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AC Unit Issues that Every South Florida Mold Inspector Should Look For. 

 In Florida and other hot humid areas mold inspectors must be aware of multiple environmental conditions that may result in mold or humidity problems indoors. Below is a summary page from a mold inspection report where the inspector listed several conditions related to the AC units that may have contributed to mold odors, or humidity problems. This information is provided on this web page because the conditions are universal but unfortunately, often overlooked by inspection firms that focus on mold testing and less on observations.

Client: Humid Computer Control Room.
Property Address: Miami Florida
Date: 7-18-06


INTERIOR AREAS INSPECTION

MOLD INSPECTION

OBSERVATIONS

Client was concerned about mold odors and humidity in the computer tech support room. This was reported to be a concern in the recent past. During the inspection the inspector observed no mold.  The inspector detected no mold odors in this or any nearby areas.   In regards to moisture stains,  your inspector observed no moisture stains. Your mold inspector saw no visible moisture during the inspection and found no humidity problems.

The area appeared satisfactory and free of visible problems at the time of this inspection.

Many past and active conditions were found that would make it extremely likely that humidity and related musty or moldy odors were recently a problem in this room. They are numbered below:

Item #1

Client reported that the thermostat is typically set to the on setting. An AC contractor told the client to set the thermostat to the auto setting.

This company also highly recommends that thermostats in humid climates such as South Florida always be set to the auto setting,. This mold inspector's firm has seen many cases where humidity problems were the result of thermostat set to the on settings.

One reason not to use the on setting is because when the AC thermostats are set to on the AC units will constantly pull humidity into the building from outside via the fresh air intakes and will not be able to dry this air because much of this time the coils will not be on thus will not be drying this outdoor air before bringing it in. However,  when the thermostats are set to auto, the AC units can only pull humid air into the building when the coils are on and cooling and drying the air that is being pulled in. We recommend that the thermostats stay in this new auto setting so fresh outdoor air can dry out before being brought into the building.

Item #2

Also,  it was reported to the inspector that the thermostat used to be set to respond differently on the weekends and that recently just prior to this mold inspector's visit the thermostats were adjusted to the same settings 7 days a week. This  should also help to combat humidity problems since wide fluctuations in temperatures in the ducts can lead to humidity or even condensation in AC ducts. Indoor temps that are to high over the weekend can also result in the AC not drying the air, thus causing high humidity over the weekend. 

Therefore,  we also recommend keeping thermostats at approximately the same temp 7 days a week.

Item #3

The computer tech support room appeared to have a 5 ton AC unit and a 3 ton AC unit. This is 8 tons and each ton can cool about 600 square foot. The computer support room had enough cooling capacity for 4800 square foot but the room may be around 2000 square foot, thus the AC units will cool the room down before they have a chance to dehumidify the room air. Therefore, the mold could grow in the humid ducts & carpet.  If problems with odors or humidity return,  have an HVAC contractor verify how many tons of cooling capacity are needed for this area and how much of this cooling is dedicated to this area. Do not exceed that amount because too much cooling will not dry a room but can cause humidity and mold problems in humid climates.

Item #4

 A porous ceiling tile was observed near an AC return by the front of the computer tech support room. This will allow the AC unit to pull possibly humid or otherwise unwanted air from the ceiling void and put it into the AC unit and distribute it to the rest of the computer tech support room. This porous ceiling tile should be covered with less porous material like the rest of the tile, or replace it with a less porous tile. 

Item #5

Elevated spore levels were found in the NE corner of the core room. This was near the viewing room and was  unusual and unexpected and remains un-explained. More sampling is recommended for this corner.

Unusual spore levels might be gone next time this corner is tested. It may be just left over spores from the previous conditions or could be  isolated minor amounts of mold growth that just broke off and strayed from a nearby recently disturbed vent or carpet that is otherwise clean. It may not be indicative of a problem but additional sampling is recommended.

