasn't possible. I lived there for 12 months and gave proper notice. It is now April 5th, and she dropped off a letter on my doorstep at my new house. The letter basically says she has an estimate (dated April 2nd) to clean the blinds but that the work isn't done yet. Since I cleaned the blinds myself, and she didn't say that they were still dirty, isn't her preference of pro cleaning unreasonable? The lease says the blinds should be cleaned if needed. And wouldn't dusty blinds just be normal wear and tear anyway, the blinds weren't even dusty by the way.
Second, the letter I received states that there is water damage on the pergo/laminate floor in the living room and kitchen. I did not see any damage when I was living there, and she did not notice or point out any damage during the walk through. I took timestamped pictures before moving out and they do not show any damage. She said she is having someone come to inspect the floors on April 8th and will let me know the cost. She said there are two small bubbles in the laminate, one in the living room and one in the kitchen, and that they are too small to show up in pictures so she cannot photograph them. But that there will be charges to replace the floor and sub floor. Also as a note, she has been replacing all the plumbing in the house from old steel to new copper since I moved out(the past 3 weeks). So the blind cleaning charge will include cleaning all the construction dust... And how do I know if the water damage was caused after I moved out when they were doing the construction. She is asking me to have my rental insurance pay for the supposed water damage or use my deposit (I have a $2400 deposit). She says she will only return my partial deposit once she has the blinds cleaned and floors repaired. She has already had 20 days to have estimates and work done but has been taking her sweet time, it will probably be up to another month before she has the work done. So I'm wondering is she allowed to take her time returning my deposit like this? Also the letter was not mailed, just dropped off, is that proper legal notice? What should I do about this supposed water damage claim? She plans to take it out of my security deposit, but there wasn't water damage when I lived there, and I have pictures to prove it. Is small claims court the only answer? Any advice would be appreciated.

