Walking into a home that smells like a locker room at half time is no joke. If you’re experiencing this, you and your air conditioner could be suffering from dirty sock syndrome.
The dirty sock odor is caused by the growth of mold and mildew on the evaporator coil in your air conditioner. Dust gets caught in the moisture that collects in your coil due to continued use, which in turn leads to the growth of mold and mildew. The warmth, damp, and darkness create perfect conditions for mold and mildew to thrive. This creates a breeding ground for bacteria. Where germs and bacteria thrive, they give off nasty odors.
Mold doesn’t need much to survive, grows fast and produces many toxins. In an AC environment, all those toxins and bacteria that are produced by the mold get blown throughout your home. The World Health Organization (WHO) state that 60% of indoor air quality problems and allergies may be mold-related. Other indoor air quality diagnosticians and practitioners say that figure is closer to 80%.
Mold affects the functioning of AC systems by causing dirty coils, increase in pressure drop, dirty or blocked drain pans, increased energy use, and lowered heat exchange efficiency.
Living in a stinky home is unpleasant but not dangerous to healthy people. For anyone with compromised health though, mold, mildew and bacteria can trigger serious health issues.
Just because your air conditioner is making your home smell funky, doesn’t mean that you have full-on dirty sock syndrome. Before assuming, here are some things to check that will eliminate other causes of the bad odor.
If you’ve checked these three things but you are still suffering from a stinky home, you are most likely suffering from dirty sock syndrome.
There are options available to fix this problem.
The old saying goes where there’s smoke, there’s a fire. When it comes to your home – where there’s a stink, there’s an AC unit asking for attention. Call one of our professionals today to sort out your AC issues, toss the socks and get your home smelling wonderful again.