In this episode of the Ask Derek Cole Show, Derek addresses two homeowner concerns. First, he explains why a HVAC filter may develop black residue, outlining possible causes such as mold growth on paper‑based filters (which provide a food source for mold and bacteria), soot from candles or grills, and the fact that metal ductwork does not support mold because it lacks a food source. He stresses that blackness on a filter signals a problem that should be inspected. Second, he provides a pre‑winter maintenance roadmap after a long, hot summer: clean the evaporator coils, inspect motor condition and amperage, test capacitors, verify control board signals, and consider a professional service to ensure the system is ready for the first cold night. While DIY coil cleaning is possible, he cautions homeowners to verify electrical ratings and system diagnostics to avoid being left without heat when temperatures drop. The episode ends with a call for listeners to submit their home‑energy questions via #AskDerekCole on social media or email.
Chapters
Hey, on this episode we talk about black stuff on my filter and what should I be doing at this time of the year when summer's over. You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Hey, it's Derrick Cole. Welcome to episode 93 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show, answering your home and energy questions. Coming off a great weekend, we had a team race. It was at the Spartan event, Spartan Race, but we've raced as a team as well. So all of us— this is the scar to prove it. The bad thing is I thought this was mud when I went to the shower to wash it off, and I was like, ah, it's not coming off. So that was not a good idea. Why is there black stuff on my filter? That is a very good question. We need to come check that out. It could be a number of things. Uh, black stuff on the filter I'm assuming you probably think it's mold, or you would not be worried about it. But there's so many different types of mold. The thing about filters is that most of the filters you buy from the big box stores like Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, whatever, the filter is made out of a paper product. So the only reason Mold and bacteria grows when they have a food source. Paper is a food source. That's why you now have sheetrock that is— things can't grow on them because they don't make it out of paper anymore. It says mold-free or whatever they call it. It's because they don't have a food source. That's why when you have a metal duct system, mold and stuff cannot grow in that duct system. It's impossible. It's metal. There is no food. For it to eat, so it cannot grow. So yes, it could be that, um, and they can attach to it, and you know, because it is a food source. I've seen before where people have a lot of candles in the house, a lot of soot happens, and that can cause like things to fly out of the grill or be stuck on the filter. So it could be a number of things, but bottom line is we need to come check it out and see what's going on because Blackness on the filter is not a good sign for anybody, so you need to see what's going on with that. What should I do to my system before it gets cold outside? We have come through a long, hot, humid summer, so the thing you need to do before it gets cold outside is you need to clean the system and check the system and get a maintenance done because it's had a long run time from what, like March, April to now, it's been running cooling. So in that period of time, you probably have not had a maintenance done. So you need to clean the coils, you check the motors, and you check the amps on the motors. You need to check the capacitors, you can check the boards, make sure everything is good to go. So when you get that first 40-degree night or 30-degree night, you have heat in the home and something's not blowing out, not working. So after a long hot summer, the unit has run a marathon, you need to have a checked, serviced, cleaned by a professional to make sure it's all good to go. And yes, I know people say I can clean the coils myself. Yes, you can clean the coils yourself, but you need to go in that unit, you need to check all these ratings for the capacitors and the motors and check the signals to the boards just to make sure everything is working properly, because you don't want to be stuck on that first cold day of the year where everybody is calling in saying I don't have heat, and then you're stuck in the same situation. So let's go on offense and not on defense, and let's go ahead and get it checked out to make sure we're good to go. That's like 2 quick shows in a row, record time. I'm not repeating myself. Uh, anyway, ask your questions and hashtag #AskDerekCole, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever you want to do, or email me and we'll get them on the show.
