Black mold and awful smell in aircon.

[geisha]

hi all, need some ideas here.,My friend has 2 aircon at home. One in bedroom , cheap make, no problem. The Daikin in living room is relatively new, 5 years, and this one has the mold and stink. They clean it regularly, maintenance done by 2 different well known firms, Last maintenance they took it apart, and could not find the problem. 2 months after it was back to mold. They are all baffled . Before they chuck it out, is there a hidden reason somewhere ? Thanks. ( ps they say it works well in spite of mold and stink ) .

[AndyAndyAndy]

"asking for your friend" 

[BenStark]

Would be good if you gave some more details on where the mold appears.

 

If it is the drain tray, it could be because the drain is blocked or doesn't have enough slope to drain the water fast enough, olr maybe some water stays in the tray

[MJCM]

Have your friend call Diakin and let them come out.

 

https://www.daikin.co.th/en/customer-service/

[Celsius]

The building I moved in 3 years ago was brand new.

 

We have Diakin aircons in the room. Every single one has a failed motherboard after being used for only 3 years. My wife heard from the management that other rooms have the same problem.

 

They also require cleaning every 6 months. I mean not preventive cleaning. The aircon literally produces no cold of not cleaned.

 

Junk junk junk

[TroubleandGrumpy]

Clean thoroughly all of the living room - there probably is black mould hidden in the walls/furniture.

Do the same outside near where the main unit is - maybe that is the source.

The a/c sucks the spores into the unit and they grow exponitionally in that environment.  

Spray bleach and/or mould killer liberally everywhere in living room.

Once that stuff gets a hold inside it is extremely hard to get rid of it. 

 

If he rents - move.

 

If he owns the place - get a new Mitsubishi with antimould - replace all the pipes too - all incoming and outgoing.

 

[geisha]

15 hours ago, AndyAndyAndy said:

"asking for your friend" 

Oh good lord, they’re not on this forum.  It’s an aircon problem !!!!

[geisha]

4 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Clean thoroughly all of the living room - there probably is black mould hidden in the walls/furniture.

Do the same outside near where the main unit is - maybe that is the source.

The a/c sucks the spores into the unit and they grow exponitionally in that environment.  

Spray bleach and/or mould killer liberally everywhere in living room.

Once that stuff gets a hold inside it is extremely hard to get rid of it. 

 

If he rents - move.

 

If he owns the place - get a new Mitsubishi with antimould - replace all the pipes too - all incoming and outgoing.

 

Hi, thanks, apparently the walls are completely dry and no sign of mold. The bedroom aircon works great no mold. They’ve lived there 15 yrs. What we can’t understand is why the technicians from 2 different companies have no idea where it’s coming from. Thanks, if it’s the motherboard it’s probably cheaper to replace the aircon. Didn’t know there were anti mold air cons ?? 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

24 minutes ago, geisha said:

Hi, thanks, apparently the walls are completely dry and no sign of mold. The bedroom aircon works great no mold. They’ve lived there 15 yrs. What we can’t understand is why the technicians from 2 different companies have no idea where it’s coming from. Thanks, if it’s the motherboard it’s probably cheaper to replace the aircon. Didn’t know there were anti mold air cons ?? 

sr_series_2021.pdf (mhi.com) (cxould not find latest model brochure)

IMO Mitsubishi are the best air-cons available in Thailand.

But only buy from a registered retailer and installer - many cowboys here (actually - they are the majority).

Black mould is actually a fungus - check out the model range and look for those with the anti-fungal feature.

[geisha]

21 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

sr_series_2021.pdf (mhi.com) (cxould not find latest model brochure)

IMO Mitsubishi are the best air-cons available in Thailand.

But only buy from a registered retailer and installer - many cowboys here (actually - they are the majority).

Black mould is actually a fungus - check out the model range and look for those with the anti-fungal feature.

Thank you very much, very helpful and they’re looking into it tomorrow.

[Lacessit]

Bleach won't usually be effective with mold, due to biomass. IME 24 hours of contact with a 5% solution of copper sulphate is effective in killing mold stone dead. RInse off after contact. CAUTION: ACIDIC, HARMFUL TO SKIN AND EYES.

 

Is the drain from the aircon flowing freely? It's possible a jingjok has died in there.

[xtrnuno41]

To create fungus it must have a moist area and a lack of ventilation. Airco not running that much?

As then with moist fungus, no ventilation. will grow,

If you search internet, you see it is a common problem.

Fungus dont like copper, so treating it with a copper based pasta or water based copper solution? 

Weird they dont make housing and all inside with a copper mixed. So changes maybe will reduce, I think.

 

Copper salts are however easy to solve in water, moist, so regulair treating with copper paste? Thin layers?

Or spraying it with copper salt- water solution? So you have copper sulfate, mix it with water and spray it on the areas in airco where fungus is.

Sadly location of fungus growing isnt told.

So maybe not possible (paste) like on filters and cooling element, but can if you use solution.

With metal parts you could have eventually a copper layer on it due to electric corrosion.

