Charlie:
In Champions Forest he writes to us, James does, that as the big rains came in April/May he started smelling something in his house, thought it was mold, had a guy come in. It wasn’t mold, so he looked at his relative humidity levels, found them high, called an A/C guy. He came out and they said, “We’ll add some insulation, we’ll redo all your ducts.” They did all that. Humidity levels went up. He has a four year old, five ton, American Standard Platinum 16-SEER two-stage with variable speed air-handler cased evaporator coil. He’s got the whole thing, an air media filter, the whole nine yards. They came in, put in a thermostat with a dehumidifier feature now, but he’s still having problems with readings as high, Tom, as 89 in his house. He wants to know is it the air conditioner? Is it … The A/C guy say maybe it’s a plumbing problem.
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Tom:
You know what? When you started that question … Sometimes we read these over, and over until we … He said, “When the rains came …”
Charlie:
Yes.
Tom:
That … I didn’t notice that until now.
Charlie:
It’s like an Agatha Christie thing. Ya got to pay attention to every frame…
Tom:
No, my little wheels started going. When the rains came. Before the rains he had all this, or some of this equipment, and everything was fine. Now the rains came, and he’s having a problem. I’m wondering if it has something to do with yard drainage, it has something to do with stuff growing outside that he’s smelling that’s entering his home. Like all the high molds and stuff. All the humidity’s. I’m not sure. I think what’s happening is he’s focused on this air-conditioning system, and I’d like to see what happens after everything dries out. Because even now around my house when I go outside I smell all kinds of mold and humidity’s high. My windows are steaming up in the morning when I get up. I live in Champions too. There’s so much water being evaporated right now in the environment. I just wonder if that’s what it is. I don’t think it’s his air-conditioner, but I think he should keep an eye on it, but I’m not sure where to lead him at that. Maybe a roof leak, but beside that goes I’m not sure.
Charlie:
He could have. It could be some moisture in the walls …
Tom:
Yes.
Charlie:
… Coming in, so maybe …
Tom:
Not necessarily mold, but just that mildewy …
Charlie:
Moisture.
Tom:
When they test for mold they’re lookin’ for penicillium, and stachybotrys, and all these weird molds, but they really don’t say, “Oh, yeah. Mildew in the wall.”
Charlie:
At least it’s neat.
Tom:
(laughs)
Charlie:
It’s stachybotrys. It’s not layin’ all around, but …
Tom:
I don’t know. I think it has something to do with the rains. Maybe he might want to look at other things, but I will tell you this, it’s probably not his air-conditioner.
Charlie:
True.
Tom:
There’s something else going on.
Charlie:
Plumbing, roof leak, yard drainage.
Tom:
Start with Ideal maybe. Check to make sure you haven’t got a leak.
Charlie:
I’d get a roof inspection.
Tom:
Yep. I would have a plumbing inspection done, but when he said, “When the rains started,” I think it’s yard drainage, or it is roof leaks.
Charlie:
When the rains began.
Tom:
Or window leaks. Something around the envelope of the building.