Florida's Spacecoast

Storage

Climate controllled & NON-Climated controllled
Boat · RV Storage
3546 West New Haven Ave.,
Melbourne, FL 32904
(321) 725-9926
(321) 727-7272
Website

Practices That Will Minimize Mold Growth

The following practices will help minimize the growth of molds inside homes located in hot, humid climates like Florida's. Mold growth on the outside of homes is not covered here and readers are cautioned that these practices may not be applicable in other climates.

Air Conditioner Operation: Always set the fan mode switch of your air conditioner thermostat in the AUTO position, never in the ON position. Why? When set to the ON position the blower fan runs continuously and the moisture which has condensed on your air conditioner's evaporator coil during cooling is re-evaporated and blown back into your home before it can drain off the coil and out of your home. This causes the relative humidity in your home to be significantly greater than if the air conditioner thermostat fan mode switch is set to the AUTO position. Even in the "auto" position, some air conditioners run the blower for 1-3 minutes after the compressor shuts off. To maximize dehumidification, it is best to disable this feature. A qualified mechanical contractor should be able to disable this feature so that the blower and compressor turn off simultaneously.

Air Conditioner Selection: If you are building a new home and can choose, then choose an air conditioning system with a variable speed air handler and an operating selection mode for "enhanced moisture removal." This is a good option for multiple reasons: the units are SEER 14+, they are quiet and they do a better job removing moisture, particularly under part load conditions. They accomplish this by starting the air handler fan at a lower speed during each cycle, which improves moisture removal. The variable speed fan motors are intrinsically more energy efficient-- they use as little as 270 W/1000 cfm of air flow as compared with the typical 450 W/1000 cfm. Each of the major manufacturers have them. When used properly, they are ideal for Florida's climate.

Air conditioner sizing. Oversizing of air conditioners is common. The more an air conditioner is oversized, the poorer its humidity removal performance, especially at higher thermostat settings. This is because, during each air conditioning on cycle, the moisture removal does not reach full capacity for about the first three minutes of operation. The more the system is oversized, the shorter the on-cycle during which moisture is removed. Thus, if a home is properly sized with a 2-ton air conditioner and a 4-ton system is installed, the 2-ton machine would do a much better job removing moisture even though the 4-ton machine had twice the nameplate humidity removal capability (Btu/hr). Remember, the shorter the air conditioner on-cycle, the less chance for effective moisture removal.