Home / Gallery of gross
The gallery of gross.
Every one of these came out of a real system in Southwest Florida. Filters, coils, drain lines, the stuff behind the air handler. If yours looks like this, we've seen worse & we can fix it.
Viewer discretion is advised. Maybe not during lunch.
ReplacedThirteen years old. Coil, blower, the lot, out on the lawn. ReplacedKept this home cool for twenty three years. Finally retired. FiltersThe filter. Someone said it was changed a few months ago. Every breath of air in that house had to fight through this to get to the coil. It lost. FiltersYummers. - beforeafter
A coil, before & after we got to it. Left is years of Florida packed into the fins. Right is the same coil after a cleaning. Air can get through again, which is the whole job. CoilsA coil, before & after. Unrecognizable after a good tune up. - beforeafter
The plenum above a closet air handler, before & after. Nobody opens that door for years, the humidity sits, & this grows. We do not paint over it. New plenum, sealed on every seam. MoldBehind the air handler. A drain that leaked slowly for a long time & a wall that soaked it up. We replaced the plenum & cleaned the air handler after. The float switch exists so this does not happen. DrainsThe shop vac after clearing a drain line. That all came out of one drain. DrainsThe shop vac after a commercial drain line. This jelly is what grows in a drain line that runs all summer. Cleared it & had them cooling again the same visit. DrainsDifferent building, same recipe. A cup of vinegar a month & this stays a clean drain line. DrainsA drain line we cut out on a change out. That was the inside of it. Nothing was getting through, which is why the pan kept filling. New line, new float switch, done. DrainsMy arm after a drain line. Some clogs do not come out with a vacuum. This one took nitrogen & a step back. DrainsWhere it landed. The stuff that was in the line, on the lawn. The drain ran clear after. The grass recovered. ElectricalA capacitor after years without a visit. Cobwebs, a dead lizard, corrosion on every terminal. The unit was making a buzzing noise before going out. ElectricalA hard start kit & a capacitor that gave up at the same time. It did not go quietly. Both replaced, wiring redone, unit back on the same day. - beforeafter
The capacitor on a unit that was making a buzzing noise. Bug nest, dirt, about 14 summers. Twenty minutes later it is a new one, dated so the next tech knows. Quick fix, & we will not charge you $500 for a $75 part. DuctworkFifteen year old flex, blown clean off the plenum. The homeowner called about low airflow. The attic had been getting most of the house for a while. New collar, mastic, strapped, done.
How it gets like this
Florida air carries dust, pollen, salt & 70% humidity, & a filter catches a fraction of it. The rest lands on the coil, in the drain pan & in the ductwork, & it grows. Two visits a year keep it from ever getting to this page.
Want to see the other side? The gallery of goated.
No faces, no house numbers, no names. Just the equipment. If you'd rather we not film at yours, tell the tech.
@thinkaphex
Same handle everywhere. Mostly attics.