How To Keep Mold And Bacteria Under Control In The Air Handler
While most people are familiar with the air conditioning units that sit outside the home, most residential systems also involve an air handler installed indoors. This handler contains cooling coils and blowers to distribute the air, and it can cause all sorts of allergy issues when it becomes a breeding ground for mold and bacteria. Keep your air handler sanitary and operating at peak performance with these five easy tips.
Inspect and Clean Regularly
Start by having your air handler inspected professionally at least every year, but preferably every six months if you're concerned about mold spore levels. It only takes the accumulation of a little extra dust to clog the drainage system and create a humid environment for mold growth. Waiting more than 12 months to check the handler for moisture and mold could leave you with a serious infestation that takes days of thorough cleaning to remove.
Upgrade the Condenser Pan
While moisture can accumulate in the air handler from the air alone, most of it drips off the condensing coils and into the drain pan below them. These pans are often made of the same metal as the rest of the duct work, which is naturally susceptible to the destructive nature of rust when kept wet all the time. Upgrading the condenser pan to prevent damage and clogging is the best way to keep moisture under control and therefore prevent both mold and bacteria growth. Try a
- Secondary drain that acts as an overflow, catching and piping away water that escapes from the original pan
- Molded plastic or resin pans, which don't develop pinhole leaks due to rust
- Pans featuring more of a slope than the usual nearly flat models, speeding up drainage instead of letting water stand
- Epoxy or resin-based coating for the existing metal drain pan, offering the corrosion resistance of plastic without the cost of installation.
Add Long-Term Protection
On top of controlling where moisture goes after it drips off the coils in the air handler, you should add chemical protection to prevent moisture on the handler walls from feeding mold growth. You can insert treated strips, usually used to control algae growth, to prevent both mold and bacteria from using the drain pan as a playground. Similar coatings are also available for spraying on the interior walls of the air handler and the connecting ducts to keep future infestations from spreading into the rest of your HVAC system.
Replace the Insulation
If there is a leak or heavy condensation on the interior walls of the air handler due to a spike in humid weather, the insulation inside the handler becomes damp. Even if you can't see or feel any moisture in the fiberglass batts, you should replace them when there's any chance of moisture lingering in the fluffy strands. It only takes a little dampness inside a piece of insulation to create a hidden bank of mold that causes sneezing and coughing symptoms until it's finally discovered. Basic fiberglass insulation is inexpensive and easy to replace, so it's worth the effort anytime you suspect there's been a moisture problem in the air handler.
Focus on Non-Porous Surfaces
Finally, talk to your air conditioner repair technician about potentially redesigning your current system to swap rough textured surfaces for smooth and non-porous ones, like sealed sheet metal. Rough materials are hard to clean, get dusty easily, and offer mold more places for attaching their microscopic root systems. Swapping rusty or rough panels inside the air handler for smoother ones could help you avoid mold issues in the air handler for decades with one simple upgrade. If there are non-porous surfaces that can't be replaced, it's definitely a good idea to coat those surfaces with mold inhibitors since they're not as easy to sanitize once mold settles in.
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