Can Mold Grow In A Duct System?
Your home duct system carries the air that you and your family breathe on a daily basis so ensuring that the air quality is healthy is crucial to maintaining a healthy environment for your family. Mold growing in your HVAC system can increase sickness experienced by your family. In order for mold to grow, the sports need a stable temperature + a food source + moisture in order to live and reproduce. All of these are provided by your HVAC system so it is the perfect environment for mold to grow and thrive. Any dust or dirt that passes through your air filter provide a good food source.
Your furnace and air conditioner are both designed to maintain a comfortable temperature in your home and moisture is available from several of the components in the HVAC system in your home. Mold growth can happen because the humidifier in your furnace is wet with standing water and the cooling coils are great places for mold to appear and grow. The thing is even if the mold dies, both living and dead mold can produce toxins and these toxins can cause short-term allergic reactions. Live mold releases spores and breathing these in can trigger asthmatic or allergic reactions.
When on house calls, our duct cleaning technicians in Ottawa have dealt with mold conditions inside ductwork several times. As part of our Ottawa duct cleaning service, we give the ducts a thorough cleaning and we then use encapsulation as well as a biocide application. It is highly recommended to have your HVAC system inspected and retreated again after 6 months from the initial treatment and cleaning. In some rare instances we may recommend installing a UV light system inside the return air duct to shine the bright light into all of the air that must pass the light on its way back towards your furnace fan which will kill molds, bacteria and fungae which may be inside your HVAC duct system.
If you haven’t had your ducts cleaned by an Ottawa duct cleaning company then we recommend giving us a call and we can fully clean your HVAC duct system and inspect for any mold at the same time.