Aircon Cleaning Desaster / Good Cleaning Company

[Oldie]

The picture shows the underside of the fins of my inside unit after cleaning attempts by 3 different aircon companies about every 4 months. All of them cleaned only with water pressure and without any chemicals. Not one of them discovered the severe bio film problem. The aircon did not work correctly anymore - not much air was coming out. Their explanation - the fan is broken. After replacing the fan nothing changed. Now they said the board has a problem. Before replacing this or even the whole aircon I took my phone and took some photos from underneath the fins - normally hard to see because this aircon is almost on the floor. I was shocked to see this biofilm After this I told them to clean the aircon with high pressure. Now it is like new again.

 

Obviously water alone for cleaning is not enough. My question is what chemicals can I use to remove and to prevent the biofilm? I did some tests already but I would like to hear your opinion. Foams that you can buy I tried already. They did not bring much.

 

Does anyone know a good company here in Pattaya that cleans with water and chemicals and not with water alone? A good company also is one that can build it together correctly and does not throw away screws and does not break any plastic parts. I could tell you stories...

[RichCor]

You're looking for an AC-Safe Air Conditioner Foaming Coil Cleaner

Typically used after a vigorous pressure washing

 

We just had our AC split units cleaned. The 'tech' came with a portable version of everything they needed: fresh-water bucket, grey-water bucket, fabric catchment hose, high-pressure washer, foaming spray, and a small leaf blower to dry afterwards.

Edited May 22, 2020 by RichCor

[Oldie]

2 hours ago, RichCor said:

You're looking for an AC-Safe Air Conditioner Foaming Coil Cleaner

Typically used after a vigorous pressure washing

 

We just had our AC split units cleaned. The 'tech' came with a portable version of everything they needed: fresh-water bucket, grey-water bucket, fabric catchment hose, high-pressure washer, foaming spray, and a small leaf blower to dry afterwards.

The foam cleaners that I used didn't bring anything. Between the cleanings by the companies I tried them. I used several cans and let it work very many hours and sprayed afterwards with water. Didn't change anything. 

 

The high-pressure washer was not what they use normally. At the helpful last cleaning they used one you normally use outside. My bedroom survived it. 

 

What company did you use? Please send me a message if you don't want to name them. 

[bodga]

3 hours ago, Oldie said:

normally hard to see because this aircon is almost on the floor.

eh? it's the INSIDE unit and its  almost on the floor? can we  have a photo of the exterior? just curious, you dont mean INSIDE the OUTDOOR  compressor  do you?

[RichCor]

11 minutes ago, Oldie said:

What company did you use? Please send me a message if you don't want to name them.

I'm up in Chiang Rai, so can't suggest one for Pattaya.

 

When I first noticed the pressure washer I thought this was a disaster waiting to happen, but the nylon sock they use that envelopes the AC unit and drops into the grey-water bucket caught most everything. They really spent the time meticulously pressure washing before applying the spray foam.

 

Certainly beat my using a tooth brush to try and clean the squirrel fan.  

[Oldie]

4 minutes ago, bodga said:

eh? it's the INSIDE unit and its  almost on the floor? can we  have a photo of the exterior? just curious, you dont mean INSIDE the OUTDOOR  compressor  do you?

It is a big inside unit and you can mount this one on the ceiling or near the floor on the wall. The latter made it possible that we could use this very high pressure cleaner. On the ceiling this would have caused a desaster in the bedroom

[salsajapan]

Who are the idiots doing this ?

you dont need any chemical, they are useless, but you need people a little less idiots to clean your aircon. or do it yourself,

 

[Oldie]

3 hours ago, salsajapan said:

Who are the idiots doing this ?

you dont need any chemical, they are useless, but you need people a little less idiots to clean your aircon. or do it yourself,

 

You need chemicals to destroy the biofilm. Otherwise it is very hard to remove it. I did not know much about biofilms but when I saw this I read several days about it on the internet. Biofilms are a big problem even in the industry. You have to use chemicals to destroy it completely. The question is what can you use at an aircon. The foam sprays seem to be useless. I know chemicals that the industry uses. But I am not sure if it is safe to use them at aircons. 

[Oldie]

Sad - I was hoping some people here can tell me what chemicals I can use at my aircon to destroy the biofilm  without destroying my aircon. I seem to be out of luck here. ???? Obviously no metal, chemical or aircon experts here in the forum. Google was not very helpful in this regard. The advice you mostly find there will destroy your aircon very quickly. Not a good idea to always trust Google... 

[RichCor]

You'll want to Air-con foaming cleaner with a biocide.

 

If you were thinking of doing the cleaning yourself on a regular basis then you might want to acquire a lipped pan to slip underneath the unit and wet-vac to use when pressure washing and foaming cleaning.

Oh, and some PPE to wear so you don't contaminate yourself during the process. 

[Oldie]

8 minutes ago, RichCor said:

You'll want to Air-con foaming cleaner with a biocide.

 

If you were thinking of doing the cleaning yourself on a regular basis then you might want to acquire a lipped pan to slip underneath the unit and wet-vac to use when pressure washing and foaming cleaning.

Oh, and some PPE to wear so you don't contaminate yourself during the process. 

