Does A/C encourage mold growth
I think i'm being sold bunk by a mold company, but not sure.
We live in the tropics, we recently had our bathroom ceiling flood due to a burst pipe, and went away immediately after. (the landlord had the bathroom ceiling removed a bit under a week into our holiday)
Before we left, we called a mold control company and said we were going to leave the A/C on to keep the humidity down to prevent mold growth (we have a new A/C, very efficient, was going to keep it on the lowest setting just to dry the air a bit, so the energy usage would not have been a concern). They said not to do that. They're the "experts" so we followed their advice.
When we returned, the apartment had bloomed (literally bloomed) with mold.
Our landlord now is saying that this is because we use the A/C a lot (we don't), and need to open the unit windows more, and buy a dehumidifier. If we actually did use the A/C a lot, wouldn't the cooling and drying of the air have prevented the mold growth more than opening the unit?
We live next to a rainforest, so I would've thought that opening the unit would invite spores and damp air in rather than prevent mold?
Thanks in advance for any help
air-conditioning mold humidity
edited 47 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
migrated from mechanics.stackexchange.com 1 hour ago
This question came from our site for mechanics and DIY enthusiast owners of cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
add a comment |
I think i'm being sold bunk by a mold company, but not sure.
We live in the tropics, we recently had our bathroom ceiling flood due to a burst pipe, and went away immediately after. (the landlord had the bathroom ceiling removed a bit under a week into our holiday)
Before we left, we called a mold control company and said we were going to leave the A/C on to keep the humidity down to prevent mold growth (we have a new A/C, very efficient, was going to keep it on the lowest setting just to dry the air a bit, so the energy usage would not have been a concern). They said not to do that. They're the "experts" so we followed their advice.
When we returned, the apartment had bloomed (literally bloomed) with mold.
Our landlord now is saying that this is because we use the A/C a lot (we don't), and need to open the unit windows more, and buy a dehumidifier. If we actually did use the A/C a lot, wouldn't the cooling and drying of the air have prevented the mold growth more than opening the unit?
We live next to a rainforest, so I would've thought that opening the unit would invite spores and damp air in rather than prevent mold?
Thanks in advance for any help
air-conditioning mold humidity
edited 47 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
migrated from mechanics.stackexchange.com 1 hour ago
This question came from our site for mechanics and DIY enthusiast owners of cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
Odd that both parties would give you that flawed advice. I'm guessing that you don't pay utilities separately from your rent, giving the owner motivation to discourage AC use.
– isherwood
44 mins ago
add a comment |
I think i'm being sold bunk by a mold company, but not sure.
We live in the tropics, we recently had our bathroom ceiling flood due to a burst pipe, and went away immediately after. (the landlord had the bathroom ceiling removed a bit under a week into our holiday)
Before we left, we called a mold control company and said we were going to leave the A/C on to keep the humidity down to prevent mold growth (we have a new A/C, very efficient, was going to keep it on the lowest setting just to dry the air a bit, so the energy usage would not have been a concern). They said not to do that. They're the "experts" so we followed their advice.
When we returned, the apartment had bloomed (literally bloomed) with mold.
Our landlord now is saying that this is because we use the A/C a lot (we don't), and need to open the unit windows more, and buy a dehumidifier. If we actually did use the A/C a lot, wouldn't the cooling and drying of the air have prevented the mold growth more than opening the unit?
We live next to a rainforest, so I would've thought that opening the unit would invite spores and damp air in rather than prevent mold?
Thanks in advance for any help
air-conditioning mold humidity
edited 47 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
I think i'm being sold bunk by a mold company, but not sure.
We live in the tropics, we recently had our bathroom ceiling flood due to a burst pipe, and went away immediately after. (the landlord had the bathroom ceiling removed a bit under a week into our holiday)
Before we left, we called a mold control company and said we were going to leave the A/C on to keep the humidity down to prevent mold growth (we have a new A/C, very efficient, was going to keep it on the lowest setting just to dry the air a bit, so the energy usage would not have been a concern). They said not to do that. They're the "experts" so we followed their advice.
When we returned, the apartment had bloomed (literally bloomed) with mold.
Our landlord now is saying that this is because we use the A/C a lot (we don't), and need to open the unit windows more, and buy a dehumidifier. If we actually did use the A/C a lot, wouldn't the cooling and drying of the air have prevented the mold growth more than opening the unit?
We live next to a rainforest, so I would've thought that opening the unit would invite spores and damp air in rather than prevent mold?
