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When Cleanup Wasn't Enough:
A K-12 Mold Recovery

GPS Air's smartIAQ® GridSet™ is an intelligent air cleaning system built to support lowering outdoor air while improving indoor air quality, with stages that include MERV-13 molecular filtration and NPBI®. Put to work in a Southeastern U.S. school, it cut mold spores 82 to 99% across classrooms, an office, and a hallway. 

Case Study

Temperature and humidity often increase inside schools during the summer, and HVAC set backs, cleaning programs, and maintenance can also lead to elevated moisture levels. Recently, an elementary school in the Southeast experienced a dramatic rise in biological growth because a carpet cleaning program did not properly dry. Even after mold remediation efforts, spore counts remained elevated. Regular HVAC operation alone was not sufficient. smartIAQ GridSet helped recover air quality in the spaces. 

Proven Effective - Mold Test Results

In July 2026, airborne mold samples in three classrooms, one office, and a shared hallway were collected, indicating degraded air quality.

  Room
603
Room
608
Room
610
Office
613
Hall Outdoor
Spore Count/m³ 4,987 7,014 2,604 484,213 4,507 5,812
% outdoor count 85.8% 120.7% 45.4% 8,331% 77.5%  

HVAC was operating per the normal schedule for space conditioning. Following air quality sampling, smartIAQ GridSet units were activated.

Thirty days later, mold sampling showed dramatic improvement.

  Room
603
Room
608
Room
610
Office
613
Hall Outdoor
Spore Count/m³ 374 693 480 587 213 9,415
% outdoor count 4.0% 7.4% 5.1% 6.2% 2.3%
decline vs July 93% 90% 82% 99% 95%

Despite a nearly two-fold increase in outdoor mold, indoor concentrations all measured below 8% of O.A. Compared to July, smartIAQ GridSet lowered spores in every space by 82 to 99%.

Results Summary

30 Day Reduction in Mold Spores
 
Removal
100%
90%
80%
 
 
 
 
93%
 
90%
 
82%
 
99%
 
95%
ROOM:
603608610613Hall
 
Mold Spore Concentration vs. Outdoors
(lower indicates better control)
 
 
vs outdoors
10%
5%
0%

 

 

 
 
4.0%
 
7.4%
 
5.1%
 
6.2%
 
2.3%
ROOM:
603608610613Hall

Mold samples were collected using air sampling tubes and analyzed by third party laboratories using optical microscopy. Individual results may vary.

Solution Detail

smartIAQ GridSet units were installed in the rooms and office. Hallway air benefited from classroom and office air cleaning. smartIAQ GridSet has MERV-13 with molecular filtration and NPBI. It retrofits easily into a suspended grid.

gpsair-smartiaq-gridset-product-page

 

Questions?