Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum Ask Aldeer Home AC experts, mold questions!

I've got a gas pack unit that's about 4 to 5 years old. Everything is working as it should, cold air blows fine and heats good in winter. The local company that installed it has come out twice a year to SERVICE it, their first name starts with Perfect, along with the previous all caps word. They spray off the coil and condenser with water from what I can tell to clean it. So they come out yesterday and do the cleaning and inform the wife that the unit is full of growing mold and he's taken pictures of that on his cellphone and shows my wife.
He tells her that we need to install an air purifier to get rid of the mold. I'm assuming its the blue light gimmick that they try to push on customers to the tune of $2100.00 installed that costs $140.00 or so at Lowes.
So is there anything that I myself can do to kill and get rid of the mold inside the unit? He stated that its growing on the blower,coils,condenser,etc....
Any advice from you AC gurus on how to take care of this issue? Thanks in advance! I don't think Clorox sprayed from a pump up sprayed will kill this stuff but...?

Hydrogen peroxide will kill the mold.

Black lights, reme halos, a variety of air purifiers and etc do work... but in your case, you need to find the root cause of “mold”. It normally doesn’t just randomly show up. It can usually be traced back to a drain line being stopped up at some point and the system holding water, excessive humidity, fan switch left in the “on” position in the summer and a list of other things. A lot of companies have half assedly jumped into the IAQ space since covid and are simply trying to capitalize on peoples new fears, not saying this is your case, though.

Edit to add- if they’ve serviced twice a year for 5 years, I would have an honest discussion with them about the actual benefit of even having them routinely service your system.

Edit to add- if they’ve serviced twice a year for 5 years, I would have an honest discussion with them about the actual benefit of even having them routinely service your system. [/quote]

Exactly ^^^
I basically said the same thing to my wife and said if they are servicing and cleaning it as they said they are, why is this just now a problem?
Jbatey1, The drain is clear and has been as I keep a check on that, no dirt dobbers or trash in the pvc drain pipe. Thank you all for your replies. The fan switch has never been switched to just fan and left running but you do have good reasons for the problem, thanks again.
Any other suggestions to get rid of the problem ? Maybe switch service companies, lol?

I would not think there would b any problems w somebody servicing that frequently

Some mold like black mold can be serious or possibly fatal if not taken care of

Don't ever let Perfect Service work on anything you own! They came out to my house about 15 years back for some problem, said I had to have a new system. Called another guy, Bosworth Heat and Air, he replace a part and I was back in business, think it cost less than $200.

Make sure the pictures are of your unit. I would also ask him if he is a mold expert and does he test for it, if indeed he is correct it and I doubt he is the unit is not the only place that needs checked.

Tread very lightly with the service company you mentioned. Very good chance you don’t have a problem at all. Some companies pay bonuses to their employees who can get the homeowner to spend money on upgrades whether you need it or not. Mold is a huge 4 letter word with a hvac co.

We had a mold buildup and had to replace the duct. It was the square type with insulation inside the duct.

Some of the shadiest people I know are HVAC contractors. Most aren't worth spit. There are a few good ones. I've had mixed results, even with aldeer member owned companies.

I have a friend who now teaches HVAC. He's pricing out two new units for me, and relocating the exterior units. The upstairs unit was undersized for the design of the home. It doesn't get cold and doesn't pull moisture from the air as it should. We are having mold issues. I plan on replacing the duct as well as the upstairs unit, at the same time. Both interior units will be installed so that I can open the casing and see the air handler whenever I want. I can clean them myself.

As for your situation, verify those pics are of your unit. Coils can get dirty, dust can start allowing mold growth if not cleaned from the coils properly. Most systems never have the air handler opened during their lifetime, much less twice a year. If they were properly servicing the system, they shouldn't have found mold this time.

Service industry is bad to take advantage of women. My son listened to an auto repair company quote a lady $1200 for 4 rotors and pads last week. Then upsold her a bunch of other shucks she didn't need. He pulled her to the side and told her what they were doing to her. My wife knows to call me immediately and I won' t do business with any company that takes advantage of people. I'll ruin them if I can.