aircon: any tips on how to combat goo formation

[tgw]

everybody owning aircons knows the problem: after some time, goo forms in the exhaust pipe and causes the unit to drip water.

what I usually do is to blow it clean, that will fix the issue for about 2-3 weeks or 4-5 weeks if lucky.

my units in clean environment (personal office and bedroom) are clean enough inside, as there is even hardly any dust on the air filter and the coil is clean too, but the pipe keeps getting obstructed, while the pan collecting the condensated water is clean.

my guess is that bacteria come from outside and work their way up the drain, otherwise I would find some goo inside the AC unit.

 

I know a professional cleaning will last much longer (6-9 months), but I'd like to know a tip on how to go longer between cleanings.

 

what I already tried is rinsing the pipe using a glass of vinegar. it didn't hurt, but I didn't notice any benefits either.

next up for trial is a chlorine solution.

 

does anyone know anything else I could try to keep the goo out of my aircon pipes?

 

[KannikaP]

9 minutes ago, tgw said:

everybody owning aircons knows the problem: after some time, goo forms in the exhaust pipe and causes the unit to drip water.

After 10 years, my Mitsu Mr Slims have NEVER had any of these problems. Serviced annually.

[Yellowtail]

I doubt the brand of the unit has anything to do with it. 

 

The pan is likely not draining completely. I would would check the configuration of the drain pipes. Long, small diameter drain pipes with little grade are always a problem. 

 

If the drains are installed correctly, the pan will drain completely and never drip. 

[Denim]

The goo ( nam mook ) is a common issue and from our experience , seems worse in polluted environments than it does in the countryside.

 

I have not tried this myself but you could try changing the drainage pipe for one slightly larger .

[Yellowtail]

In the US they sell tablets to put in the pan to stop the growth, you might try finding some here or ordering on Amazon.

[transam]

I had a prob with one A/C unit, dismantled all the plastic stuff and cleaned it, got my spirit level out to find the water run was not angled to the exit pipe, plus the rubber exit pipe connection was not straight it went up then down, there was a build up of cr-p in it because of that. Shoved a bit of plastic pipe in it and blew as hard as I could, I felt that clear a free passage, job done...

[Moonlover]

I use my wet/dry vacuum cleaner to suck through the pipe until clear and then give the inside unit a spray with one of the proprietary cleaners that are available. In fact it's a good idea to spray whilst still sucking to get some of the cleaning fluid into the pipe.

 

That keeps it going quite well between its annual service.

[lopburi3]

Just clean every six months - the extra cost will likely be offset to some extent by better operation/less electric used.  And you have a clean machine.

 

As said often happens with a poor drain slope but fixing that may not be an option if not your own home.

[Andre0720]

I had that problem too.

What I used to do is to attach a plastic flexible pipe to a faucet, then connect manually the other end to the hard plastic pipe that drains the water from the unit.

Then I would turn on the faucet, wrap it with a cloth, and hold it tight, so the water can go up the pipe, all the way to the air conditioner unit. Might be 15 to 20 seconds before the water drips out of the unit. Have someone there where the unit is located, with a pail and big towels to collect the water.

I remember that when I turned off the faucet, and let go the pipe used to push the water up to the unit, the water came out rapidly from the hard plastic water exhaust pipe, then lots of goo with it.

[kokesaat]

8 minutes ago, Andre0720 said:

I had that problem too.

What I used to do is to attach a plastic flexible pipe to a faucet, then connect manually the other end to the hard plastic pipe that drains the water from the unit.

Then I would turn on the faucet, wrap it with a cloth, and hold it tight, so the water can go up the pipe, all the way to the air conditioner unit. Might be 15 to 20 seconds before the water drips out of the unit. Have someone there where the unit is located, with a pail and big towels to collect the water.

I remember that when I turned off the faucet, and let go the pipe used to push the water up to the unit, the water came out rapidly from the hard plastic water exhaust pipe, then lots of goo with it.

I do the same thing, except I don't let the water run 15-20 sec......more like 5-10.  When the water comes rushing out, I think it creates a suction that draws out any gunk.  I keep a bucket under the drain valve and use the ac water to water various plants.  If I find there's not as much water as normal, I know it's time to do like Andre0720 advised.  

 

[samtam]

Just had the same problem. First occurred two weeks ago. Had the drain off pipe vacuumed, and it extracted a lot of water. Then a repeat performance last week, which I didn't catch, as I was in another room. Dripped all over the floor and has left a watermark on the silk curtains, sent off to the dry cleaner today. The aircon maintenance was done three months ago, but they did it again late last week, after the spill. He said the angle of the drain-off is not sufficiently wide...he installed it????.

 

Anyway, his recommendation was that it is cleaned every 3 months.

 

The air is of course completely filthy, which was immediately evident after he's vacuumed it. He also shortened my drain off pipe, which was labrynthine in it's design, and doubtless caused the water to linger within for too long.

 

30 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

I use my wet/dry vacuum cleaner to suck through the pipe until clear and then give the inside unit a spray with one of the proprietary cleaners that are available. In fact it's a good idea to spray whilst still sucking to get some of the cleaning fluid into the pipe.

 

That keeps it going quite well between its annual service.

What brand of wet/dry vacuum do you have? I tried to buy one (Mikita) in HomePro, but it had very little suction, so would be useless. 

[Yellowtail]

Again, if the drain is configured correctly the unit should never leak. 

 

I have seven units and none of them ever leaks. 

[Moonlover]

33 minutes ago, samtam said:

Just had the same problem. First occurred two weeks ago. Had the drain off pipe vacuumed, and it extracted a lot of water. Then a repeat performance last week, which I didn't catch, as I was in another room. Dripped all over the floor and has left a watermark on the silk curtains, sent off to the dry cleaner today. The aircon maintenance was done three months ago, but they did it again late last week, after the spill. He said the angle of the drain-off is not sufficiently wide...he installed it????.

 

Anyway, his recommendation was that it is cleaned every 3 months.

 

The air is of course completely filthy, which was immediately evident after he's vacuumed it. He also shortened my drain off pipe, which was labrynthine in it's design, and doubtless caused the water to linger within for too long.

 

What brand of wet/dry vacuum do you have? I tried to buy one (Mikita) in HomePro, but it had very little suction, so would be useless. 

It's just a budget unit from Lazada. I bought it because there is a low point in our car port where a lot of water accumulates when we have a heavy storm. It deals with that very well and it even cleans floors! 

 

Wet/dry vacuum cleaner

 

[sometimewoodworker]

47 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

It's just a budget unit from Lazada. I bought it because there is a low point in our car port where a lot of water accumulates when we have a heavy storm. It deals with that very well and it even cleans floors! 

 

Wet/dry vacuum cleaner

 

The description is a little amusing as it doesn’t claim a HEPA filter but a hypa filter ???? but probably worth the money.

[tuktuktuk]

Run a little bleach through it periodically.  Kills mold, algae and some other nasties.  Works back home.  Never needed it here.