Old Window Air Conditioner Health

A good air conditioner can improve indoor air quality but old units may sometimes cause or intensify allergies and asthma states the centers for disease control and prevention.

Old window air conditioner health.

Mold for example can be worse in a window unit than a central ac system. He says worsening asthma problems and allergies. It s also possible for your air conditioner to leak out all its refrigerant with no harm to you whatsoever. There s been a mysterious slightly moldy smell in my home all summer and this morning when our window air conditioner kicked on i noticed that the odor unmistakably came from the unit.

Air conditioning systems are typically not great for ventilation as they bring in little outside air and rely primarily on recycling indoor air. Take a window air conditioning unit for instance. If you have mold in a window air conditioner unit follow the link for more information. In the study the authors point out that room air conditioners appear to have a higher fire risk relative to usage than central air.

Department of energy s lawrence berkeley national laboratory. Illnesses related to ac mold. The refrigerant is also potent greenhouse gases. Air conditioners regardless of type all contain some form of cooling refrigerant according to the environmental protection agency many window air conditioning units and dehumidifiers contain hydrochlorofluorocarbon 200 hcfc refrigerant an ozone depleting substance ods that if released to the environment can destroy the ozone layer.

The nfpa website features a page specifically on the fire risks of air conditioners with a link to a detailed 2012 study. Even so if you notice signs of a refrigerant leak whether from an old or new air conditioner contact a technician immediately to protect your health the environment and your air conditioning system. The nfpa data indicates that window mounted air conditioners pose an outsized risk. Likewise if your air conditioning uses air vents then it s highly important that these are regularly cleaned out.

This article deals with mold in central ac systems. Before you install a window air conditioner in a room consider some of the harmful effects it can have. It s also possible to use air conditioners that are known as split units or window units which only work for one room but do so by sitting halfway in and halfway out of a window and circulating clean air in from.