"dan" wrote in message
om...
(dan) wrote in message
. com...
We just bought a house that has a RUUD 10 SEER (we live in florida)
that is about 11 years old. The air handler in the attic has heavy
mold inside it all over. a technician came out and said it should be
replaced because cleaning it would cost almost as much as getting a
new one. He did mention that we were losing some Freon through it
also. These are our two concerns: 1.)we have a 2 year old child and a
new one coming in a month and it scares us to think that the air
conditioning can be a health danger to the infant and child; 2.)we
really dont have the money to drop on a new air hanling unit and
condenser. We are in a bit of situation here and was wondering if a
suggestion or two could be offered? Thanks in advance. Dan.
Thanks for the responses.
The A/C technicain mentioned that the bio-clean wont work on the mold
spores so i would be a waste of time and that installing a UV light
will run to $600. what about the supposed Freon leak at the air
handler? Should i use bleach on everything except the condenser
coils? Thanks in advance.
The coils inside the house are evaporator coils. Very likely place for a
leak. When you replace them they won't need cleaning. The plenum (metal box
they reside in if a furnace is attached) and associated parts may need
cleaning. I just paid to replace a 9 year old set of A-coils. Here using a
licensed insured HVAC person the cost was $570 for a TEV A-coil. If yours
does not have the valve the cost is about 100 less for the parts. Most
parts of Florida the cost should be about the same as here.
Now if this is just an air handler (no furnace), the cost of the labor to
clean might be a wash with the cost of a complete new box, blower and coil.
For sure most techs don't like working as a molly-maid. And the cost of two
trips to allow removal and time for you to clean the unit and return to
install will add to the price.
I don't know anything about the bio clean but you had a response from Turtle
and seconded by CBHVAC that said it should work. Both of those guys give
sound advice. If you choose to dis-regard that advice don't run the unit
while using bleach and make sure you have plenty of fresh air entering the
space. A 10% solution kills HIV so it will kill your mold and you too if you
aren't careful.
As another poster mentioned, if this is a really new purchase you may want
to contact the seller or the seller's agent about this problem. Unless they
knew and failed to disclose you may have no recourse but it is worth a phone
call.
Colbyt