HVAC – THE REALITY
A building’s air conditioning system doesn’t need to be the actual
source of the mold to create mold growth.
As the HVAC equipment circulates air, mold spores on walls, ceilings, or other surfaces get caught in the air and the spores are drawn into the HVAC system. The spores are then pushed down the ductwork, and distributed throughout the building where they can develop into new mold colonies. Mold spores can collect on the wet surfaces inside the HVAC equipment and mix with dust and other biological contaminants to create mold blooms within the equipment itself.

Routine preventative maintenance can reveal mold growth in the HVAC equipment and technicians can take the appropriate steps to clean and disinfect the area. But rarely do standard maintenance tasks include duct inspections and mold growth deep inside the duct system, out of sight of technicians, may continue to grow and spread spores. Once significant mold growth has occurred inside ductwork, effective cleaning is nearly impossible. In most cases, the entire duct system must be replaced often at great expense to the building owner and tremendous inconvenience to the occupants.

Fortunately, advances in chemical engineering technology have
brought new methods for stopping mold and bacterial contamination
in HVAC systems before they start.
EDUCATIONAL:

Daycares, Kindergarten Play Areas, Elementary, Middle/Junior, High, and College Schools, Campus, Libraries, Gymnasium, Pools, Medical and Food Prep Areas

EAST PENNSBORO, PA HIGH SCHOOL

We’ll get through this together…

East Pennsboro School Superintendent Jay Burkhart told concerned parents at a 2016 meeting announcing the three-week closure of the local high school. The school closed to facilitate mold remediation after mold was discovered in ceiling tiles and air conditioning pipe insulation. The health risk to the students and teachers meant the school could not be occupied. Unfortunately, this was not the first time mold affected the nation’s public school system.

BROWARD COUNTY, FL SCHOOLS

mold is like an airborne seed that can land on anything and simply needs moisture to grow…

For more than 14 years Broward Country Florida schools have suffered from mold issues throughout their facilities. Mold growth started in areas near roof leaks then spread through the school’s air conditioning system and eventually expanded to most of the classrooms causing illness and constant absenteeism. As the mold situation worsened, a local mold remediation specialist noted that “mold is like an airborne seed that can land on anything and simply needs moisture to grow.” The school still struggles with mold growth more than a decade after it was first discovered.

MEDICAL:

Emergency Rooms, Waiting Areas, Patient Rooms, Intensive Care (ICU), Preventive Care (PCU), Surgical Rooms, Testing Labs

EAST PENNSBORO, PA HIGH SCHOOL

We’ll get through this together…

East Pennsboro School Superintendent Jay Burkhart told concerned parents at a 2016 meeting announcing the three-week closure of the local high school. The school closed to facilitate mold remediation after mold was discovered in ceiling tiles and air conditioning pipe insulation. The health risk to the students and teachers meant the school could not be occupied. Unfortunately, this was not the first time mold affected the nation’s public school system.

BROWARD COUNTY, FL SCHOOLS

mold is like an airborne seed that can land on anything and simply needs moisture to grow…

For more than 14 years Broward Country Florida schools have suffered from mold issues throughout their facilities. Mold growth started in areas near roof leaks then spread through the school’s air conditioning system and eventually expanded to most of the classrooms causing illness and constant absenteeism. As the mold situation worsened, a local mold remediation specialist noted that “mold is like an airborne seed that can land on anything and simply needs moisture to grow.” The school still struggles with mold growth more than a decade after it was first discovered.

HVAC – ANTI-MICROBIAL SOLOUTIONS
When specifications require anti-microbial duct, contractors have two options to meet the project requirements. Ductwork can be ordered pre-coated or the coating can be shop-applied by the local contractor.
The cost of factory-coated ductwork can be high and construction schedules delayed due to long lead times for the product. When contractors fabricate ductwork and apply the anti-microbial coating in-house, costs go down and the project schedule shortened. “Using the shop-applied anti-microbial opens up a chance for contractors to bid on jobs no matter their size” noted Jeff Drucker, spokesman for Bio Shield, who partners with ductwork contractors to provide Silver Bullet AM® for their in-house ductwork projects.
Facilities like gyms, pools, schools, and hospitals require a lot of outside air to meet air conditioning and ventilation code requirements. The interior of gyms and pools is already humid with pool water and sweating occupants and adding even more humidity from the outside raises the risk of mold growth within the HVAC system and the entire building. Faced with challenging designs that have high humidity and moisture loads, engineers can proactively bring mold control to the building with anti-microbial paints and epoxies like Silver Bullet AM.
Mold and bacteria growth either originating from or carried by a building’s HVAC system presents serious health issues to occupants. When duct systems become severely contaminated with mold, a costly replacement is usually the only solution. But the antimicrobial properties of ionic silver are now being used to create revolutionary products like the water-based epoxy Silver Bullet AM. Used to coat the surfaces of HVAC systems, Silver Bullet AM provides maximum protection against mold growth in heating and air conditioning systems and throughout the entire building.

NEW YORK SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN

SNIPS, a leading magazine for the HVAC sheet metal industry, showcased the New York School of Interior Design graduate center HVAC system that included 25,000 pounds of Silver Bullet AM coated ductwork. The design specs required the ductwork have an anti-microbial internal surface to protect occupants from mold and bacterial buildup. Karo Sheet Metal of Brooklyn, New York met the specifications with Silver Bullet AM coated duct. The sheet metal fabricators from Karo applied Silver Bullet AM in their duct shop reducing the cost and lead time needed for factory-built anti-microbial ductwork. The duct installation was a tremendous win for the building owner who got a superior duct system and a reasonable cost and a huge benefit for the occupants who continue to get the protection of Silver Bullet AM.

HVAC – SILVER BULLET AM®
Silver Bullet AM is a water-based epoxy using Agion® Technologies ionic silver particles to create an easily applied anti-microbial coating for HVAC equipment and related components. When applied to the internal surfaces of HVAC systems, Silver Bullet AM acts as a disinfectant killing mold spores, germs, and other biological contaminants before they are blown out of the ductwork. Silver Bullet AM can be sprayed or painted onto drain pans, air handler panels, piping, and inside the ductwork to keep the HVAC system mold-free. The anti-bacterial surface created by Silver Bullet AM reduces or even eliminates the spread of mold spores from the building HVAC system.
The effectiveness of ionic silver as an anti-microbial agent is well documented. Ionic silver is frequently used to coat medical equipment and touchable surfaces like grab bars and door handles where germ contamination is a concern. When activated by moisture, the silver ions on the coated surface disrupt cell metabolism killing the germs on contact. The same antimicrobial qualities of silver ions for touchable surfaces are being used in the HVAC industry to kill molds and viruses inside HVAC systems.