When the temperatures outside are soaring, it is always wonderful to walk inside and immediately feel the cool breeze of an air conditioner. While it's great to be able to cool off in only a few minutes, your air conditioner is also a prime spot for mold growth. Should you think this is not a serious problem, you are wrong. Once mold begins to appear, it is imperative it be addressed right away. To make sure you know the first signs of mold in your air conditioner, here are four classic signs that will confirm your suspicions.
Strong Musty Odors
If you notice a strong musty odor when your air conditioner is running, this makes it all but certain mold has arrived and has no plans to leave. While the smell itself will be very unpleasant to your nose, the good news is that this makes mold detection much easier to verify and remediate.
Respiratory Issues
When mold arrives and its spores start to spread throughout the air, you may start to experience various respiratory issues, especially if you already suffer from allergies or other respiratory conditions. Should you turn on your air conditioning unit and later on start to cough, sneeze, experience watery eyes, and feel a bit fatigued, you should contact mold remediation experts to have your air conditioner inspected.
Mold on Air Ducts
When your air conditioning unit releases its cold air, it comes into contact with vents before spreading throughout your rooms. As a result, mold spores will eventually settle on the ducts. When this occurs, you will start to notice small spots that are either white, black, or green in color. While you can easily clean off the mold that forms on your ducts, it will reappear there very fast if the underlying problem within your air conditioner is not addressed.
Mold Inside Your Furnace or Air Conditioner
While you may not associate mold with your furnace, the fact is the inside of your furnace can be a very common spot for mold growth. As your furnace heats and then humidifies the air contained inside it, the perfect environment exists for substantial mold growth. Thus, if you find mold inside your furnace, take a closer look at your air conditioner, since mold is probably hiding there as well.
Rather than let your mold problem get bigger and more complex, take immediate action as soon as you start sneezing, notice that musty smell, or spot mold on your ducts or elsewhere.