Forget the foams - they are not for heavy duty cleaning. I tried many cans already and was shocked how useless they are.

 

I simply need to know what chemicals can be used at an aircon without destroying it. Nothing more. And if here in Pattaya are cleaning companies that use chemicals too for cleaning and not only water. 

[RichCor]

Are you saying a thorough pressure washing didn't remove the bulk of the material? 

 

[EDIT, adding]

 

for some lite reading

http://www.aess.solutions/products/aerisguard

Edited May 24, 2020 by RichCor

[Denim]

I once solved a similar problem by cleaning our old air con myself. 

 

I used a spray foam cleaner from Big C then rinsed it off slowly with water boiled in a kettle and a soft toothbrush .

 

Took several kettle fulls to do the job and took me about three hours !!

 

It worked but I wouldn't do it again. Too much hard work.

[RichCor]

4 minutes ago, Denim said:

It worked but I wouldn't do it again. Too much hard work.

Similar experience. Never again.

Now I'm more willing pay the guy with the portable pressure washer kit to do it every six months.

[Oldie]

This with a brush will not work. The aircon has several layers of this cooling fins. The top layer looked perfectly clean but the layers below were blocked by this biofilm. With a brush you don't reach all of them. 

 

And in respect of the "high" pressure cleaners what they normally use inside - 3 different companies had no success. But in the end they didn't even realize this biofilm - what a poor service... Only a really high pressure cleaner did the job. Normally you should not use something like this because it might damage the fins. But my other option would have been to buy a new aircon and so we used one - with success. But I am afraid some bacteria of the biofilm survived this and so it is a question of time when I will have the same problem again. 

 

In the US you get some useful powerful products but here in Thailand not. You get foam but it is so harmless that you can use it for shaving... At least what I found and used so far. So I am left with 

 

Vinegar 

Bleach for laundry -> Sodium Hydrochloride 

Hydrogen Peroxide 

Sodium Hydroxide 

Anything else? 

 

What can I take of these and what better not? 

 

 

 

[RichCor]

Did you read the link I supplied on AerisGuard, a product sold in Thailand and used/recommended by TRANE Thailand

[Oldie]

8 hours ago, RichCor said:

Did you read the link I supplied on AerisGuard, a product sold in Thailand and used/recommended by TRANE Thailand

Certainly! I was reading a lot already and also where to buy it and how to use it. It is a not cheap and not so easy to use for people without the proper experience and equipment. So I would need a company here in Pattaya that could do this for a reasonable price. 

 

I will continue reading about it. It is a completely different but interesting approach than the chemicals I was looking at. Hydrogen Peroxide for instance is very effective against biofilms. It is very simple and safe (at low concentrations) to use. It doesn't damage Aluminum but it is not good for Copper. Copper pipes go to the cooling unit. I am not sure how much damage Hydrogen Peroxide could cause there. 

[kdrayong]

You need to be very careful with that.

Hydrogen Peroxide oxidizes metals. Just the aluminum oxide is so dense that it protects the metal rusting further through. Not like that is the consistency of copper- or iron oxide. The metal will be damaged.

[Oldie]

2 hours ago, kdrayong said:

You need to be very careful with that.

Hydrogen Peroxide oxidizes metals. Just the aluminum oxide is so dense that it protects the metal rusting further through. Not like that is the consistency of copper- or iron oxide. The metal will be damaged.

I tested some chemicals I mentioned. On the internet they often give the advice to use laundry bleach. I took a small container and put aluminum foil and bleach into it. The aluminum got dissolved and this pretty quickly. My aircon would have been scrap... 

 

I also tested Hydrogen Peroxide and vinegar. Even after weeks no damage to aluminum. At the moment I test Hydrogen Peroxide with copper. It is not good for copper. I know this. The question is if the fins are only aluminum or if there is copper to. There is copper at the pipes going to the aluminum fins. But at the fins? And how quickly and how severe will it damage copper?

 

I would prefer Hydrogen Peroxide. It will be transformed into oxygen and water. It is not unhealthy then. What does not damage aluminum damages copper and the other way round. Not good... 

 

This AerisGuard coil cleaner seems to do a good job according to the advertisement. What I do not like is that I have to order a lot (gives in the end 20 liters for almost 3000 Baht) and it is not as healthy as Hydrogen Peroxide because of the chemicals in it. But it should not damage any metal - they say. Not easy to decide but I need to do something. 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 5/22/2020 at 8:19 PM, bodga said:

eh? it's the INSIDE unit and its  almost on the floor? can we  have a photo of the exterior? just curious, you dont mean INSIDE the OUTDOOR  compressor  do you?

I've seen inside units of split units on the floor in hotel rooms long ago. Perhaps it's a very old AC.

[Oldie]

44 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I've seen inside units of split units on the floor in hotel rooms long ago. Perhaps it's a very old AC.

It is not a very old aircon - just a big and powerful one that you can mount on the ceiling or on the wall. You can see similar aircons like this for instance in 7-Eleven shops. The biofilm has nothing to do with the age of an aircon. You can have it at a completely new one. I have several aircons and this one is the only one with this problem. The reason is that it runs a lot and so it never gets dry.