HVAC technicians struggle with plenum box moisture leaks

“We moved into our new townhouse back in March & ever since the humidity in the house has been between 60-70%. I read online that most houses stay between 30-50%. I assumed if the HVAC system which is brand new was installed properly then I wouldn't have this problem ? Theres also this April Aire thing on the wall that I have no idea if it's set right. submitted by /u/ChaseandKoltonsMama [link] [comments]”

“Hello, I moved into 3rd floor 1x1 apartment in the south and for the past year, I’ve been having issues with my HVAC and my apartment maintenance can’t figure out the problem. The problem— I’m having is high indoor humidity and I cannot get it to stay under 55% (it goes 60% + when my washer/dryer runs) and some kind of leaking after my AC runs (see pic). The apartment maintenance and a 3rd party contractor were notified of the leak but they did not do anything to resolve that. It’s not a major l”

“For reference, I work in HVAC and have a cursory knowledge of plumbing but don’t really touch drainage and venting. I noticed a leak in my house (six plex) and pulled the drywall off just to find a six foot longitudinal crack in the line from the unit above which ties in to my kitchen sink. Would it be a manufacturing issue or damage from install 15 years ago? submitted by /u/itsagrapefruit [link] [comments]”

“Saw some spotting on my downstairs ceiling. Air handlers are in upstairs attic and was looking to see if there were any leaks. Noticed some mildew/mold on the handler and then it looks like the plenum is condensation too and leaking into the insulation. Note: there is a rogue shingle piece to ignore. What should I ask an HVAC company to look at / fix? Thanks in advance submitted by /u/HuzzahMF [link] [comments]”

“Hello all. I have been getting a lot of dust in my laundry room where my heater is and am pretty sure its from the HVAC duct work. I was reading something about how sealling up your duct work is important for effecinecy purposes and also read something about how filling the gap around your filter housing is important in regards to not pulling air from the basement. This week I plan on sealing everything up good and when I took a look at my return I noticed this massive vent right before the retu”

“I just bought a house and noticed that the family room wasn’t cooling like it should. Upon getting it inspected, the HVAC tech said they use a “distribution box” with three ducting coming out of it to bring air into the house which is highly inefficient and we only have one air return. Also, he said that the inside unit being in a closet in the hallway is highly inefficient and he’s not sure why it was installed like that. I told him the house was built in 2003 and the AC system is probably that”

“Our home was built in 1993. Bought it last year. Been having trouble with moisture and springtails. Forgot I had our home inspection report, so I looked it over again. I do plan on sealing as much as I can on the exterior/interior. Anyway, the report had the following listed in red for needing service.. - Many of the supply register boots are damaged and will need to be repaired or replaced by a qualified contractor. This will help to improve air flow and indoor air quality. - The supply plenum”

“is this fair? Hey pro's. My AC unit is 6-7 years old, the plenum and flex are not. I am having an issue with mold creeping from the rear of the plenum and there's no clearance to fully investigate what is happening. I have some issues with the plenum in the attic where there's condensation forming where the flex connect to the plenum (it's all slathered in mastic). I've been told by multiple AC techs and even my own family member who's too old to be doing the work that th”

“HVAC inspection said there is fungal growth in the plenum and wants 2k to replace the box. Just want to know if this is real or if the discoloration is just dust/debris. TIA submitted by /u/Expensive_Sell_2492 [link] [comments]”

“West Coast FL upstairs Air Handler closet sweating plenum (humid control issue) and mold growing. Mold has been like this for a bit and there is no issues inside duct work have tested around house but not sure what to do getting all kinds of conflicting information. There is no AC vent or any vent in the room.. Not sure best way to ventilate was told to put a vent in the return to cirulate air in room but don't want to have mold enter system. What's best way to control the humidity issue”

“I recently replaced my air handler and condenser unit. Some additional items as part of the work included "plenum box, drain and refrigerator line modification, and system sealing". After installation, the HERS test failed due to gaps around existing duct boots. The company is saying it will cost nearly $1k to rectify. Given that they installed an entirely new HVAC system, I would think that this should be included or are they right to charge given that they did not replace the actual”

“I went to my attic and saw the insulation wasn’t properly wrapped around the duct. In addition, who ever “joined” these to the main line clearly didn’t to a good job. Cool air from the AC is being wasted through these holes. Can I fix this myself with a ton of vent tape and new insulation? What do you suggest? submitted by /u/owl-celestial [link] [comments]”

“This is a 1970s Payne unit that I’m trying to limp along as long as I can. I just bought the house and there is air blowing out of the, according to google, supply plenum. It is enough that the closet it is sitting in stays cold while the rest of the house struggles to cool. Is this something I can attempt to diy repair or should I just call a pro. I am a girl but I am pretty handy, and looked up using mastic tape but I would like some opinions first. Also, condensation drips from the copper lin”

“We had water dripping through our finished basement ceiling. We thought it was HVAC related because if we turned off the AC, the dripping would stop after about 24 hours. Also had a plumber out and after numerous holes in the ceiling confirmed it was not a leaking pipe but highly suspected condensation around the ducts. We live in Colorado so in a dry climate but this summer has been unusually hot and humid. We had ice around a condenser line next to the main unit a month ago. The plumber said t”

“Ever since I got pregnant, our house has smelled musty and awful to me, especially around the vents when the AC blows. My husband says he can faintly smell one of the vents but it doesn’t bother him nearly as much. We figured it’d be best to get the HVAC system checked out before the baby comes, so we had a guy come out and he looked in the whole system and found mold on the registers and in the plenum boxes (we have two AC units). He said the only true remedy would be to replace each plenum box”

“Hello, we recently moved into a rental where we've had some issues with the HVAC. We were sneezing, coughing, and our eyes would burn whenever we were in the unit. They found an active leak in the basement going directly into the HVAC ductwork that was going into the slab. It was loaded with mold, because the ductwork is this cardboard like tubing they used back in the 50s/60s, which absorbed all the water over the years. It was removed, but the leak came back and some more water entered the”

“So my return on my a/c is ductless and is just using a wall cavity, and I’ve been dealing with a water leak coming from the ac, so I thought it was from the fact there was no duct and I live in Texas and it’s almost 100 degrees. But I called a company out for a quote to install a duct and they said it was not an issue and it was something else, they just couldn’t find it. But anyways does the fact that there’s no return duct make sense for a large amount of condensation. submitted by”

“Hi new first time homeowner here. we’re closing next week and we’ve come to an agreement with the sellers to help pay for the hvac replacements. the hvac was from 2002, ac unit outside and furnace in our crawl space. the crawl space is something that of the 10th ring of hell. all the duct work needs to be replaced (ducts sagging due to water) furnace is sitting in water (again due to moisture). there is a vapor barrier but it was improperly installed. i’ve received 3 quotes and 2 of them suggest”

“I am back. And it feels awful in my home right now. Two days ago we got some metal tape and retaped our plenum box thing. It already had tons of tape on it, but the tape was lifted all around, causing the cold air to leak directly in the attic. After we added the tape and pressed everything down things seemed perfect. The house started to actually cool to temp and the gross smell went away. Today I woke up and noticed the musty smell was back and it was humid/damp feeling both up and downstairs.”