I live in Houston and my 5 year old, 5 ton Daikin unit stopped putting out cold air a few days ago. A tech came out yesterday and found a leak in the coil, which was also mostly frozen up.
While they were in there, they took some pictures inside of the unit of several spots of what look to be mold/mildew from the humidity and dark environment.
The tech made some recommendations and said that they were going to send another guy over. This guy is definitely their closer salesperson, as he even wanted "both my wife and I home" in case we went over any big financial decisions. Red flag #1.
He said the evaporator coil needed to be replaced, which I understand, but he also recommended changing out the plenum and furnace because the growth was on the blower wheel and some other components. He also recommended a UV light to kill any new growth from occurring.
We are holding off on the work because we can't get the parts until after the holiday weekend. My question is does this seem like overkill?
I understand the need to replace the evaporator coil to get the cold air flowing, but I feel like the replacement of the rest is a little much in addition to the UV light. Can whatever mold/mildew be cleaned up and then get on a 2x/maintenance schedule keep it from coming back like it was? We are in Houston and I would imagine most other units get the same mildew in there given the humid climate.
I'll admit I haven't done any proactive maintenance other than filters and pouring a little bleach a couple of times a year to keep the overflow clog free.
Am I being naive by not replacing the plenum and furnace with the mildew inside?
While they were in there, they took some pictures inside of the unit of several spots of what look to be mold/mildew from the humidity and dark environment.
The tech made some recommendations and said that they were going to send another guy over. This guy is definitely their closer salesperson, as he even wanted "both my wife and I home" in case we went over any big financial decisions. Red flag #1.
He said the evaporator coil needed to be replaced, which I understand, but he also recommended changing out the plenum and furnace because the growth was on the blower wheel and some other components. He also recommended a UV light to kill any new growth from occurring.
We are holding off on the work because we can't get the parts until after the holiday weekend. My question is does this seem like overkill?
I understand the need to replace the evaporator coil to get the cold air flowing, but I feel like the replacement of the rest is a little much in addition to the UV light. Can whatever mold/mildew be cleaned up and then get on a 2x/maintenance schedule keep it from coming back like it was? We are in Houston and I would imagine most other units get the same mildew in there given the humid climate.
I'll admit I haven't done any proactive maintenance other than filters and pouring a little bleach a couple of times a year to keep the overflow clog free.
Am I being naive by not replacing the plenum and furnace with the mildew inside?
