How to Get Rid of Mold in Air Ducts

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By Kate Aldrich
eHow Contributing Writer

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Because air is blown through your air ducts (part of your HVAC system) and circulated around your home, mold in the ducts can lower indoor air quality and cause severe respiratory problems. Check your air ducts yearly to ensure that no mold has built up. It's best to hire a professional, who will test any substance in your air ducts to verify that it's mold. You can also have the air blowing out of the duct tested for mold spores. If you do have mold, follow these steps to remove it and prevent it from coming back.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Dehumidifier
Cleaning solution for HVAC systems (like MoldSTAT)
Manual or pressurized pump sprayer
Rag
HEPA filter

Step 1

Get rid of your moisture problem. Mold grows when spores in the air land on a wet surface. You have to stop the moisture problem first, or the mold will come back again and again. Use a dehumidifier to keep the humidity in your home between 30 and 50 percent. If it's freezing outside, the humidity may need to go as low as 15 percent.
Step 2

Mix a batch of solution that's specifically for cleaning HVAC systems, such as MoldSTAT, in a pump sprayer. If you have a small air duct system, a manual pump sprayer is OK. For larger systems, a pressurized pump makes the job much quicker and easier.
Step 3

Clean the cooling coil and drain pan with the mold-cleaning solution and a rag. Clean the air ducts by spraying the solution into the air ducts.
Step 4

Replace your air filter with a HEPA filter so fewer mold spores make it into or out of your air ducts.

Tips & Warnings

If there's water build-up on your windows, there's too much moisture in the air. Turn your dehumidifier to a lower humidity setting.
If you don't want to buy a commercial HVAC cleaner, try mixing 1/2 cup of bleach with a gallon of water for your cleaning solution.
Before spraying cleaner into air ducts, be sure that only the fan is on.