Air handler cleaning
Hello friends, Hope someone out there can helpme. had ducts cleaned several months ago professionally though we saw no results of anything being pulled out, not even dust. On the other hand, the tech opened our air handler and showed us that it was covered in mold. He said it was so thick that the blades were even bent. he suggeested an acid cleaning, but we heard somewhere we could do it ourselves with a wet-dry vac. We live in FL and the house is about 17 yrs old. Any suggestions of do this effectively ourselves? Much obliged! wolvz71, Yes, as long as you are able to remove the blower assembly you will be able to clean it your self. Shut the power off to the furnace and hopefully the blower unplugs when it is removed, otherwise you will have to cut the wires and then hook them back up when reinstalled. The simplest way is to use a stiff brush that is capable of reaching between the blades. The best job can be done if you take the blower assembly apart and wash the blower wheel and housing with a high pressure washer. Just make sure you don't use water if you don't take it apart. Unless you have unusually high moisture in your home, what you see packed between the blades is not likely mold. It would more than likely be just dust. With GregH here on cleaning it. But clean what? He said it was so thick that the blades were even bent. he suggeested an acid cleaning, If its the blades on the blower that are bent they all are just a little in a cup like and dirt will build up in them and cut down on air. Now if its the fins on the AC coil that are bent Home depot has the so called fin combs that will help clean the coil and help straighten them. A light spray of water and clorox in the blower there will help kill the mold. Make sure the pan under the coil is also cleaned out so the condensate water can get out the drain there. Be sure and put a clean air filter in every 30 days down here . Your AC runs a lot and you wont have to have your ducts cleaned out EVER. ED mold is a dangerous word in our trade these days. i am by no means disputing his call, as he is there and i am not. my first thoughts at reading your post were of several service calls where i found impacted blower wheel assemblies and evap coils soon after duct cleaning. (do not know if your's was cleaned before of after) seems they loosen a lot or dust and dirt, and is eventually drawn into these locations. I would like for you to take a sample to the local county extension agent for testing. if it is mold, your problems are more extensive than the blower.... on the other hand.... many companies will come out for a small duct cleaning or hvac inspection fee, and try to up sell any maintenance, repair or installation. be very careful here and get other opinions. I also live in Florida. I just moved in 3 months ago and my house is only 3 years old. We noticed black dust on the ceilings by most of our vents, and our kids seem to constantly be sick. I had someone come out and do an 18 point inspection and when they opened the Air Handler, I also had a thick black substance all over the fan blades and inside the air handler. They said it was mold (and to be honest, it looked like mold - but I'm no expert) and suggested an acid cleaning, duct cleaning, duct sanitization, and reseal all the vents. They wanted $1000, but said if I had it done today they could do it for $825. That reaked of scam to me, so I told them no thanks and that I wanted to get more estimates. Does that sound excessive for a 3 year old house? Also, you mentioned having a sample tested... how/where would I get that done? Thanks in advance! TDH They wanted $1000, but said if I had it done today they could do it for $825. That reaked of scam to me, Does that sound excessive for a 3 year old house? Also, you mentioned having a sample tested... how/where would I get that done? take a sample to the local county extension agent for testing. if it is mold, your problems are more extensive than the blower.... Out of this world. Over here in west plam beach clean out runs about $10. a vent is all . 3 year old home down here . First how clean was the home when you got it???? Do you think they changed the filter all the time like they should??? Every 30 to 90 days. Id take off the registers and grills clean them real good turn the blower on th fan on and run it 24/7 for a few days. Put a good pleated filter in it. Also put some of the spray on they have to go on the filter to help it some. check and clean the blower wheel and the AC coil. Put it all back . For sure check and see if it is mold you have. Now down here they burn the sugar fields. Dont ask me how are why. But this puts out a black soot and its like it around all year. like out side on your screens the sills the chairs out there. They all get like a black some thing on them. Could be that . But like said I would check for mold. ED AF long time ago Originally Posted by Ed Imeduc Over here in west plam beach clean out runs about $10. a vent is all . These people had a special... first 5 vents for $25, then $10/vent after that. I have 17 vents, but then he said it was going to be $500 to clean the air handler! Originally Posted by Ed Imeduc First how clean was the home when you got it???? Do you think they changed the filter all the time like they should??? No, I'm almost sure they didn't. The house was VERY dirty when we moved in, the filter was just caked with black stuff, the floors, baseboards, etc. were very dusty. I will attempt to clean out the handler this weekend. May be a dumb question, but as far as letting the fan run for a couple of days 24/7... should I just switch the control from Auto to On? Will it still maintain the preset temp and just switch from fan to compressor, or if not, how do I run it 24/7 without freezing us out of the house? Also, in order to get the mold checked, do I need to call a private contractor, or can I take a sample to some public/government agency to have it tested? Thanks again for all the info Troy Yes you can turn the fan to fan on and let it run. Set the tstat to heat or cool for what temp you need. On the blower If you can slip it out and clean it with a shope vac and very small brush. Most of the time just 2 screws hold it inGet every one of the cup fins clean dont miss any. If you think you have mole look in the phone book is about all I can say.Are call city hall and ask.did some one check the home over before you bought. If so they should have said its mole????? ED Just an update. Spent the day sunday taking apart and cleaning my air handler. Pulled the blower out and took it completely apart and cleaned it with clorox and water. Cleaned around the coil as best I could and cleaned all around the inside of the air handler. I have a couple of problems now. My unit hangs horizontal in my garage. After doing much reading, I learned that air handlers like mine, outside cooled space in a hot location like FL will condensate very badly if not properly insulated - which makes sense. Aparently what mine is doing. Anyway, when I was up cleaning the air handler I noticed the ductwork on the outlet end, which is some type of fibrous material, is completely black with mold. Also, much of the the insulation on the interior of the air handler is molded. I read that it would be best to rip all that out and then just insulate around the outside of the air handler, is that true? What kind of insulation do I use? Also, how difficult is it to remove and replace that section of ducting that appears to be completely molded. There is about 1' - 1 1/2' of this ducting between the outlet of the air handler and where it enters my attic. Sorry for the long post!
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