Ways to Stave Off and Eliminate Mold in Your Home

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Do you worry about a mold outbreak in your home? While household mold is generally not of the toxic, black variety that has gotten so much play in the press, any type of mold — and there are thousands — can be concerning. Left unaddressed, mold can create an unpleasant smell in your home while ravaging drywall, wood, carpets, and other materials. Mold spores can also aggravate respiratory problems.

Let's have a look at some relatively easy steps you can take to eliminate mold.

Dealing with Household Mold

Mold generally occurs when damp conditions prevail — say, with a plumbing or ceiling leak. Mold spores are always in the air and looking for an opportunity to colonize in damp places. If your leaky conditions aren't quickly addressed, you may find that mildew, fungus, or even mold have moved in. Once established, mold will give off a rank, damp odor and be evident in streaks or mottled places on your walls, ceiling, floors, or carpets.

A note here: Even if you see black mold, chances are it's simply common, nontoxic black-colored mold rather than the toxic black mold that we've all been warned about.

To control and eliminate mold, keep humidity in your home under 50%. (An inexpensive hygrometer will help you monitor humidity levels.) Change your air conditioner filter as recommended so that air flows through it efficiently and moisture is removed, as should happen during the air-conditioning process. Schedule regular maintenance to ensure coils are clean, which will also help ensure proper dehumidification.

If your house is still too humid, look into exhaust ventilation for the kitchen or bathrooms. You may want to acquire either a portable dehumidifier (you will have to move it from room to room) or a whole-home dehumidifier, which must be installed in your HVAC system.

To eliminate mold that's formed and clean up moldy places, mix a cup of bleach in a gallon of water and scrub. If the mold has proliferated too much, you may need to replace the materials it has damaged, such as sections of drywall or wood floors.

For more on how to eliminate mold, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow.

How Much Trouble Can Mold Cause in Your HVAC Unit?

HVAC mold can reduce heating and cooling efficiency. What’s more, it can also be the source of allergic reactions and illness in certain persons with sensitivity to mold spores. Microscopic airborne spores that spread mold contamination easily infiltrates houses and are eventually drawn into the airflow of the home’s HVAC system. Here are some examples of the places HVAC mold can develop in cooling and heating units — and perhaps the problems it can cause for occupants of the house as well. 

• Ductwork. Airborne spores accumulating inside ductwork are often exposed to condensation due to high indoor humidity. This moisture triggers dormant spores to turn into active HVAC mold growth. Toxic reproductive spores may be spread throughout the house by contaminated ductwork and can be the source of serious allergic reactions in some individuals.

• AC coils. As airflow passes through the central air conditioner evaporator coil in the indoor air handler, spores present in the airflow contact condensation inside coil passageways. Resultant HVAC mold growth in the coilinhibits coil heat transfer and degrades cooling efficiency. In time, mold growth may obstruct AC airflow through the coil.

• Condensate drain pan. Situated beneath the indoor air handler, the condensate drain pan collects many gallons of condensation daily during summer AC operation, safely diverting the water into a plumbing drain line. Spores from the AC airflow may contaminate the wet pan and trigger active mold. This mold growth frequently clogs the condensate drain line, causing the drip pan to overflow, which can cause indoor water damage. 

To Prevent HVAC Mold

• Replace the HVAC air filter every month during the summer AC season and at least every other month when the furnace is running in the winter.

• Schedule annual preventative maintenance. This in-depth procedure provided by a qualified HVAC contractor includes inspection of the system for signs of HVAC mold in coils, ductwork, and the condensate drain.

• Reduce indoor humidity. To thrive, mold prefers humidity levels above 50%. If you live in a humid climate, consider a whole-house dehumidifier to reduce indoor mold contamination.

Ask the professionals at Air Assurance for advice and expert service to prevent or eliminate HVAC mold growth.

Watch Out for These 3 A/C Condensate Drain Problems

You might be surprised to learn that your home's central air conditioning system is more than a cooling system. If it's working properly, it also should also dehumidify your home. As a result of this two-fold function, all that moisture removed from the air has to go someplace. In most systems, the water drains away without any issues, though in some systems, A/C condensate drain problems can arise. Following are some of the most common.

Overflow

In a properly operating A/C drainage system, moisture removed from indoor air during the cooling process will drip from the evaporator coil into a collection pan. It then flows through a condensate drain line to the household sewage drainage system and then out of the house. The collection pan and condensate drain provide a welcoming environment for algae growth. The algae can clog the drain line, resulting in water backing up, overflowing the collection pan and flooding the area around the evaporator coil. This can damage floors, walls, carpets, fixtures and belongings, and the homeowner may not find out about the water backup until it's too late. If your A/C is equipped with an overflow sensor, it will shut down the system until the clog is addressed.

