Unpleasant smell from the conditioner can appear in a month or two after installation. Very often such a problem arises after a big break in his work: for example, in the beginning of summer, if in the cold period he did not join at all. Do not rush to scold the manufacturer or the masters who installed your model: such a trouble sooner or later happens at all.

The causes of unpleasant odor

First, try to determine what still smells. An old wet rag? Sewer? Or the unpleasant smell from the conditioner does not look like one of the smells you know? Perhaps the source is not the air conditioner, but, say, an old dusty carpet that has not went to the sink, or "stash" of a pet that hid a piece of meat in a secluded corner "Black day".

Are you sure that it's still in the air conditioner? Then it's time to understand why it happened. Specialists distinguish three causes of the appearance of an unpleasant odor:

1. Accumulation in parts and filters surrounding odors. The fact is that many air conditioners do not use air from the street, but cool the one that is already in the room. As a result, odors accumulate and are released back in a concentrated form. If you have new inexpensive furniture, it may well contain a large amount of formaldehyde resins, the odor of which is far from pleasant. Also, some types of plastic and synthetics may be responsible for the appearance of unpleasant odors.
2. Mold and bacteria. These pests appear inside not at all because of someone's guilt. Simply the evaporator temperature is always lower than the ambient temperature, because of which condensate is guaranteed to appear on it. Under normal conditions, it is removed from the system through the drainage pipes, but before that it manages to contact the environment, which is far from sterile. So, bacteria and mold appear in the conditioner. And if the device has not been switched on for a long time, then the "golden time" comes for them: in the device, heat and damp is an ideal breeding medium.
3. Drain without siphon. Sometimes the moisture from the air conditioner is not removed to the street, but to the sewer. If the siphon was not used during the installation, the whole "charm" of the sewage pipes can escape outwards, flooding your apartment.

Sometimes (with a long idle time) the moisture from the siphon evaporates, and it can no longer protect the room from extraneous smells. In this case, you just need to turn on the air conditioner and give it a little time so that the new condensate can fill the tube.

How to deal with this problem

All ways to clean the air conditioner come down to one thing: wash mold and other dirt, disinfect the parts and thoroughly dry them. To do this, it is advisable to disassemble it yourself or call for help from specialists. If the smell is barely audible, you can try to eliminate it without analyzing the split system. True, such measures will only have a temporary effect.

Method number 1. Dry thoroughly

In some models, the fan does not turn off immediately: the air conditioner itself gets rid of excess condensate. If there is no such function, try to turn on the fan a few minutes before the device is turned off completely. This will be an excellent prevention of the appearance of mold.

Method number 2. Disinfect

There are special means for disinfecting air conditioners. Usually they need to be sprayed where the device takes air for cooling. Together with the flow of air, the drops of solution penetrate into the drainage system, where the fungus and pathogenic bacteria are destroyed. If the stagnant water is small, this is enough to completely remove the odor from the air conditioner.

Method number 3. Disassemble and clean

Recently, we talked about how to independently disassemble and clean the home air conditioner. If you have certain skills, you can not call a master, because in fact there is nothing difficult. However, if you are not friendly with technology, you will have to part with a certain amount, otherwise the smell of the air conditioner will not allow you to enjoy the coolness.

Video: how to independently disassemble and clean the air conditioner