r/Wellthatsucks • u/thenatural134 • 4d ago
Been breathing this for almost a year.
We bought a house almost a year ago (house was built in the 1990s). Recently discovered a small leak under our HVAC unit inside. While looking for the issue I took off the cover and discovered this monstrosity of mold growing in and around the blower motor. It's been nice knowing y'all 🫡.
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u/CaptainGreyBeard72 4d ago
I don't want to downplay your problem but mold spores are almost everywhere and it is usually only a problem when the concentration is high. By the time they come loose into the air ducts and into the air in your rooms the concentration is at worse probably only very slightly elevated. Since that is a fairly non porous material, a good cleaning with a disinfectant will kill the vast majority of the spores that are visible.
Good luck
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u/jameye11 3d ago
HVAC technician here
Without sending a sample to a lab to get tested there’s not really a way to tell for sure, but I don’t believe this is mold. Sales guys love to throw that word around because it scares people and potentially secures a sale
This is most likely just dirt that clumped up and got stuck inside the housing. Just rinse it off, let it dry, it’ll be fine
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u/HerMajestysButthole2 4d ago
As long as you aren't immunocompromised you'll be ok.......or grow some new appendages
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u/Oxjrnine 4d ago
Considering it’s white, that really doesn’t look very bad at all.
It looks like the normal amount of dust, mould, and grease that you would scrub off once a year.
You’ve probably brought more mold into your house through your sneakers in the last year than what this unit has pumped through your vents in the last year
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u/CasanovaJones82 4d ago
We lived outside for 300,000 years in the mud and the blood with no understanding of infections or access to antibiotics or other medicines. And we didn't just survive, our ancestors conquered the entire planet almost completely on foot.
You got this Redditor!
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u/Roaster-Dude 4d ago edited 4d ago
That doesn't necessarily look like mold, though it is possible. I kind of looks like soot. Is the furnace in the garage and did the previous owner have a diesel truck? The a/c coil can cause this to some degree when severely neglected. Â
Potentially mold/mildew from a plugged a/c drain.
 Otherwise it looks relatively clean.
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u/thenatural134 4d ago
It's definitely mold 🤢
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u/Roaster-Dude 4d ago
Yeah its hard to tell in the pics. You need to determine the source of the mold.Â
Look in the return air duct under the furnace under the coil and further up the duct past the coil to see if/where there's mold.Â
If there's mold in/on or under the coil and not in the duct beyond the coil then more than likely the source is the a/c coil.
 This is common when the coil drain is plugged and condensation is dripping into the duct under the coil.
Another condition that can cause water to be sucked up into the fan and cause mold in the blower, even if the drain isn't plugged is high airflow.
If the installer didn't set the airflow to match the a/c tonnage it could be set too high causing water droplets to get sucked into the blower.
You have two 60 amp breakers for strip heat so I'm guessing its a 4ton or so unit? If so the over airflow condition is common.
Get a competent service company to wash the coil and make sure the drain is intact and clearly draining. And measuure airflow.Â
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u/thenatural134 4d ago
It was the condensation line. All clogged up so instead of dripping into the drain line it was just dripping inside the unit onto the concrete floor. Like a little mini swamp just laying underneath the coils and blower motor.
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u/Glassweaver 2d ago
That looks great and Im not being sarcastic.
There are mold spores all around us, And the air conditioning drain pan and and the rest of the system around that pretty much has unavoidable humidity that results in biofilms and fungus and mold growth. You breathe in thousands of mold spores every day, and probably something about the size of one of these specs at least a few times a year.
With the exception of severely immunocompromised and severely allergic individuals, that's just part of normal life. In fact, if you commonly get drinks with ice in them at restaurants, you've probably consumed what amount to small fish flake pieces of stuff like this, since a large number of restaurants do not have a maintenance schedule for the ice machines which are breeding grounds for mold and slime.
The main problem with mold is the structural damage it poses as well as the potential for infestations of it to produce airborne toxins in hazardous levels... Which I can assure you this is not doing as long as you do not have some AIDS like full-blown immunocompromization.
If someone is trying to scare you into doing additional maintenance with that picture, Best case, you're looking at a tech who was poorly trained by a company whose entire business model is to scare up business.
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u/huhnra 4d ago
There are UV lights that can be installed inside the air handler to help decrease the amount of mildew
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u/CaptainGreyBeard72 4d ago
There are, but realistically they are not practical, for uv to be effective there needs to either be a lot of power or a long dwell time and realistically both. Most people don't want to replace a $100 bulb every 6 months (I am guessing but it is from some past experience) or have a very long specialized unit installed in the house.
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u/hex4def6 3h ago
It's not going to kill the spores in the air just passing through, but it would inhibit growth in the blower if you stuck it in there.
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u/scotte416 4d ago
I found out the house in which the room I was renting was running the furnace/AC with absolutely no filter the whole time, and I have lung issues. How cheap can you be...I obviously put one in at my own expense.
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u/a-smooth-brain 4d ago
Multiple HVAC people have told me the filter is there to protect the unit not you. If you're worried about air quality then get an air purifier in your room.
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u/Roaster-Dude 4d ago
This is a ridiculous and ignorant take on the function of a air filter in an hvac system. You should look for a new heating company.Â
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u/a-smooth-brain 4d ago
I'll pass on your criticism
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u/Roaster-Dude 4d ago
I really don't mean to be rude, but after being in the heating industry for over 40 years sometimes its challenging. LOL
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u/E8l0iseFawn 4d ago
I’d be so paranoid about my air quality after finding that. Imagine breathing it in for almost a whole year without knowing.
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u/AcademicTadpole5855 4d ago
Get that whole thing remediated ASAP — HVAC mold just turns the whole system into a spores cannon.
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u/throwawaybottlecaps 4d ago
Most black mold is relatively harmless beyond common allergies. This doesn’t look especially awful either, I’m not even 100% sure it’s mold. Could just be accumulated dirt and grease sticking to the sides. Either way, just wipe it all down with bleach and you’ll be fine. I’ve seen much, much grosser vents and intakes over the years, this isn’t bad at all