When your air conditioning unit turns on, does it smell musty? Do you get headaches? Perhaps members of your family have experienced allergic reactions only at home? If any of these situations have occurred, mold may be living in your air ducts. Mold spores travel easily with air flow, and if you have mold in your air ducts, it has already spread. Even though you may not see any other, more obvious mold sources around your house, it does not mean that the mold spores from inside your ducts have not already contaminated the rest of the home.
At Planet Duct in Colorado Springs, we believe that regularly maintenanced air ducts are key to keeping the air in your home healthy and clean. It can be difficult to determine if your air ducts have mold inside of them without the help of a professional air duct technician. To assist in mold identification, we created this guide to explore various indications of a mold problem in your HVAC and air duct system.
Do You Have a Musty Smell in Air Ducts?
Whenever you turn on your air conditioning or heating unit, do you notice a musty smell in air ducts? A musty smell can be an indication of mold growth. Though this is true some of the time, it is not always the case. Sometimes there is a musty smell but no sign of mold.
If there is a persistent musty smell whenever you activate your HVAC system, it may be time to get your air ducts professionally cleaned. Any duct cleaning specialist will be able to determine if there is mold in your air ducts.
How Do Air Ducts Get Moldy?
Even if you implement a mold prevention checklist in your home, this does not mean your vents will not get moldy. Mold in air ducts is typically caused by the environment within the duct system and has little to do with the spaces around the home itself. These are the standard issues that cause mold to grow in air duct systems:
- Mold has infiltrated the air conditioning unit and created a colony.
- Moisture build up, especially when it occurs in conjunction with rapid heating and cooling.
- Sagging vents that allow condensation to pool into puddles.
- Dirt and debris filled vents experiencing moisture problems.
Mold needs consistent moisture, warmth, and dirt to reproduce effectively. By eliminating these issues, mold can be prevented from growing.
Mold in Air Ducts Symptoms
When ducts succumb to mold it continues to grow and spread throughout the living spaces in your home. This can lead to various symptoms in you and your family that are magically alleviated outside of the residence. If you notice that the symptoms below correlate to the activation of an air conditioning unit or only plague people inside the home, then mold may be actively growing in your air ducts.
- A musty smell that is present in many rooms of the home.
- Symptoms of an allergic reaction like watery eyes, rashes, and runny noses plague guests and residents.
- Fatigue, dizziness, nausea appear for no reason.
- Consistent headaches without a clear cause.
- Unexplained eye and throat irritation.
- Increased asthma attacks and symptoms.
Air Duct Cleaning Services for Mold
When you take the step to hire a professional, you can select from a variety of duct cleaning services. It is best to get air ducts cleaned regularly for optimal mold prevention.
The simplest service you can proactively seek out is that of air duct cleaning. This involves high-powered equipment that vacuums out your vents. This removes any build up of debris that mold may otherwise find a home in. Any high-quality air duct cleaning company will also check for mold while they are performing an air vent cleaning service.
If mold is located in your air ducts, the air duct technician will explain your options moving forward. Mostly likely they will recommend duct treatment as the best option. An air duct treatment is essentially a spray down sanitation treatment where several EPA registered products are applied inside the vent. This solution kills odor causing bacteria, sanitizes the vents surfaces against viruses, and destroys mold on contact. Plus, the solution that is applied to the vents also contains mold growth inhibitors which will prevent future mold growth.
A treatment like this is an excellent way to get out-of-control, moldy vents handled quickly. Typically, this type of service will take a few hours to complete.
Mold-Proof and Sanitize Your Ducts Today! | Planet Duct
As professional air duct cleaners who serve Southern Colorado, Planet Duct strives to help homeowners make educated decisions on how to get rid of and keep mold from growing in their air ducts. In some cases, getting your air ducts cleaned with suction equipment alone is not enough to stop mold growth. This is why our NADCA certified specialists perform air duct treatments using EPA registered mold growth inhibitors. Worried mold is launching out of your vents? Let our stellar air duct cleaning services take care of your mold problem! Book your appointment to get fresher, cleaner, and healthier air ducts today.
