Mold eradication from window AC unit WWID?

[dave_dj1]

We just discovered that our window AC unit is mold infested, it sits on the floor under the window in the winter. Wife accidently knocked one of the louvers off it and discovered the mold. It's in beyond reach to scrub it clean.
Should I:
A) try to clean it
B) ditch it and get a new one
C) Bacon
Part of my reasoning to ditch it is our dog has just come down with a cough/hack the vet thinks is an allergy.

 

[SomeGuy]

You fail at polling.

Ditch it, window units are cheap.

 

[booger]

BLEACH is your friend.

Try not to drink it

 

[[486]]

cut a hole in the garage wall
garage now has AC
buy new one for the wife

I assume she's the one freaked out about the mold?

 

[grumpy356]

BLEACH is your friend.

Try not to drink it

THIS,

but not the "splashless" bleach. Real, plane Jane, chlorine bleach.

 

[Thefishguy77]

If its hard to reach then bleach or peroxide probably wont really be effective at all. Maybe Ozone? I only know it kills a lot of stuff, including wires and plastic if exposed to long...

 

[Filthy McChevy]

There are products in stores designed to kill it. Try some?

 

[87manche]

foaming ac coil cleaner?

or put it in a box with an ozone generator.
you need one for car interiors anyway.

 

[gunracer1]

BLEACH is your friend.

Try not to drink it

this^^^

 

[D Nelly]

Throw a gallon of dollar store bleach at it. Let it sit for 20 minutes and blast it with the hose. Most of the stuff in there won't care about getting wet and the rest should air dry by summer

 

[KarlVP]

I had the same problem and we tried to lysol the shit out of it, bleach, vinegar, etc. We ended up shitcanning it and buying a new one.

Once the mold got in there the unit just distributed funk. Not the P-Funk Allstars kind, the why the shit does the house smell like a stagnant pond kind.

 

[projectdad]

My spring time widow AC routine is to fully douse the thing heavily in and out with full strength Purple Power and rinse thoroughly HOT water, follow that up with an equally heavy dose of QUAT Sanitizer ( https://www.amazon.com/quat-disinfectant/s?k=quat+disinfectant&tag=91812054244-20 ) let it set for 10ish minutes before rinsing thoroughly again with hot water.
Give the unit a few days to dry completely before plugging it back in, and you're good to go.

I've been doing this for 25+ years and never had an issue, just make sure that the unit drains properly while operating and you can avoid any mold issues, since mold need the excess moisture to really thrive.

FYI Quat is a fungicide and will actually kill mold/fungus as well as all sorts of other biological nastiness, and is WAY more effective at it than bleach is.

 

[B-rock]

Don't recommend bleach, this is specifically meant for mold remediation. Works great on all different types of cleaning as well, Got a stinky smell, Use this and the funk is gone. I have used it on everything from door knobs, to carpet. never has stained and has a slight "fresh" odor, Nothing harsh.

https://www.amazon.com/Shockwave-RT...RvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==&tag=91812054244-20

 

[Pony_Driver]

foaming ac coil cleaner?

This, or Wet and Forget.

 

[evernoob]

I mix dishsoap and water 50/50. I put the AC in the shower and run hot water on it for a good 5 minutes, making sure the case and coils are all heated good and hot. Douse it down with 50/50 dawn and water. Wait half an hour. Rinse it out. Repeat until most of the mold is gone.

The mildew and algae come out in big sheets. I've only had this once, usually my units are clean and I don't let them sit dirty I do this treatment every fall. The one time I got mold the unit was not draining properly, literally did not punch the hole in the sheet metal in China, there was a mark where a tool hit it but the hold was un-pierced, so water just build up in there.

Dirty ACs also make more water and get mildew faster.