IDK how many of you have taken apart an air conditioner after a year of use, but it is amazing how much black mold (or is it mildew??) that grows on
the fan blades and that area of the unit. I am mainly speaking of window units and the split systems where the cooling unit is in the wall and the
compressor & exchanger is outside some ways away.
Well I'm trying to figure out a way to be proactive in keeping the mold from ever starting as I have a new AC.
I was thinking of spraying bleach or H2O2 into the air inlet filter but the bleach would end up getting in the air and bleaching rugs, carpets, sofas,
etc and the H2O2 may be a better option, I can get up to 35%, but it may do similar, IDK.
Another option I was thinking about is an ozone generator but that might need to be run constantly. I do have access to an O2 concentrator which will
run 5L/min @ 89% supposedly - so I could run that into an ozone machine and get more out of it or just pipe the O2 through the AC (but that seems like
it wouldn't do much).
I'm wondering what other options there are. I was thinking of HOCl and spraying that into the air intake. I've seen that there are some new
household HOCl units that keep a little bottle filled/made on the counter - you add salt and vinegar and plug it in and it makes HOCl supposedly.
I've heard this is a very potent disinfectant and I don't think it bleaches in the process though I may be incorrect.
This is about all I can think of but if anyone has any better ideas or can expand on anything I wrote, I would appreciate hearing them!macckone - 14-5-2017 at 23:31
They make products specific for this use.
They usually contain quantenary ammonium salts.AJKOER - 15-5-2017 at 06:09
I would try tetraaminecopper carbonate. Such copper salts are used to treat crops with the copper ion being the main active agent.
My suggested preparation of a dilute solution from available chemicals is to dissolve metal copper in a mix of ammonia water, dilute H2O2 and a small
amount of sea salt. This forms tetraamine copper hydroxide (upon creation in solution, the ammonia content can actually vary, and Copper can be either
Cu(l) or Cu(ll) or in some combination as a result of interaction with Copper metal, see reference), a base, which can be treated with CO2 to form
tetraamine copper carbonate. In the first ten minutes, a N2 production from the decomposition of a side reaction product of NH4NO2 could leave to a
foam and bursting of closed vessels. On the mechanism of the reaction, see https://www.academia.edu/292096/Kinetics_and_Mechanism_of_Co... .
[Edited on 15-5-2017 by AJKOER]tshirtdr1 - 15-5-2017 at 16:26
Lysol makes a quaternary ammonium salt mixture for the purpose of killing mold. It is a commercial preparation. I do not recommend running an ozone
generator 24/7 near your system, as it will ruin the insulation on your wiring. Additionally, ozone generators don't last long. They aren't made to be
run indefinitely as the electrodes will wear out. You might try calling an HVAC repair place and see if they sell their solution to the public.Twospoons - 15-5-2017 at 21:12
How about mounting a germicidal UV lamp in the system? Downside is potential for shadows, and UV light leakage out of the unit (very, very bad for
your eyes and skin). You'd probably only need to run it once a week for an hour.
[Edited on 16-5-2017 by Twospoons]AJKOER - 16-5-2017 at 05:52
My last word, I recommend my copper based pesticide because the general chemistry of why and how it works is generally understood.
Copper is apparently highly toxic even in very small doses to micro organisms. This property is not displayed, however, with larger animals or man.
Many other effective products like quaternary ammonium compounds are not friendly to people. Here is what comes up on a quick google search, for
example, to quote:
"Quaternary ammonium compounds can cause toxic effects by all routes of exposure including inhalation, ingestion, dermal application and irrigation of
body cavities. ... Concentrated solutions of quaternary ammonium compounds are corrosive and can cause burns to the skin and the mucous membranes.Aug
31, 2011
Chemical of the Day - Most Controversial - Quaternary ..."unionised - 16-5-2017 at 11:15
IDK how many of you have taken apart an air conditioner after a year of use, but it is amazing how much black mold (or is it mildew??)
Why assume it isn't just dust?
over 80% of dust is skin dander and molds grow off this along with dust mites, in HVAC you get this lovely nauseating cocktail.
The ac unit is moving thousands of CFM if not in the millions (Depends on speed setting of fan and size of system) CFM, wet or moist coils act as huge
scavengers for all air born contaminants.
Nucalgon makes a wide array of sprays some require rinsing others do not for sanitizing coils.
You can get low powered UV-C lights built for sterilizing air handlers and they produce small amounts of Ozon which helps to oxidize pollutants in the
air on top of Keeping the coil clean from bio organisms, how ever they tend to be designed for boxed coil assemblies (Split system) but with care full
hunting and planning one could shoe horn one into a larger window rattler.
If possible add a mirv13 or better filter on the intake, as well as a uv-c unit for in the unit
great source for small UV-C units is hot tube/spa industry, they use them for making Ozon, some re-assembly will be required
over 80% of dust is skin dander and molds grow off this along with dust mites, in HVAC you get this lovely nauseating cocktail.
Wow. But wouldn't this be highly dependant on how much windblown dirt dust enters the house?
A few years ago I went on a cave tour at a state park in Jefferson County, MT. The guide said that their major problem was the skin dander that was
accumulating in the cave.
