Your Car's AC, Allergies, and You

[Guest guest]

Your Car's AC, Allergies, and You

June 18, 2008 -

WTOP - Washington,DC*

http://www.wtop.com/?sid=1423798 & nid=697

Will it ever stop raining?

I'm somewhat sure it will, but until it does, it's playing havoc

with vast numbers of car air conditioners.

Near constant dampness has led to an epidemic of AC mold and mildew.

Imagine if you never ventilated your shower. It wouldn't be long

before the walls would be thick with nasty fungus, mold, mildew, and

methyl-ethyl-yucky-stuff.

Mold and mildew are a common problem in car AC units, but seldom as

extreme as it is this year. Damp air conditioners provide a

wonderfully inviting place for mold to thrive. In a normal spring,

we have days with rain, followed by days of intense heat, which

dries the air conditioner when the car isn't running. But this year

there have been scant few consecutive hot, dry days. Hot? Yes.

Humid? Yes. One or the other seems to be consistently followed by

more rain.

To deal with normal mold buildup, there are a variety of products,

which are sprayed into the air inlet of the air conditioning. These

products do a good job of killing odors and helping to control

moderate mold growth, but are virtually useless against this year's

tough stuff.

So how do you deal with these dangerous, difficult to destroy

growths of contamination in your car's AC system? The answer to that

is in the form of a new, more aggressive product.

One of the symptoms of AC growth is a musty smell when the AC first

starts blowing. But there is a lot more than bad smell involved.

Mold also causes significantly reduced AC performance, which is

uncomfortable, but far worse is the fact that mold and mildew can

produce allergic reactions and respiratory illness. If you've

experienced more than your share of allergy symptoms over the last

year or two, it might be the result of a mold-contaminated vehicle

air conditioner.

The fix requires a commercial strength product like Frigi Clean

injected directly into the vehicle's AC ductwork to make the system

safe. This is not a do-it-yourself job, it is strictly a

professional procedure.

The process requires drilling a hole in the AC ducting very near the

fan. Once the hole is drilled, an adapter is installed which allows

connection to a container of an extremely potent chemical. This

allows the chemical to be introduced directly into the AC housing,

where the fan blows it throughout the AC system. As this is

happening, a chemical reaction causes the product to expand into

foam, which literally fills the inside of the AC ducts. Finally, the

fan is turned off allowing the chemical to sit on, and dissolve, the

crud, dirt, and mold. As it sits, the chemical reverts back to a

liquid that washes away the dead mold and dissolved dirt through the

air conditioner's drain. The entire process takes about an hour.

Other benefits of this procedure are much colder and more efficient

air conditioning, and a film that clings to internal AC parts and

duct surfaces to significantly slow mold re-growth. Not all shops

have the product yet, so you may find it necessary to make a few

calls, but more efficient air conditioning and healthier air make it

well worth the effort.