News

Can you smell mould?

01-08-06

Some companies make a valiant effort to clean and fix their air conditioning ducting when it is performing poorly.

While Eximo is always pro-maintenance, sometimes the reality has to be faced -- that a company’s ducting system is performing poorly because it was not good enough for the job in the first place and by now is probably riddled with holes and tears.

One of the most common causes of air quality problems in factories and workplaces is one of the most difficult to find. Research internationally has shown that that the ductwork – which is often hidden from view - can seriously affect indoor air, the cleanliness of the premises, the amount of cooling and heating used and cause a host of other problems.
This all equates to extra cost to your business and, of course, wasted energy.

Insulation from the roof recess can often be sucked into your business’s duct system and then blown into the working area. Or maybe holes or tears in the ducts are causing a pressure imbalance that is drawing in dusty air from the roof recess and blowing it into the work area.

If there is a musty or mouldy odour when the air conditioner system is on, there is quite likely some air leakage from the supply ducts and this depressurises the premises.
The supply leak sucks air out of the building and creates negative pressure.  This negative pressure, which occurs when your air-conditioning unit is operating, will draw humid air from the outdoors into the walls, where it collects on cool interior surfaces, allowing mould and mildew to thrive.

If this is going on when you turn on the air conditioner, negative pressure will draw outside air in thru the walls and bring the musty smells into the building from the walls. Duct leakage is a common problem in industrial businesses.

Try to maintain something that is broken is a waste of time and money.  By installing high-grade ducting to more efficiently handle the air-conditioning and provide a longer lifespan is a more sensible measure.