Your HVAC System Is a Black Mold Superhighway

4/27/2022 (Permalink)

Your HVAC System Is a Superhighway for Black Mold

Mold spreads by releasing its spores, letting them float through the air and land where they may. If the spores end up somewhere warm and moist that makes it easy for them to grow, then you could have black mold building up in your facility relatively quickly. You can't always do much about the moisture itself, but you can inhibit mold's mobility and potentially control the source of your water damage problem by taking the following steps:

• Stop the flow of air between rooms
• Turn off the HVAC units
• Switch off your water
  
  

Mold Travels

There are many things that could contribute to the transmission of black mold spores throughout a building. Some of them are unavoidable:

• Foot traffic
• Water damage or mold cleanup activities
• Construction
  
  

In a normal situation, even major renovations shouldn't spread mold excessively. Unless there's heavy airflow, spores don't travel very far when they go airborne. However, a powerful HVAC system could potentially suck up a significant amount of mold. These spores could then become trapped in the crevices of your ducts to periodically recirculate them throughout your entire facility.

Counterintuitive Solutions

It might seem like dealing with a mold and moisture problem would include cranking your ventilation system all the way up to dry out your rooms. However, that could cause more problems. It's often best to let mold cleanup professionals in Pinehurst/Moore & Montgomery Counties handle the issue. The difference is that the pros use equipment designed specifically to be tough on moisture and mold, while your HVAC system is engineered for a completely different purpose.

Cleaning the Ducts

It's a point of some debate in the black mold remediation community whether or not duct cleaning has a major influence on mold problems. Even the EPA is still undecided on the subject. However, it is a good idea to inspect your ductwork after you discover a mold problem. If you have mold populations lurking in your HVAC system, they're likely to spread.