4 Signs Your Air Ducts Have Mold & What You Can Do About It

How often do you think about the environment inside your home’s ductwork? Do ever wonder what might be lurking in there? Since the interior of your air ducts is prone to some degree of moisture accumulation, it’s not uncommon for mold to develop. And if you’ve never had professional duct cleaning before, there’s a definite chance that hazardous mold is colonizing your HVAC system. How can you tell if there’s mold inside your ducts? Check out the signs you should watch for below.

Musty Indoor Odors

Do you ever notice a musty, wet odor in your house when you return home after being gone all day? While your nose might get used to such an odor when you’re inside your home all day, being away from it gives your olfactory system a little time to reset. And if you notice a weird indoor scent consistently, that’s a huge red flag that mold is growing in your ductwork or somewhere else in your home.

Since ducts are prone to mold accumulation, if you smell a persistent musty odor, schedule a professional duct cleaning appointment first to see if that eliminates the smell. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to perform a mold test on your house and get a mold remediation team to locate and eliminate the growths.

Moisture Droplets Around Vents or Registers

Grab a flashlight and shine the light into your vent openings. What do you see? Any moisture? A few black specs? If that’s a yes, you should probably get your ducts checked out and cleaned. Mold loves moisture and can develop within a moisture-rich environment within 48 hours, so if the interior of your ductwork appears to be even a little wet, it might contain spores.

Vent Discoloration

Can you see any grey, brown, black, or yellow discoloration around your vent openings? If so, that may be a sign there’s mold in your ductwork. In some cases, vent discoloration is an early sign of isolated mold growth just near the vent, but if you don’t address the problem, it will inevitably spread. Schedule a service appointment with a duct cleaning specialist to prevent a systemic mold problem from developing.

Inexplicable Allergy-Like Symptoms or Illness

Do you or anyone in your household experience allergy-like symptoms while inside the house? Has anyone fallen sick and their symptoms seem to persist for an unusually long time? If so, mold in your ductwork may be the culprit.

Your HVAC system continually recirculates your indoor air and forces it through the ductwork and into your living areas. When mold is present, that forced air constantly pushes spores into your ambient air and when you’re in the house, you can’t help but breathe them in. How do you know if you’ve been exposed to mold? Common symptoms include:

●        Persistent sneezing, wheezing, or coughing

●        Watery, itchy, red eyes

●        Dry skin or unexplained rashes or redness

●        Post-nasal drip or a stuffy or runny nose

●        Headaches, shortness of breath, or brain fog

If you or any members of your household are suffering from the above symptoms and they don’t seem to resolve, it’s in your best interest to get your ducts inspected. If there’s mold growing in them, professional air duct cleaning will eradicate it.

Need Air Duct Cleaning Near Little Canada? Contact Dust Doctors

If you’re worried your ducts have mold, et in touch with our team at Dust Doctors right away. We’ll inspect your ducts for mold growth and perform comprehensive duct cleaning, which will improve the efficiency of your HVAC system and eliminate hazardous allergens from your ductwork. To schedule service or learn more about how we can help you, feel free to call us today at 651-319-9777 or request a free quote, and we’ll get back to you promptly.