Dirty Socks Syndrome

[jimif73]

We have a new Reem air handler for the A/C and all new flexible ductwork that is about 9 months old. This is all located in the attic. When we started the A/C for the first time this year we noticed a faint smell of almost like flowers or plants coming from the vents in the kitchen (above the sink) and in the bathroom. It has gotten progressively worse and now the air coming out of some of the other vents smell like this. Our local Heating and A/C pros are telling me its mold (which is what I figured) and are recommending a Sanuvox UV purifier to kill this smell and any mold that may be growing in the system. They can not tell me WHY it is happenning though.I read on a thread from 04 that this could be Dirty Socks Syndrome and that the only way to fix it is with some kind of coated coil.
Does anyone have any experience with this and if so please lead me in the right direction. I hate to have to spend a ton more money when I just did last year.

Thanks,

Jimi

[genesis]

You might redirect this post to the indoor air threads and get a better response.
First Irradiating the coils with UV light can help control the mold growth but wont make the smell go away for a while. My first question is do you have a heat pump. If so you need to get your contractor to check the freon charge. The reason is most DSS starts in the coils during the winter from to low of an evap temp during the heat mode. This promotes the mold growth.
Second I would add some pan tablets to the evap coil to help sterilize the pan and kill any bacterial growth in the drain pan.
third if you get to the point of every thing else fails make sure you contractor cleans the evap coil with some good coil cleaner before they install the UV bulbs. And keep in mind the effective range of most UVGI bulbs is only 12 to 15 inches from the bulbs . So disburse them appropriately.
We manufacture a UV PCO set up that goes on top of the evap coil that would remove the actual smell but it wouldn't light up the coil enough to stop any mold growth at the coil.
You really need to stop the problem at its source, the evap temps are very important. And don't run your system below 70 degrees this can cause simular problems.

[The Penguin]

sanavox is the best uv/ mould killer smell eliminator out there in my opinion.

I set up a portable unit in a co-workers apt whom almost chain smokes along with his room mate.


it cleared the smoke and smell perfectly within a week

[jimif73]

Thanks for the reply.
I do not have a heat pump with this sysytem. I have a boiler unit with hot water heat on the ground floor. So the A/C units sits stagnent all fall, winter, and part of spring.

[pauliizzle]

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