Well, we've got it our HVAC system and will probably end up having the duct work replaced to ensure that all of it is removed. Yeah, there are cleaning services, but I've been told that once it's in the duct work it's there forever. The big question is how it got there in the first place. We live in central NC and the duct work is of the flexible insulated type, installed under the house in the crawl space and has been in place for more than ten years. The filter is cleaned (flushed with water and dried) on the first of every month and the fan was set to the run setting for almost continuous air movement. Any experience or words of wisdom? Thanks

blueagle65:

Your duct work probably picked up moisture from the surrounding area in the crawl space.

Do you have the crawl space vented?

Do you have the dirt floor covered with plastic to keep the moisture from building-up in the dirt.

Here is an URL that may help you to analyze your problem & thus find a solution to it:

http://rlcenginneering.com/csspecs.htm

For some reason this URL is not functioning.

To obtain same type in your Address Line the following:

Mold in the crawl space under the house

& then click OK

[This message was edited by donaldekliros on 11-06-02 at 08:19 AM.]

We've got the crawl space vented with the auto open/close vents and have plastic down as well. I'll check the referenced web site later - maybe it'll be working then.

When we got ready to sell our place six weeks ago and were moving out of the house, I found some Black Mold in the sewing room. It was along the outside wall. We had this "disaster team" come in and fix it. He said that it was caused from me watering the side of the house when I was watering the lawn. The siding was a wood based product. Anyway, they had to rip out the plasterboard, the carpeting. It was also on the subfloor but didn't go all the way through that. They washed the mold off with bleach and then put lots of bleach into the studs of the wall and on the subfloor. Then they dried it and put up new plasterboard and new carpeting. I asked them if the bleach actually killed the mold and they said that yes it did and as long as the problem that caused the mold to begin with was fixed, it wouldn't come back. Just thought I'd add that info for someone else with a mold problem.

Mold comes from Mold spores. Mold spores are one of the most abundant forms of life on earth, they are very small particulate matter and can be carried on the winds for years. Yep, every breathe you take you are inhaling mold spores. Every surface that is exposed to air is covered in mold spores. Given enough moisture and the right temperatures and food (Which is the other things contained in dust) mold will grow.

Your HVAC system is pumping water vapor into your duct work. I would wager that you live in a very humid place which means that the very air is full of water.

In the summer the humid air is warm and able to carry a lot of moisture, when you start cooling the house, the water precipitates out.

You can see this in action on the outside of a glass of cold or iced water/tea. The water that sweats on the outside of the glass is being taken out of the very air.

In the case of your Air conditioning, you are chilling the air, making it a weak carrier of the water vapor, water being heavier than air settles out quickly and will keep the insides of you ductwork moist. The dust that is sucked and settles inside the ductwork will provide a nice food source for mold.

Replacing all the duct work is too expensive, and if you lived by that you would need to do it again and again, for the humidity in your area is high.

Yearly inspection and cleaning may be the best method. Not only does it remove the mold, but it also removes the dust collected through the year.

Things you could try is recirculating the air in the house and using dehumidifiers taking he water vapor out of the air inside the house. Check with your local HVAC installer, there may be an add-on available which removed the extra moisture at the intake of the AC unit (condensing and removing the water from the house).

Switching to hepa-type filters and changing them often (every three months while the Furnace and A/C is used) will greatly reduce the collection of spores and dust in the ductwork.

I seriously doubt that there is anything wrong with your duct work. I do know that NC is prone to high humidity. And dust is everywhere.

Cheers

David

The mold on the side of the house is most likely form moisture coming into the house in the form of vapor. Killing the mold will only kill what is there. Houses in the south need to have an vapor barrier on the outside of the home....in the north we put it up against the drywall.

Another issue could be that the foundation is allowing moisture to wick up into your home. This problem can be expensive to fix. You need to have a moisture barrier of sorts blocking moisture from your foundation.

Water can travel hundreds of feet in cement. If you stop the moisture from contacting your foundtion, this should take care of some of the problem.

John Haddad

Edited to remove advertising.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,