Air Quality

A part of maintaining a good home environment for your family is ensuring high indoor air quality. This means cleaning up your air supply of dust, spores and other contaminants. If you don’t take care of the air in your home, it could be dangerous to everybody’s health. Respiratory and sinus infections could develop, while asthma and allergy attacks could strike more frequently.

Any mold in a home poses a risk, but it can get worse if it starts growing in your HVAC system. If we experience a hot and muggy summer day here in Plainfield, IL, the moisture in the air could collect and condensation may form inside air ducts. If the level if humidity is high, the water may not evaporate and instead could accumulate. This creates a fertile breeding ground for mold to grow in your HVAC system. Switch on the air conditioner and you might find mold spread across your entire home.

The first step to dealing with this problem is learning how to spot signs of mold growth in your ductwork. Once you identify the problem, you can call in an air quality professional to take care of business. So, ready to learn more? Here’s what every homeowner should watch out for when detecting air duct mold.

Family Members Suffering from Respiratory Problems

Have you been sneezing or wheezing more often? Anybody in your family contract a respiratory or sinus infection?

What about increased asthma and allergy attacks? These are all indications of contaminants in the air supply.

If the air isn’t cleaned up quickly, these health problems can turn into more serious and painful medical conditions.

Symptoms of Mold and Excess Moisture

Homeowners should always keep an eye out for signs of mold excess moisture, including wet spots and condensation. This includes checking in on your air ducts on a regular basis.

If you notice anything out of the ordinary, get in touch with an air quality expert and have them perform an inspection. They will be able to figure out if there is mold in your HVAC system and conduct cleaning services.

There’s an Awful Stench In Your Home

When in doubt, follow your nose. Mold produces a unique smell, similar to rotting food or dirty gym clothes. Even if you’re not familiar with it, you should notice how it affects the air quality.

If the stench gets stronger the closer you are to any vents, it’s a sign there’s mold in the HVAC system. Contact an air duct cleaning company to take care of the problem.

Author

  • brian sloan headshot

    Brian Sloan is the President of TR Miller Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electrical, one of the western Chicago suburbs' leading family owned home service companies, serving homeowners across more than 80 communities throughout Will, Kendall, DuPage, Kane, and Cook counties.

    TR Miller is more than a business to Brian, it's a family legacy. The company was founded by his father, Tim Miller, and Brian and his brother Jim have played an important role in growing the business from a small local operation into a full service residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical company serving homeowners throughout the greater Chicagoland area.

    Brian's perspective on the home services industry comes from firsthand experience. Before taking on leadership responsibilities, he worked in the field as an HVAC Service Technician and Fabrication Technician, diagnosing heating and cooling systems, assembling custom HVAC components, and supporting residential installations throughout the western suburbs.

    That hands on foundation continues to influence the way Brian leads TR Miller today. He understands both the work taking place inside a customer's home and the systems, training, and support required behind the scenes to consistently deliver a great customer experience.

    Over the course of his career at TR Miller, Brian has worked across nearly every major area of the business, including operations, marketing, sales, job coordination, customer service, finance, and leadership. Today, as President, he is responsible for the overall strategy, growth, culture, and performance of the organization.

    That breadth of experience across both the technical and business sides of home services has helped shape how TR Miller operates: combining the systems and accountability of a professionally run organization with the care, responsiveness, and personal connection of a family business.
    Brian's philosophy is straightforward, make home services convenient and reliable while giving homeowners the information they need to make the best decisions for their homes and families. That means educating customers, providing clear options and upfront pricing, and making sure homeowners understand both what was found and why a repair or replacement may be recommended.

    Under Brian's leadership, TR Miller has expanded beyond HVAC into plumbing and electrical services, grown across multiple locations, invested heavily in technical and leadership development, and been recognized seven times on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest growing privately held companies.

    Credentials & Affiliations:
    - President, TR Miller Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electrical
    - Membership Officer, YPO Chicagoland
    - Board Member, Nexstar Network
    - Former Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Plainfield Shorewood Area Chamber of Commerce
    - Associate's Degree, Waubonsee Community College
    - Former HVAC Service Technician & Fabrication Technician, TR Miller
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