The thermostat clicks, the blower starts, and for a minute the whole house smells like a wet towel. Or there is a dark ring around the supply register in the bedroom that comes back after you wipe it. Biloxi runs the air conditioning from March into November, and every one of those days the system pulls humid Gulf air across a cold coil inside a hot attic. Call and describe what you smell. We handle HVAC and duct mold in Biloxi, D’Iberville, and the eastern Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Condensation near the cooling coil is what EPA calls a major factor in moisture contamination of duct systems. The coil sweats, the drain pan overflows or the line clogs, water sits in the plenum, and insulated flex duct running through a 130-degree attic sweats on the outside and holds moisture on the inside. Registers drop below the room’s dew point and drip on humid days. Then the blower carries whatever grew to every room. EPA says not to run a system you suspect is contaminated, because it can spread mold throughout the building.
The system goes off. The air handler and the affected duct runs get isolated and put under negative pressure. Hard metal duct, the plenum, and the housing get cleaned in place and HEPA-vacuumed. Insulated flex duct that is wet or moldy comes out and is replaced. Registers that have been growing come off and get cleaned or replaced. Then we tell you what has to change — the drain line, the pan, the attic insulation around the duct — so the new duct doesn’t sweat the way the old one did.
Most of the housing here runs ducts through the attic, and a Biloxi attic in July is the warmest, dampest place in the house. The tight new construction in D’Iberville and Woolmarket keeps conditioned air in, which is good, and keeps duct moisture in, which isn’t. The 1960s and 70s slab houses in West Biloxi and North Biloxi often have the air handler in a hall closet with the drain running somewhere nobody has looked in years. If the smell rides the airflow, start with a call.
Standing byDescribe what you see or smell, which room it’s in, and what got wet. If we’re available you’ll be connected right away with the person who does the work. If we’re on a job, you’ll get a scheduled callback, and we’ll tell you which number to watch for so you know it’s us.
Older raised houses along the Back Bay and everything lifted onto piers after 2005 have a damp space underneath. Joists and subfloor cleaned, wet insulation out, and a plain answer on what has to change for it to stay dry.
That musty smell has a source. One closet, one bedroom, or the whole house every time the air kicks on — we find the wet material behind the smell and take it out instead of covering it up.
Sealed work area under negative pressure, the wet drywall, trim, and insulation out of the house, and the framing cleaned and dried before anything closes back up. Then a written report of what came out and why.