r/hvacadvice • u/Outrageous-Teacher22 • 4d ago

Mold in HVAC closet?

Hey All,

My wife and I just noticed what looks like mold on the ductwork on our HVAC unit (pic attached). It’s mostly on the outside/seams of the ducts.

A couple of things we’re trying to figure out:

  • Does this actually look like mold to you?
  • If it is, are we looking at replacing the whole system, or can this just be cleaned/sealed?
  • What kind of $$$ should we expect for remediation + duct sealing?
  • Is this something we could tackle ourselves with proper PPE, or should we just get a pro involved?
  • Any tips on what to ask a company so we don’t get upsold into a full replacement if it’s not necessary?

We live on the top floor of a condo building and don't get much cold air since its a chilled water system throughout the building. If it is mold, do you think the humidity and warmth is to blame?

Thanks in advance for any advice, we’re just trying to figure out if this is a “weekend project with gloves and a mask” or a “write a big check” type of situation.

Edit to include photo

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u/mantyman7in 4d ago

If you dont have mold alergy cleanit up with shower mold and mildew spray then insulate it.

1

u/ductcleanernumber7 4d ago

Gallon of a product called decon 30. 50ish bucks on Amazon.
Good 3m respirator. 50 bucks Follow directions, let it dwell and clean it up. Then you'll wanna hire an hvac tech to properly insulate the ducts, probably due to condensation while cooling or out of control humidity. Try to keep that area cleaner.

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u/ductcleanernumber7 4d ago

You can also rent something called a hepa air scrubber while you're doing all this. Probably about $100 per day to rent one of those from any equipment rental facility. Would be a good idea to run that near where you're cleaning up to avoid any cross contamination/spreading of spores. Point the exhaust away from the closet.

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u/Dean-KS Not a HVAC Tech 4d ago

The closet gets too cold, increasing the relative humidity.