How do i fix a Smelly Airconditioner?
Question:My Home room air conditioner (window type) is starting to give off smelly air. Does anybody know how to get rid of this? I tried air freshener, but it didn't work. Is there anything i can spray into the intake that would take care of the problem??
PLEASE, I AM AT A LOSS AT WHAT TO DO!!!!
Answers:
The first three suggestions are ok and hopefully they will help. But I suspect you will have to remove it and take the air handling portion apart in order to thoroughly clean it with bleach containing products.
Mine had white foam and gray filter like material lining the walls for noise reduction. It's real quiet, but the darn thing looked like a "Chia Pet" inside! All gray and green with black spots of mold everywhere. Worse, it gave no odor to alert me.
Tylex or other bleach containing cleaners worked well to clean, but didn't prevent recurrence. For this I bought roof moss remover. It is a liquid containing Zinc Chloride. After cleaning and drying, I spritzed a solution of this onto the foam and sponge surfaces and let it dry. The mold doesn't like Zinc and has not returned!
change the filter
The coil probably needs to be cleaned
It's probably mold and mildew built up in the condenser...try spraying it with bleach, or a diluted solution of bleach and water.
air filter and be sure it's draining properly, and for a while leave a fabric softener in with the air filter and change it in a few days that will help with the smell
Change the filter.
If that doesn't work, you'll probably need to take it to a repair shop and shell-out $50-100.
One of the problems is that you could have mould growing in the spill/drip pan.
What a lot of people seem to forget is that the a/c needs periodic cleaning and maintenance (the filter should be replaced or washed every couple of months for one).
LOL. The air filter is rarely a reason for it. I wouldn't bleach it though because I would rather ot breathe in bleach. How old is your ari conditioner? After so long, the freon starts to die and back then, people would refill it. The dead gas usually causes a musty smell. I would say get a new air conditioner but I don't know ow old yours is.
You will hear from experts, but here's my experience. If you have a cat or maybe even a dog, you're likely smelling damp fur, especially if you have ever run it without the filter. Unplug it, remove the filter and wipe the fan as clean as you can with a sponge and household cleaner.
If the source is bacterial, Lysol spray will kill the bacteria and work much better than air freshener. It wouldn't hurt to spray Lysol after the sponge cleaning.
If you see any evidence of mold, or if the smell is moldy, throw the thing out. It would be cheaper to buy a new one (around $100 for a small room) than to pay for proper cleaning and repair. I had to do this once. Better than breathing mold.
Good luck. I know it can be frustrating.
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