HVAC and Duct Mold Remediation in Metairie, LA
Metairie runs on AC, and mold runs on moisture. The cooling system is the one place in the house that is deliberately cold and wet for nine or ten months of the year, and in a 1960s ranch it usually sits in a closet or an attic with flex duct snaking across the joists. When the smell is strongest right after the unit starts, or one supply vent always has a dark ring, the growth is often in the system rather than the room. Call and tell us which vent.
Where it grows
At the evaporator coil and the drain pan, where condensation is constant. In the plenum and the first few feet of supply duct, which run coldest and sweat the most. In insulated flex duct that got wet from a backed-up condensate line, a roof leak in the attic, or a unit that dripped through a whole summer. EPA says condensation near cooling coils is a major factor in moisture contamination of duct systems, and a vent surface colder than the room’s dew point sweats — which, at 75 degrees and 60 percent humidity, is most days here.
What EPA says can happen if a contaminated system keeps running
- Running an HVAC system you suspect is contaminated could spread mold throughout the building.
- Insulated duct material that has gotten wet or moldy becomes a different problem — EPA says it can’t be cleaned effectively and gets replaced.
- Hard metal duct, the plenum, and the air handler cabinet can be cleaned in place.
- Cooling systems move air, so moisture anywhere in the system ends up everywhere the system reaches.
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What to do now
If the smell is clearly coming out of the vents, switch the system off and call. Note when it was last serviced, whether the condensate line has backed up before, and whether the air handler is in the attic or a closet. Louisiana’s Department of Health lists mold in the HVAC as one of the situations where a homeowner should bring in a professional rather than clean it themselves, and after Ida it repeated EPA’s point that wet insulated duct gets replaced, not wiped. That AC smell came from somewhere — we find it, clean or remove it, and tell you what has to change at the coil and the drain so it doesn’t restart.
