Room Air Conditioner Odors

Posted by on July 18, 2006, 12:06 am

What might cause a room air conditioner to put off a fishy odor? My
room air conditioner (large room) has always been filtered properly,
seems to have adequate draining to the outside and otherwise works fine
cooling-wise. All of a sudden one night, it started putting off this
rotten fishy type odor and we can't figure out what's causing it.
We've had this unit (from Sears) for probably 5 years and it's worked
fine up until now. Sometimes in the past, it would put off a musty
odor and we'd clean the filter and all would be well but now, it's more
than we can handle once it starts smelling like that. It's running for
probably 20-30 minutes just fine before it starts putting out that
smell (even though it operates fine where temperature is concerned).
Also, it runs fine in 'fan' mode with no odors for extended periods of
time. thanks for any ideas...

John

Posted by on July 18, 2006, 12:18 am

jcage@lycos.com wrote:

>What might cause a room air conditioner to put off a fishy odor?

Dead something in the condensate tray. Take it outside, remove the
covers, gently spray both coils and the tray with a hose. Use a
chopstick to poke loose any caked up crud. You might need coil
cleaner after that, and another rinse, but you might get away with
using dish washing liquid mixed with warm water sprayed from a garden
sprayer.

Usual warnings - stay clear of the electric components, let it dry
before plugging back in, don't stick your finger in a socket, etc.

Posted by Mike T. on July 18, 2006, 8:01 am

> jcage@lycos.com wrote:

>>What might cause a room air conditioner to put off a fishy odor?

> Dead something in the condensate tray.

Either that, or the condensate tray is not draining properly. That is, it
might be DRAINING, but only after it reaches a certain level. So what's
left sitting there is stagnating. -Dave

Posted by Bill on July 18, 2006, 2:17 pm

Newer window air conditioners have a pool of water in the bottom which is
always there. The fan in the back splashes the water onto the coils and this
helps it cool more efficiently. This standing water can get things growing
in it. I just pour a little bleach in the side of the air conditioner
outside and this kills whatever is growing in the water.

Then the fishy smell goes away. I only need to do this once or twice a year.

> What might cause a room air conditioner to put off a fishy odor? My
> room air conditioner (large room) has always been filtered properly,
> seems to have adequate draining to the outside and otherwise works fine
> cooling-wise. All of a sudden one night, it started putting off this
> rotten fishy type odor and we can't figure out what's causing it.
> We've had this unit (from Sears) for probably 5 years and it's worked
> fine up until now. Sometimes in the past, it would put off a musty
> odor and we'd clean the filter and all would be well but now, it's more
> than we can handle once it starts smelling like that. It's running for
> probably 20-30 minutes just fine before it starts putting out that
> smell (even though it operates fine where temperature is concerned).
> Also, it runs fine in 'fan' mode with no odors for extended periods of
> time. thanks for any ideas...
> John
>

Posted by Gary Heston on July 19, 2006, 12:10 am

>Newer window air conditioners have a pool of water in the bottom which is
>always there. The fan in the back splashes the water onto the coils and this
>helps it cool more efficiently.

Every window A/C I've seen has done this; it's not just newer ones. In
fact, the newer (3-4 year old) units I have don't accmulate much water
on their own. I can add a quart, but it doesn't last more than a few
hours (then again, we're seeing 100F - 102F highs at the moment).

> This standing water can get things growing
>in it.

I can vouch for that, having found thick layers of mold growing in the
old A/Cs I replaced...

> I just pour a little bleach in the side of the air conditioner
>outside and this kills whatever is growing in the water.

Bleach is corrosive to aluminum. I've been advised to use hudrogen peroxide,
which seems to work without risking damage to the coils.

>Then the fishy smell goes away. I only need to do this once or twice a year.

I've never noticed a fishy smell, just bits of black mold getting thrown
out of the vents. (The insides of both coils of one window unit got clogged
with it--badly.)

Gary

--
Gary Heston gheston@hiwaay.net What do you call two SUVs colliding?
Poetic justice.
A worthwhile endeavour:
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CTDSites

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