AC vent = sickness

4 years ago

Hello,
For the last 3 months I have have an increasing reaction to something in my bedroom. I assumed it was allergies at first but it has progressed to eye itching, skin irritation/burning, and lung irritation.
I have narrowed it down to something coming out of the vents. Turns out that whenever I run a fan or purifier in the room it pulls air from the vent which then spews whatever the irritant is into my room. I blocked off the vent with a filter, and then placed a hepa filter infront of it as well. My sysmptoms have mostly gone away.
Since the syptoms occur even when the ventillation is off, would this mean my issue is with the vents themselves and not a moldy ac unit? Im trying to figure out if I should have an hvac tech come out and service the unit and check for issues, or if I need to have a mold inspection done for the vents.

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Comments (6)

Andrew
4 years ago
If you really believe you have narrowed it down to something being blown through your system I would have someone come out and doing a cleaning of your system and ductwork. Placing filters over your supply registers could act as a restriction and cause further issues long term. Having the system and ductwork cleaned most likely will not be cheap. Installing high quality UV lights could also help kill some of the ”bad guys”.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
4 years ago
How old is the HVAC system--including the age of the ductwork? Is your home constructed on a slab, crawl space or basement?
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Stax
4 years ago
Rarely Need Ducts Cleaned Per EPA
Kevin Dominick
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Ductwork i have no idea. The hvac system is 2019, trane model.

Unfinished basement.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
4 years ago
You should be able to remove the access panels and visually inspect the air handler, remove grills and inspect the ductwork supplying the Master BR, and disassemble ductwork as needed to inspect it elsewhere.
opaone
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
FWIW, I would advise against having your ducts cleaned. You need to find the source of the problem and correct that.

When was your house built? Were ducts installed then or added later? How many levels and what level is your bedroom on?

When you say run a fan or purifier... What fan or purifier? Installed in the HVAC system? Other? Bath exhaust vent? Photos of these?

Yes to what @Charles Ross Homes said. Start w/ a visual inspection of the air handler and ducts inside and out where accessible. Next would likely be running an inspection camera through the ducts to see if there's anything in the ductwork or gaps in the ducts that could be sucking stuff in.

You should also consider negative pressure problems. It could be that when you run your system you are pulling air in through cracks in walls and that is where mold spores or other stuff (various VOC's, Pathogens, etc.) is coming from. Mold in wall cavities getting pulled in to homes is not uncommon. The solution to this is installing proper make-up-air to eliminate negative pressure problems and the proper ventilation (HRV/ERV) to insure healthier IAQ.