Cleaning evaporators to kill bacteria etc

ChrisJ

Something many talk about is legionnaires in air conditioning.
But I don't recall anyone ever really mentioning what can be used for disinfecting?

I'm using window units, all of which have been modified not to hold water for several reasons legionella being one of them, but I'd still like to use something, if possible, to disinfect them from time to time but my fear is chlorine is both corrosive, and also not very good to breath.

I have to believe the same issue exists in mini splits and split units?

Canucker

Hydrogen peroxide solution will work, but like chlorine it will need some hold time to work. I would think that the mod you made to eliminate the standing water went a long way toward minimising your risk.

GreenGene

The water is used to increase subcooling, it helps during a hot pulldown so performance will drop but so will slime.

When I had window units I'd take them out and put them on a milkcrate, open'em up, cover the motor and electrics and blast them with coil cleaner and hose'em once a year.

I have resorted to spraying them with Lysol while in use, especially while on vacation, want a real treat, next time you travel check your room unit out, you'll gag.

Still wonder why you get sick when you travel????

ChrisJ

GreenGene said:

The water is used to increase subcooling, it helps during a hot pulldown so performance will drop but so will slime.

When I had window units I'd take them out and put them on a milkcrate, open'em up, cover the motor and electrics and blast them with coil cleaner and hose'em once a year.

I have resorted to spraying them with Lysol while in use, especially while on vacation, want a real treat, next time you travel check your room unit out, you'll gag.

Still wonder why you get sick when you travel????

Yeah.
I understand the idea behind using water to help cool the condenser, but over the past 30 years I've seen the water cause far more harm than good.

Nasty junk growing in the unit, plugging issues which leads to water dumping down the wall inside etc.

Running the units practically empty, draining outside is far better overall.

Not to mention since we moved here, cool damp nights are more of an issue than super hot days. I've been tempted to make a big flap to cover the condenser on cool nights, but I've been too busy and just don't care enough.

BobC

They make pills you can add to drain pans that are supposed to kill bacteria and stop drain hoses from getting clogged with slime.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003N5AS60/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1NUL0J50KR3WU&coliid=I34N1YTOXG42ZW

Bob

bio_guy

Anything that is labeled as a disinfectant or similar has to be tested and pass EPA certification. The listing will be for specific organisms. Recently, I spied a product listed on a web page (major manufacturer) as killing "mold" and a listing of organisms killed by the same product that had viruses and bacteria, but nothing that I would characterize as "mold". That is a big no no. I believe that there are coil cleaning/disinfecting products, by the gallon and applied by a sprayer, that are listed for legionella. I would not assume that Legionella are a problem with widow units. I'd check into the specifics of that before assuming that it is found there with any real frequency and amount.