Thanks in advance for any help
air-conditioning mold humidity
air-conditioning mold humidity
edited 47 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
edited 47 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
edited 47 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
edited 47 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
edited 47 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
45.1k453115
asked 2 hours ago
ChristopherJ
migrated from mechanics.stackexchange.com 1 hour ago
This question came from our site for mechanics and DIY enthusiast owners of cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
migrated from mechanics.stackexchange.com 1 hour ago
This question came from our site for mechanics and DIY enthusiast owners of cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
Odd that both parties would give you that flawed advice. I'm guessing that you don't pay utilities separately from your rent, giving the owner motivation to discourage AC use.
– isherwood
44 mins ago
add a comment |
Odd that both parties would give you that flawed advice. I'm guessing that you don't pay utilities separately from your rent, giving the owner motivation to discourage AC use.
– isherwood
44 mins ago
Odd that both parties would give you that flawed advice. I'm guessing that you don't pay utilities separately from your rent, giving the owner motivation to discourage AC use.
– isherwood
44 mins ago
Odd that both parties would give you that flawed advice. I'm guessing that you don't pay utilities separately from your rent, giving the owner motivation to discourage AC use.
– isherwood
44 mins ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
You are being sold.
The evaporator coil in the AC condenses water vapor in the air. It does this by blowing the warm air from your home over the cool evaporator coil. The cool coil pulls the moisture from the indoor air, removing it and draining it from your home via the condensate array. This happens with every air conditioning cycle. If the AC unit can't keep up with the humidity, the air will feel clammy and cool when it should feel dry and cool.
Get a humidity measuring tool so you always know what it is at (generally around $10 US). I don't know how bad the mold is but if it only on the surface, run the AC and in the meantime put on a respirator and use a bleach mix to remove/kill it.
edited 46 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
answered 48 mins ago
Micah Montoya
22615
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "73"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fdiy.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f154304%2fdoes-a-c-encourage-mold-growth%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
You are being sold.
The evaporator coil in the AC condenses water vapor in the air. It does this by blowing the warm air from your home over the cool evaporator coil. The cool coil pulls the moisture from the indoor air, removing it and draining it from your home via the condensate array. This happens with every air conditioning cycle. If the AC unit can't keep up with the humidity, the air will feel clammy and cool when it should feel dry and cool.
Get a humidity measuring tool so you always know what it is at (generally around $10 US). I don't know how bad the mold is but if it only on the surface, run the AC and in the meantime put on a respirator and use a bleach mix to remove/kill it.
edited 46 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
answered 48 mins ago
Micah Montoya
22615
add a comment |
You are being sold.
The evaporator coil in the AC condenses water vapor in the air. It does this by blowing the warm air from your home over the cool evaporator coil. The cool coil pulls the moisture from the indoor air, removing it and draining it from your home via the condensate array. This happens with every air conditioning cycle. If the AC unit can't keep up with the humidity, the air will feel clammy and cool when it should feel dry and cool.
Get a humidity measuring tool so you always know what it is at (generally around $10 US). I don't know how bad the mold is but if it only on the surface, run the AC and in the meantime put on a respirator and use a bleach mix to remove/kill it.
edited 46 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
answered 48 mins ago
Micah Montoya
22615
add a comment |
You are being sold.
The evaporator coil in the AC condenses water vapor in the air. It does this by blowing the warm air from your home over the cool evaporator coil. The cool coil pulls the moisture from the indoor air, removing it and draining it from your home via the condensate array. This happens with every air conditioning cycle. If the AC unit can't keep up with the humidity, the air will feel clammy and cool when it should feel dry and cool.
Get a humidity measuring tool so you always know what it is at (generally around $10 US). I don't know how bad the mold is but if it only on the surface, run the AC and in the meantime put on a respirator and use a bleach mix to remove/kill it.
edited 46 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
answered 48 mins ago
Micah Montoya
22615
You are being sold.
The evaporator coil in the AC condenses water vapor in the air. It does this by blowing the warm air from your home over the cool evaporator coil. The cool coil pulls the moisture from the indoor air, removing it and draining it from your home via the condensate array. This happens with every air conditioning cycle. If the AC unit can't keep up with the humidity, the air will feel clammy and cool when it should feel dry and cool.
Get a humidity measuring tool so you always know what it is at (generally around $10 US). I don't know how bad the mold is but if it only on the surface, run the AC and in the meantime put on a respirator and use a bleach mix to remove/kill it.
edited 46 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
answered 48 mins ago
Micah Montoya
22615
edited 46 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
edited 46 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
edited 46 mins ago
isherwood
45.1k453115
45.1k453115
answered 48 mins ago
Micah Montoya
22615
answered 48 mins ago
Micah Montoya
22615
answered 48 mins ago
Micah Montoya
22615
22615
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Home Improvement Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.
Please pay close attention to the following guidance:
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fdiy.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f154304%2fdoes-a-c-encourage-mold-growth%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Odd that both parties would give you that flawed advice. I'm guessing that you don't pay utilities separately from your rent, giving the owner motivation to discourage AC use.
– isherwood
44 mins ago