AdamAlden
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How to prevent mold in a home made evaporative cooler?
Im looking for something to prevent mold and insects from growing... So far with plain water it grows insects mainly... I added neem oil and that
killed the insects but made it grow mold. I want to try sodium hypochlorite (only thing in the house atm) but im also thinking about holding off and
using some chlorine tablets from my parents pool supply. I just dont wanna add something that's going to fill my room with fumes. Thank you!!
I also tried hydrogen peroxide but that only lasted a couple of days and seemed to cause mold growth. I had this running for 4 months without cleaning
it. Just cleaned it today.
I have some ph up and down could I change the ph to prevent mold? this stuff is for hydroponics. should be safe and no fumes.
[Edited on 1-10-2020 by AdamAlden]
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macckone
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BAC is probably better but yeah sodium hypochlorite should be fine as long as you have a mist collector before the blower.
In Commercial systems they usually use BAC which is available as a mold preventative online.
https://www.amazon.com/Rectorseal-68114-Evaporative-Humidifi...
Note that you need to dissolve and dilute and you have to have a mist collector.
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AdamAlden
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I looked up BAC and it seems perfect but there doesn't seem easy to get it (it's quite expensive) so I will order those tablets as that will be enough
to last for years. Thanks for the info I really appreciate it!
I'm not going to try the bleach as I have no mist collector. Mist collector might be a fun project in the future!
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TriiodideFrog
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Maybe try some vinegar, but I don't fancy acetic acid fumes. The vinegar worked on normal mold but I am not sure about the one in the evaporative
cooler.
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Tsjerk
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Use oxone, it is even used to sterilize glass before bottling perishable drinks.
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B(a)P
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From personal experience clove oil works well for mould. Not sure how it performs for insects.
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unionised
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It isn't mould you should be worrying about.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionella
Quaternary ammonium compounds are pretty good biocides and you can get them fairly cheaply.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patio-Magic-Cleaner-5L-Refill/dp/B0...
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macckone
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AdamAlden,
I provided the link to a version, 20% BAC.
You can look for evaporative cooler sanitizer or swamp cooler sanitizer on a local search engine since amazon is probably not the best for you.
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Herr Haber
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BAC ? Benzalkonium Chloride ?
I just received 1 liter of 50% solution this week for less than 15 Euros. Never saw it in tablet form though.
Got it from a drugstore who has plenty of hobby, household, gardening chemicals and supplies of all sorts. These are getting very scarce around here
:-/
The spirit of adventure was upon me. Having nitric acid and copper, I had only to learn what the words 'act upon' meant. - Ira Remsen
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AdamAlden
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good god! legionella?! I'm just going to get a packet of pool shocker and add a little to sterilize it. I'll let the chlorine sterilize the system (I
just rinsed it off because I'm lazy) and see how it goes. I'll order those tablets macckone if the pool shock is unbearable. I'm hoping my room just
smells like a pool. It had white stuff growing on it and it smelt like a wet dog when i turned it back on.
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AdamAlden
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I added some "sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione dihydrate". it says 2.5 tsp per 500 gallons but i didnt read that before i added about a whooping tea
spoon to like 10 gallons. I am definitely getting that spa feeling that I get when im in the spa area in the gym. No noticeable odor.
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Dr.Bob
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Just use tritium oxide in it, that should keep anything from growing in it...
Sodium carbonate might be basic enough to prevent some things, but benzyl,alkylammonium chlorides are good for that.
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macckone
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Herr Haber, yes BAC is available in tablet form, at least in the US.
Dr. Bob, tritium oxide is how you wind up with a 500 ton protoplasm terrorizing the town aka the blob.
Tritium oxide is insufficiently radioactive to kill bacteria but the mass difference does interfere with normal biological process. In plants it just
makes them sickly and a 'failure to thrive'.
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Pyro_cat
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UV light ?
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macckone
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Pyro cat,
That would work.
The turbidity of the water would have to be managed and it has to be at killing luminance.
Particularly algae can thrive if it doesn't kill it.
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