Five weeks of rain have worked their magic on the window AC unit, and now it’s got mold on the inside. The biggest clue is that after I turned on tonight, I couldn’t get to sleep because of coughing so hard. Now I read on the intertubes about how to take it apart and clean the damned thing, and frankly, it all sounds like a royal pain in the ass.
Even though I turned it off, the effects linger. I wish I could stop coughing long enough to sleep. Oh well!
I’ve gone thru the same with blackmold and it is dangerous. Throw the fucker out as you will never get it out. Leave a one spore and it starts all over again. Remember the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philly and Legionaires Disease. This was it.
Former landlord had moldy old carpets on the stairs and second floor hall. He wanted tenants, but those carpets eliminated any candidates who had respiratory issues. Still puzzles me that he left those carpets down and couldn’t see what a deal breaker they were for so many people.
Dissolve good old boric acid in water and spray it into the unit. The unit is designed to drain outside. Boric acid is not as quick as chlorine bleach, but it is as effective as a fungicide and is a good general antiseptic. We use it in Florida before installing carpet to prevent mold under the carpet, and to kill mold in water-soaked walls.
Spray the outlets first, and let them dry with the unit off. Then spray copious amounts on the coils and the drip pan underneath.
Note: it is also effective against cockroaches, and is used to moderate nuclear reactors. It really is a multi-use chemical that no home should be without