While mold is most certainly one item you would love to live without, you can’t – at least not at home. That’s because every home and commercial building with plumbing, heating and cooling systems has at least some mold. So, the idea isn’t how to get rid of it, but locate and minimize its growth.

Mold in Your Air Ducts

One place mold loves to occupy is inside your air ducts. It’s the result of dirt and mold spores being pulled in and passed through when your heating or cooling system is on and becomes worse when there’s high moisture content in the air.

Here are other ways moisture can enter your air ducts:

Leaky roof—If your ducts are in the attic and your roof starts to leak water, your ducts could be getting soaked. They get inside when there’s a crack or a loosened connection.

Oversized AC unit—Large air conditioners don’t run as long as right-sized or under-sized systems. The more time an AC system is off, the less humidity it’s transferring outdoors. The humidity can then condense on your metal vents and become a breeding ground for mold.

Plumbing leak—A hidden plumbing leak can let water into your ducts, creating open season for mold growth.

Inadequate bathroom venting—When you take a hot shower, that steam needs to go somewhere. Ideally, it should be vented outside by an exhaust fan. Otherwise it can collect on vents or registers in the bathroom and just like that, your ducts are back in the mold breeding business.

How to Reduce Household Mold

There are several ways you can cut way back on indoor mold:

Have a licensed HVAC contractor install a whole-house air purifier to clean your air of dirt, dust, and other common pollutants.

Have your ducts inspected and sealed, as necessary, once a year.

Repair water leaks as soon as you spot them.

Use your bathroom vent fans or consider installing one.

If you get a new air conditioner, make sure it’s properly sized and installed.

And that’s where we come in. Optimum Air is highly skilled and experienced in designing an AC system to fit your home precisely and provide the reliable comfort we know you value. We’re also indoor air quality specialists that offer several air cleaning solutions. Contact us today for more information or a free in-home comfort evaluation.