Item #6

Sections of the property were not accessible for inspection or testing because  wallpaper was installed. Inspector could not inspect behind wallpaper installed on the front wall of the computer tech support room room to determine if any mold problems existed behind this wall paper.  Typically on a buildings perimeter walls,  this would be a major concern as this was thick non porous metal or metal like wallpaper covering thus able to trap moisture. However,  this did not appear to be a likely source of mold because this material was not installed on a exterior perimeter wall.

The staging area an empty interior room was on the opposite side of this non porous wall covering thus trapped moisture problems / trapped condensation & mold are possible behind this material but not likely behind this material.  No mold odors were detected near this wall covering. However inspector cannot be responsible for mold hidden behind wallpaper.

Item #7

The filters installed were dirty and were low quality boars hair filters. These should be replaced with pleated Filtrete brand filters or something similar. Replace filters on a regular basis.

 

Item #8

Carpet and fiberglass ducts were installed. If the odor problem returns,  it would be highly recommended to replace the carpet with tile or wood. Clean, sanitize, and encapsulate the ductwork if the odors return since  humidity is related to musty odors and are usually coming from the carpet and AC ducts.

Items 1 to 7 above can help combat the root causes of the problems. If they return, try  # 8 can take care of the the source of the problems. 

MOLD INSPECTION

ENVIRONMENTAL READINGS

Moisture testing was conducted with a moisture meter, and the moisture meter detected no unusual moisture levels in the areas tested. 

Indoor humidity at the area and time of testing was:   40 %RH, at  71   F this was satisfactory.

The exact same temp and humidity were found just outside the computer tech support room room. This is a very good sign and indicates that this computer tech support room was not having any problems at the time of the inspection in relation to the surrounding area.

40% RH is a good RH to maintain because 30%RH or lower could cause mucous membrane irritation and static electricity that is not good for the computers, and 60% to 65% or higher could cause mold. 

Outdoor humidity was: 60  %RH at  85   F

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guide entitled Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings, indoor humidity should be maintained below 60% relative humidity, ideally 30-50% RH, if possible.

MOLD INSPECTION

CONCLUSIONS

Spore and dust levels were very low in all but 1 of the mold inspector's samples. The one sample where spore levels were moderately high and indicated some recent mold growth was in the N.E. corner of the computer tech support room where spore levels were 560 Pen Asp spores per cubic meter of air. These spores were mostly in chains indicating that they recently broke off from fungal colonies. This is very unusual since findings like this are typically around visible mold, or mold odors, are have some explanation such as a recent leak or a past leak in a wall..

No visible mold or mold odors or moisture were found in this area. It is very possible that this was the result of a tiny amount of mold growth that came off a nearby AC register or AC duct from the recent humidity and mold odor problems. It is not indicative of a problem. It may be just lingering mold spores from the recent problems that appear to have cleared up prior to this inspection.

This south Florida mold inspector is willing to take 3 or 4 additional samples from this NE corner of the computer tech support room room to try and determine if this is the result of the past problem that is now completely cleared up, or if this is an active problem and a concern. For best results the inspector should be allowed to take samples from inside the walls resulting in  a few 1/4 inch holes in the N.E. corner area. In the NE corner spore levels were 560 per cubic meter of air and in all other areas tested spore levels were around 0 to 60 spores per cubic meter of air.  

If professional mold removal also known as mold remediation is needed, then information on mold removal will be in the remediation section of the report.  Other general conclusions and important information can be found in various other parts of this report.This is just a summary of the inspector's findings. It is very important that you read the entire document.

If you are in need of an inspection firm to provide more that just a test of your air click here.  

 We Service The Following South Florida Counties And Cities:

In Palm Beach County we conduct investigations in the following areas: West Palm Beach, Singer Island, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Juno Beach, as well as areas South such as Delray, Boca, Lake Worth and Boynton Beach. 

About At A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc.
Our certified south Florida mold inspectors and indoor air quality testing consultants specialize in providing professional quality services for home owners, renters, and commercial building managers with suspected elevated humidity problems, toxic black mold, chemical or musty odors, humidity issues and other building related problems and IAQ issues. We provide services for all towns in, near, and around West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Plantation, Weston, Ft Lauderdale, Aventura, Hallandale, Hollywood, Miami, and Coral Gables, Fl. In Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward Counties.