Central A/C: air handler mold


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Old 07-21-16, 01:28 PM
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Central A/C: air handler mold

I live in SW Florida and have a high efficiency central air unit mounted on the ceiling in our garage. I noticed mold growing on the side of the unit case and also where it goes through the wall into the house. Also there is a pipe covered in black foam that goes from the side of the case through the ceiling which has a slow drip going into the drip pan. AC was replaced with a new one in 2011 and we replaced the blower motor on 9/4/15.

Frigidaire
5 Ton, 13 Seer, Split System, w/10kw Heat
New Float Switch
New Digital T-Stat
New U.V. Tube

I do not have any mold growing inside the house only in the garage. Any help would be appreciated.
 
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Old 07-21-16, 01:40 PM
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How about checking with manufacturer's customer service folks to see if they have any info about what to do.
 
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Old 07-21-16, 04:20 PM
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I haven't done that yet - thought I would check with you guys first. I have some photos.
 
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Old 07-21-16, 09:39 PM
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The mold is going to grow anywhere where the hot air meets the cold metal and you get condensation. Usually insulating the cold metal duct will stop that.
 
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Old 07-22-16, 05:48 AM
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Is this something that just started happening?
 
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Old 07-25-16, 09:02 PM
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I checked with the manufacturer they told me to contact a service guy to come and look at it. My husband did take a look at it and flushed out the line with some bleach. He also found a gel like substance in the drip pan inside the unit which is hard to get to because of the way they installed it which in the picture is the one covered in black foam. We are not able to remove the cover fully. My question is what is the gel like substance, is it mold or is it supposed to be there?
 
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Old 07-25-16, 09:12 PM
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Yes it is the first time this has happened. I never notice any mold before.
 
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Old 07-26-16, 04:46 AM
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Have you changed the filter,and is the evaporator clean? a friend of mine in SW Fl. unit in garage, and there wasn't enough air flow,that's why I mentioned the filter.
 

Last edited by Geochurchi; 07-26-16 at 05:02 AM.
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Old 07-27-16, 10:39 AM
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I change the air filter monthly. The evaporator is clean. The only thing we noticed besides cleaning out the drip line - was the drip tray has a gel like substance in the bottom of it not sure if it's supposed to be there.
 
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Old 07-27-16, 12:51 PM
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Not sure what that could be,does it cover the whole pan ? Is the mold you are concerned with on the outside of the duct in the first pic? Is there any air leakage in that area?
 
 

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