Mold Treatment and Removal in Cherry Hill, NJ

The cooling coil and the pan under it are the usual starting point, because they stay wet for most of the cooling season and the dust that gets past the filter gives growth something to feed on. A pan that has rusted through, or a drain line choked with slime, leaves water standing in the cabinet, and that is where a musty smell usually starts. From there growth can spread to the blower housing and the inside of the supply plenum. Returns that draw from a damp basement or a finished lower level carry moisture into the system on every cycle, and the return plenum shows it first.

Ducts in unconditioned spaces are the other weak point. Flex duct in a hot attic, or a sheet metal run through a crawl space, can sweat where its insulation is torn or missing, and the wet spot grows on the outside of the duct or inside the insulation. A supply boot in a ceiling below a hot attic can sweat the same way when its insulation is missing, and it shows as a dark ring around the register. Duct board and ducts with an internal fiberglass liner soak up moisture where bare metal would not, which matters for how they can be treated.

The technician inspects the coil, the drain pan, the blower compartment, the plenums and every run that can be reached, and shows you what was found before any treatment starts, with photos of what cannot be seen from the room. If you want confirmation that a growth is mold, a laboratory can test a sample, and the EPA notes that is sometimes what a final answer takes. Nothing is treated on a guess.

For the work itself, the system is shut down, nearby registers are taped over and the area around the equipment is shut off from the rest of the house, so spores knocked loose stay where the crew is working. Growth is cleaned and vacuumed off hard surfaces, and the coil and the pan are cleaned. According to the EPA, insulated duct that got wet or grew mold cannot be cleaned to a standard you can trust and should be replaced, so moldy flex, duct board or lined duct comes out and new duct goes in, through air duct repair on the same visit. Registers and grilles with visible growth are cleaned, or flagged for replacement. Any cleaning product is used only as its label allows and is discussed with you first, because the EPA also notes that research has not shown chemical treatments inside ducts to be effective.

The EPA puts it bluntly: if the conditions that caused the growth are not corrected, it will come back. So the visit also covers the water. The condensate pan is cleared and checked so it drains, the drain line is flushed, and an attic unit's overflow protection is looked at. In a townhome with the air handler overhead, a float switch that shuts the unit off before its overflow pan spills is worth having, and a missing one is noted. Leaks and bare runs in attics, crawl spaces and garages are noted for sealing and insulation, and a return that pulls from a damp space is flagged for air duct repair or relocation.

Some of the fix sits outside the system. A basement that stays damp all summer may need a dehumidifier or grading and gutter work, and those are pointed out plainly. Filters changed on schedule keep the coil from collecting the dust that feeds growth. Once the coil is clean and dry, HVAC UV light installation can add a layer at the coil between service visits, and an air duct cleaning clears the runs of what was carried through the house.

It does not cover walls, ceilings, attic sheathing or framing, and it is not a medical treatment. By the EPA's account, duct cleaning has never been shown to keep people from getting sick, and growth removed from a duct system is one source of spores taken away, nothing more. Anyone with ongoing symptoms at home should talk with a doctor, and growth that extends into the structure should go to a remediation specialist. Growth found somewhere the crew does not work is photographed and shown to you, so the specialist knows where to look.

Inspections start with a free estimate. AMG Duct Cleaning Cherry Hill is veteran owned and licensed and insured; its New Jersey home improvement registration is 13VH13654300. The phone is answered 8 AM to 8 PM, Monday to Saturday, and the crew takes on mold work in Cherry Hill and in Mount Laurel, Evesham, Maple Shade, Pennsauken and Gloucester Township, among other nearby towns.