Indoor Air Quality - Spring Check Up Mold Remediation in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems

Indoor Air Quality - Spring Check Up

Mold Remediation in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems

(Harry Cannon is a mold product patent holder and owner of Dwelling Management Solutions)

Hello! I am Harry and I will be contributing a series of monthly Mold related articles. The first relates to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). IAQ refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Understanding and controlling common pollutants indoors can help reduce your risk of indoor health concerns. Health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later.

Spring is an optimal time to assess your home for the usually unseen presence of indoor mold. Indoor mold can sometimes be detected by the presence of smelly or stuffy air, dirty central heating and air cooling equipment (including in and around vents), and areas where books, shoes and other items become moldy (usually in closets). An easy and effective way to detect odors in your home is to step outside for a few minutes. Upon re-entering the home see if you can detect musty, mildewy or stuffy odors.

Mold remediation involving a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system should be done only by professionals experienced in working with HVAC systems. Professionals may have several different methods and techniques for approaching HVAC remediation. As with the rest of a mold remediation project, professional judgment is required. An HVAC system found to be contaminated with mold should be turned off and not used until the system has been remediated.

Using a mold-contaminated HVAC system may spread mold throughout the building and increase the exposure of building occupants. The HVAC system should be remediated when the home can be vacant for a period of at least 4-6 hours. The best way to de-contaminate your system from mold is to have it fogged with EPA approved mold chemicals such as those produced by Mold Defender.

My company, Dwelling Management Solutions (DMS), is your local (NE-NC) Mold Defender applicator (see ad below). We encourage your questions/feedback regarding this and any other mold related issues. You can communicate with me directly via the “Chat” function at www.dwellms.com. Or http/www.facebook.com/dwellms/