Blog Tag: mold

Water, one of the essentials of life,  is necessary for life to exist; human and all other plant and animal life. We know water as a liquid and we also know water as a vapor as in water vapor or as humidity when the temperature and dew point get close to each other. We use water for everything. It is now being considered a more important product than oil in some parts of the world.

Yet, water can also be your enemy when it finds it’s destructive “dark side” , so to speak. This happens when we have water leaks in the roof; leaking water pipes, water in the basement, too much rain, flooding, etc, etc, etc.

Aside from the structural damage that water can do to any structure, the residual affects, like the development of mold and bacteria, can be significant. When any indoor surface gets wet; be it the walls, carpeting or floors, if all the water is not removed quickly and the surfaces and materials not completely dried, as sure as night follows day, mold will follow.

When water leaks behind a wall or onto a floor surface or into carpeting the sub-surface wood flooring or wood studs behind walls can become wet. Wood will absorb the water and wood takes a long time to dry out. Especially inside the home. Wood is a great food source for mold and the accompanying moisture keeps it growing. Add to the fact that these areas are dark, and you have the perfect breeding ground for mold.

Mold tends to spore once every 15 to 30 days during  its growth cycle and when this happens it releases millions of tiny mold spores which are very light and can become airborne. If the moldy wood source is exposed the mold will eventually get into the entire home and become dispersed through the HVAC system.

To minimize the amount of mold that is airborne in your home you need to make sure your air filters in the HVAC unit are capable of removing small, less than 10 micron in size particles. The filter should be a MERV 8 or higher rated filter and fit very tightly in the air filter frame locate on the return  air side of the HVAC air handler. In addition, you will need to make sure  the water or moisture problem is resolved otherwise the mold problem not go away.

Pure Air Systems has been dealing with mold spore removal since 1985 using its HEPA based air filtration systems that can either be attached to any forced air ducted heating/cooling system or as stand-alone unit. In addition, Pure Air Systems offers a complete line of dual layer polyester ring panel, MERV 8 commercial grade filters that will fit tightly in your HVAC filter frame and effectively reduce the level of airborne mold particles in your home environment.

For more information on our complete line of HEPA and particulate removal air filters go to our www.pureairsystems.com

The use of Ultra Violet light for reduction and removal of bacteria ( germs) on surfaces has been used for years in the food industry. In the early years “black lights” were placed above the produce in the grocery stores to help maintain a bacterial free environment. While UV lights are no longer used in these food operations, they are used in the residential and light commercial HVAC markets.

We are all familiar with the term UV as we hear this term used when they describe the rays from the sun as being UV A or B or C. UV A is the most dangerous because the UV A wavelength can be harmful to human skin as well as various material. Long term exposure can damage the skin and increase the possibility for skin cancer.

The use of UV Lights for reduction and removal of bacteria in heating/cooling systems, ductwork and air handler cooling coils has been around for over 25 years. The UV Lights produce a specific wavelength; approximately 285 nanometers, designed to kill or destroy the nuclei of most molds and bacteria. UV has minimal effect on viruses.

For many years UV lights were placed in the return air side of the ductwork close to the air handler and were supposed to kill or destroy the mold and bacteria as it passed by the UV Lamps. There were a number of challenges with this installation configuration. First, the UV lights were often not shielded and the dirt, dust and particulate in the return air stream would coat the lamps and significantly reduce the effectiveness of the lamps. And, second, the speed at which the air passed  by the lamps did not allow enough residence time or light exposure time on the mold or bacteria to really kill or destroy the particle. Even adding shielding to minimize dust build up on the lamps didn’t solve this problem.

Since most mold and some bacteria require a source of moisture or water a more obvious place to locate the UV Lights was over or close to the cooling coils located in the air handler.  This made more sense as it allowed the UV Lights to irradiate the entire coil area constantly and minimize the ability for mold and bacteria to grow on the coils surface. It also didn’t rely on air flow speed and the lights could be shielded in such a way as to direct the UV light source onto the coils and reduce the build up of dust on the lamps.

While this approach is much more effective it still doesn’t answer the question about removing the airborne mold, bacteria and other allergens. Using a UV light alone is only a small part of the solution.

Pure Air Systems, offers a complete line of  both media air filters and HEPA based air filtration systems used in conjunction with HVAC systems. The line of BioPanel furnace filters includes a dual-layer, polyester ring panel filter that offers a  MERV 8 filter with a high dust holding capacity, tight fitting and low pressure drop. The HEPA filter systems offered by Pure Air Systems have been in use since 1985 and are the most well known HEPA systems in the world.

For complete removal of harmful airborne pathogens and allergens in your home, office, laboratory or medical facility, Pure Air Systems has the solution. For more information go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com.