Drain Trap Problems

In most central A/Cs, the condensate drain line has a U-shaped trap, similar to the traps you see in toilet plumbing. Its purpose is to keep sewer gases and fumes from backing up into the house. If you start smelling nasty odors coming from air conditioning supply registers, it could mean a problem with the drain trap. You'll want to call a plumber or A/C technician ASAP.

Mold Growth

Mold spores love the dark, damp area around an A/C's condensate collection pan and drain. From there, mold can make an easy jump into household air during the cooling process. This creates a health hazard for home occupants, especially those with allergies and other respiratory conditions.

To prevent common A/C condensate drain problems, please contact us at Air Assurance to schedule preventive maintenance on your Tulsa area home's cooling system.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Mark Hayes/Shutterstock”

Eliminate Black Mold From Your A/C Vents with These Cleaning Tips

Finding black mold on your A/C vents isn’t a reflection of your housekeeping habits. Often damp with condensation and supplied with continuous airflow circulating airborne microorganisms, air conditioner components offer the perfect environment for black mold growth, as well as common mildew. Since dormant spores that spawn mold are in continuous circulation through your ductwork, occasional outbreaks on your A/C vents aren’t unusual. Here’s how to get rid of them:Before getting to work, put on protective clothes, gloves and a high-efficiency face mask. You don’t need to be breathing black mold spores in if you can avoid it.

• Unscrew the vent grille of your A/C unit and place it in a large basin or tub. Then, add a few sprinkles of laundry detergent and enough water to completely submerge the vent grille.

• Vacuum the inside of the exposed duct to remove any dust within reach.

• After 15 minutes, remove the vent grille from the basin, rinse with clean water and allow it to air dry.

• Spray the interior of your duct with water to prevent spreading the dry mold dust around. Then, wipe down the duct surfaces with soapy water.

• Because simple mold removal is not sufficient to stop mold growth, you'll need to disinfect the vent surfaces to prevent recurrence. Make a simple cleaning solution, and use a mop or other long-handled cleaning instrument to swap the duct with the mixture. Also, don't forget to apply disinfectant to the blades of the vent grille.

• Let all components thoroughly dry before reassembling, and then re-attach the intake vent cover.

• Lastly, discard all rags and other cleaning supplies that may be contaminated with mold spores in a sealed plastic bag.

For more information on preventing mold growth on A/C vents and any other HVAC components, contact Air Assurance in Broken Arrow.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Joe Belanger/Shutterstock”

What Is Microbiocide (BBJ) And How Can It Help Indoor Air Quality?

Operating costs for heating and air conditioning systems continue to rise year after year. So, we make sure our homes are sealed and insulated, weatherstripped and caulked, in order to reduce the infiltration of outside air and the loss of our precious, indoor conditioned air. That saves us money; but, it also creates another problem.Indoor air quality in homes is the new problem. The air we use gets circulated and filtered and we think all is well. Filtration is a tremendous help; the problem is that mold, mildew and bacteria can live in our homes with us. As they breed, their presence can cause allergies to flair and can contribute to other, more serious, respiratory conditions. Poor indoor air quality has become the price we pay for keeping our homes tight, more comfortable and for reducing our energy costs.When pollutants and contaminants leave our home to be filtered they travel through the duct system. Not all bacteria and mold spores go to the filter. Many cling to the ducts and other components in our heating and air conditioning system. As they breed, their numbers increase and they become unwelcome guests in our homes. They can live on anything that provides a comfortable, humid environment. The biggest example of where mold growth can occur is in our air conditioning evaportator coils.  This is most likely the darkest, wettest, area in the home, which provides an ultimate safe harbor for these culprits to live, eat, and reproduce.  A product that can fight mold and mildew in our home air ducts and coils is MicroBiocide.Microbiocide is a harmless chemical thats been approved by the EPA, to help reduce mold and other contaminants in our home comfort system. A treatment with this approved organic chemical can substantially improve the indoor air quality of any home.Reducing microbial irritants in the ducts can reduce duct odors, inhibit the spread and growth of mold colonies and greatly reduce allergens in the indoor air.  Not only that, but by reducing these things that attach themselves to the coils, airflow and temperature transfer is less inhibited, therefore allowing your system to cool or heat more efficiently.Get more information on reducing mold and mildew and increasing the healthy level of indoor air quality by going here. For other information regarding the maintenance of quality indoor air for your family, log onto Air Assurance. We want everyone to enjoy both home comfort at the lowest possible cost and clean, healthy indoor air.Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, click here. Air Assurance services Tulsa, Broken Arrow and the surrounding areas. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.