Guest guest Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 -when I had a window ac, I took it out every year and took the back of and use presser hose to clean threw front coils and drain tray area, being careful not to get elictrical wet.-- In , " bhp355 " <zippy890@...> wrote: > > Hello, > > We use a window unit AC to cool our home. > If you have one of these, I would be quite > cautious. I know of no really good way to > clean them. > > They should be designed so that a person > could open the interior ducts and squirrel > cage fan to clean. The squirrel cage fan > should even be removable. > > But nobody thinks of mold in designing > these things. It's just make them as cheap > as you can. Maybe buying a cheap one every > two years is the real answer? > > Anyway, keeping the humidity low in your > house helps, as that is what feeds mold growth > on the duct work. > > I have seen older units spitting out black mold > particles into the house the size of > marbles(!) The owner did not > know what they were, however, and thought they > were just pieces of insulation that was old and > cracking. Sheesh ! > > I would also be VERY alert to whether the vent > was opened or closed to the outside. It should > be kept CLOSED ! Window unit AC's are built to > throw water from a drain pan onto heat dissipation > coils, if they don't do this their life is shortened > and they may quickly burn out. However, the drain > pan is a really good breeding ground for molds. > So to suck air through a vent, over the drain pan, > which can be full of mold, is just about the worst > situation an engineer could design for human health, > in the way these machines are used in the real world. > > With the vent CLOSED, however, there should be little > problem as most of the mold would be on the > outside of the house (at least that is my belief > from observation). > > Well, I'm no expert, but that's my 2 cents from > experience. > > Zippy > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 It helps to defrost them regularly. Build up frost can cause moisture. I poured about a gallon of water out of the window AC where I used to work after it defrosted. Too bad they don't have heat settings to dry them. Maybe when not in use a small clip on fan can blow air inside to dry it faster? Lourdes " Sal " Salvador, salvadorlourdes@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 drill holes in the bottom of the drip pan that goes outside on your window AC Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 My friend takes my ac apart a couple times during the season and cleans it with white vinegar.Even sprays coils with it. Plus be carefull on your window sill. I was sick for two months before I realised for some reason water and condensation built up on my window sill so I wipe under it a few times a day with a washcloth pushed in by a butter knife. The things we do !! Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 > > drill holes in the bottom of the drip pan that goes outside on your window AC > Janet ---------------------------------------- No ! No ! Janet. The drip pan is designed to contain a small amount of water. The fan blades dip into the water and throw it up on the heat dissipation coils to help them dissipate heat through evaporative cooling. If is the air conditioner does not do this, it can burn your unit up real fast. Besides, the mold in the drip pan should theoretically not be a problem - so long as the vent stays CLOSED. It is the duct work off the cooling coils that seems to be the biggest problem from my observation (those are the ducts where the cool air blows out), and the squirrel cage fan that blows the cool air out. You have to run your hand down in the unit to feel the squirrel cage. I was surprised, but the cooling coils don't seem to be a big source of mold. They looked really clean to me, but I would like to see an old unit that was never cleaned sliced open to get more information. I guess most people don't use window units anymore. I'm still living in the Bronze age Best, Zippy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 Zippy, There is nothing wrong with making holes on the bottom of a window AC (at the extreme exterior end) to let the water leak out. In fact, some models still come with a removable rubber plug. I have been letting my window AC units drain for years without any problem whatsoever. (Just don't make any holes where the water will drip indoors!) You are correct about the purpose of the stagnant water pond in newer AC units: it is to provide increased heat loss from the compresor (condenser) coil. The splash ring spins around in the mucky pond and flings water onto the hot coil; the evaporation takes heat away from the coil. This improves the efficiency of the compressor so it meets the ever increasingly stringent federal standards. As sometimes happens, meeting energy standards means losing air quality (Many lose sight of the fact that it costs energy and money for good IAQ.) The puddle in the AC is always full of mold, insects (especially mosquitos), etc. And if you open the air vent, the aerosol from the splash ring in the pond water is sucked in, another great idea. (I agree, NEVER open the " fresh air " vent.) Again, the most important feature of any AC is the filtration, and NO portable units come with an adequate filter. You MUST use supplemental filtration at the intake side. I also agree that it is a great idea to take the unit out of its case and disinfect it annually. So drill on, but don't stand under anyone's dripping AC unit, and hold your breath if you walk close by one with a splash ring.(One more thing to worry about!) C. May May Indoor Air Investigations LLC 1522 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA 02139 617-354-1055 www.mayindoorair.com www.myhouseiskillingme.com >Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 23:55:38 -0000 >From: " bhp355 " <zippy890@...> >Subject: Re: Window Unit AC > > drill holes in the bottom of the drip pan that goes outside on your window AC > Janet ---------------------------------------- >No ! No ! Janet. >The drip pan is designed to contain a small amount of water. >The fan blades dip into the water and throw it up on the heat >dissipation coils to help them dissipate heat through evaporative >cooling. If is the air conditioner does not do this, it can >burn your unit up real fast. >Besides, the mold in the drip pan should theoretically not be >a problem - so long as the vent stays CLOSED.....<snip> >Best, >Zippy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Jeff, Thank you for that correction. I was going with the party line on it burning out your unit. I'm glad to hear you have been doing this with no problems. Best, Zippy ------------------------------------------------------ > > Zippy, > > There is nothing wrong with making holes on the bottom of a window AC (at > the extreme exterior end) to let the water leak out. In fact, some models > still come with a removable rubber plug. I have been letting my window AC > units drain for years without any problem whatsoever. (Just don't make any > holes where the water will drip indoors!) > > You are correct about the purpose of the stagnant water pond in newer AC > units: it is to provide increased heat loss from the compresor (condenser) > coil. The splash ring spins around in the mucky pond and flings water onto > the hot coil; the evaporation takes heat away from the coil. This improves > the efficiency of the compressor so it meets the ever increasingly stringent > federal standards. > > As sometimes happens, meeting energy standards means losing air quality > (Many lose sight of the fact that it costs energy and money for good IAQ.) > The puddle in the AC is always full of mold, insects (especially mosquitos), > etc. And if you open the air vent, the aerosol from the splash ring in the > pond water is sucked in, another great idea. (I agree, NEVER open the " fresh > air " vent.) > > Again, the most important feature of any AC is the filtration, and NO > portable units come with an adequate filter. You MUST use supplemental > filtration at the intake side. I also agree that it is a great idea to take > the unit out of its case and disinfect it annually. > > So drill on, but don't stand under anyone's dripping AC unit, and hold your > breath if you walk close by one with a splash ring.(One more thing to worry > about!) > > C. May > May Indoor Air Investigations LLC > 1522 Cambridge Street > Cambridge, MA 02139 > 617-354-1055 > www.mayindoorair.com > www.myhouseiskillingme.com > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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