Not harmful and as copper is good conductor and semi-precious metal. Maybe better then as the cooling element will turn to a copper plated section and therefor no more fungus to grow, if it is there and you spray it on.

 

As it is common I dont know why they dont already put in a UV-c LED light.

Maybe to new yet and not implemented in your airco. (5 years old)

Checking on that with Daikin you see they do have some of it, but you would have to dig in if there is something for your model. Or ask the companies you had. Though wonder if they are willing to share, as they have to return again and again for cleaning , generating income.

As there also UV-c light strips and if you are technically handy or have someone like that, you can built in yourself.

The UV-c light kills bacterie, viruses and fungus spores. As the light is inside you hardly notice, keeps your airco clean of attaching, air in and or out. Logically it would be on the inlet of the device (no growth of fungus inside device), but surely on outlet helps extra then.

Direct UV-c light is not good for humans, but as long as the light is inside the airco there will be no harm.

Note: it has to be UV-c, wave length is 254 nm . There are other UV lights like a A and B, but you must have C !

Something like this

 

[geisha]

Thank you all for your help.  They’re ordering a new aircon as soon as they find the one that has the Anti Fungal feature like Mitsubishi.  We’ve come to the conclusion that it could very well be the motherboard  as everything else is good. Cheers all. 

[vangrop]

On 11/26/2023 at 1:16 AM, geisha said:

hi all, need some ideas here.,My friend has 2 aircon at home. One in bedroom , cheap make, no problem. The Daikin in living room is relatively new, 5 years, and this one has the mold and stink. They clean it regularly, maintenance done by 2 different well known firms, Last maintenance they took it apart, and could not find the problem. 2 months after it was back to mold. They are all baffled . Before they chuck it out, is there a hidden reason somewhere ? Thanks. ( ps they say it works well in spite of mold and stink ) .

Come on man why are you so shy to admit it is your problem

[BenStark]

7 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Bleach won't usually be effective with mold, due to biomass.

 

 

Bleach kills virtually every species of indoor mold that it comes into contact with including mold spores which leaves a sanitized surface making it resistant to future mold growth. However, bleach is only effective if the mold is growing on non-porous materials such as tiles, bathrubs, glass and countertops.

 

https://www.homehealthyhomes.com/services/mold-services/mold-information/how-to-kill-mold/

 

[geisha]

58 minutes ago, vangrop said:

Come on man why are you so shy to admit it is your problem

Good lord , are you that bored ? I’m posting about an aircon problem not syphilis! 

[geisha]

Thanks everyone who helped. Post closed.

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, BenStark said:

 

 

Bleach kills virtually every species of indoor mold that it comes into contact with including mold spores which leaves a sanitized surface making it resistant to future mold growth. However, bleach is only effective if the mold is growing on non-porous materials such as tiles, bathrubs, glass and countertops.

 

https://www.homehealthyhomes.com/services/mold-services/mold-information/how-to-kill-mold/

 

Which means it will propagate again from the grout which exists between tiles.

[Cult of the Sun]

4 hours ago, geisha said:

Post closed.

Not really no..  Like the mold, it keeps coming back.

[The Theory]

On 11/26/2023 at 1:16 AM, geisha said:

2 months after it was back to mold.

Is the AC level ? Or at least a little slop toward its drain ? 
To clean evaporator I spray bleach about 1L (1/4 water) every 2 or 3 months. 
If evaporator not getting near freezing point and sweats mold could grow on it. 

[BenStark]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Which means it will propagate again from the grout which exists between tiles.

 

Last time I checked there were no tiles and grout inside an aircon, which this topic is about.

 

Good try at deflecting, but no cigar for you

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by BenStark

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, BenStark said:

 

Last time I checked there were no tiles and grout inside an aircon, which this topic is about.

 

Good try at deflecting, but no cigar for you

 

 

 

You used the words " non- porous materials such as tiles ".

If anyone is deflecting now, it's you.

[BenStark]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

You used the words " non- porous materials such as tiles ".

If anyone is deflecting now, it's you.

 

I didn't use ANY words, they were in the text that I copy and pasted.

 

This topic is about and AIR-CONDITIONER, not about tiles or non-porous materials, since an aircon is made of metals and pvc.

 

You claimed that bleach would not work for the OP's issue, which is mould in his aircon, not on the grout of his floor tiles.

 

Welcome to my ignore list

Edited November 27, 2023 by BenStark

[Lacessit]

4 hours ago, BenStark said:

 

I didn't use ANY words, they were in the text that I copy and pasted.

 

This topic is about and AIR-CONDITIONER, not about tiles or non-porous materials, since an aircon is made of metals and pvc.

 

You claimed that bleach would not work for the OP's issue, which is mould in his aircon, not on the grout of his floor tiles.

 

Welcome to my ignore list

Gee, I'll be crying myself to sleep tonight.

[Bobthegimp]

On 11/26/2023 at 7:59 PM, xtrnuno41 said:

fungus it must have a moist area and a lack of ventilation.

 

That's why there were mushrooms growing in her skin folds. 

 

I came to read about aircon and received enlightenment on a more pressing subject.  Thank you.