How to control algae in my portable a/c?

[CurvKyle]

I've got one of those portable a/c's that has a water collection reservoir (holds about 2 qt.) where all the humidity it pulls out of the air goes. This thing pulls a ton of humidity out of the air and me living in Florida doesn't help. I can literally empty it every couple hours and if it doesn't get completely emptied at least every other day algae starts to grow. I'm wondering what I might be able to use to keep algae from growing inside the a/c without damaging the plastic reservoir the water collects into.

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. - I'm not to lazy to empty the a/c everyday, but this thing weighs over 100lbs and you have to lift it to empty it.

[Bettina]

I've got one of those portable a/c's that has a water collection reservoir (holds about 2 qt.) where all the humidity it pulls out of the air goes. This thing pulls a ton of humidity out of the air and me living in Florida doesn't help. I can literally empty it every couple hours and if it doesn't get completely emptied at least every other day algae starts to grow. I'm wondering what I might be able to use to keep algae from growing inside the a/c without damaging the plastic reservoir the water collects into.

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. - I'm not to lazy to empty the a/c everyday' date=' but this thing weighs over 100lbs and you have to lift it to empty it.[/quote']

 

A small amount of bleach would do the trick. Same stuff used in pools.

 

Bee

[zyncod]

Or ethanol. It evaporates quicker and is not so toxic. I would worry about bleach in a device designed to circulate air, as bleach is pretty unpleasant to inhale.

[CurvKyle]

Or ethanol. It evaporates quicker and is not so toxic. I would worry about bleach in a device designed to circulate air, as bleach is pretty unpleasant to inhale.

 

yea i thought about bleach, but the smell is overwhelming.

 

Ethanol eh? I guess I could pick that up at a home improvement store or something? what concentration do you think would do the trick? What about Isopropyl?

 

Thanks to you both!

[Bettina]

You really only need a few drops of bleach to do the job. You can use a pool algicide too or one spray of tilex. You don't need a lot to control algae...

 

I use tilex in our bathroom shower walls all the time.

 

Bee

[CurvKyle]

You really only need a few drops of bleach to do the job. You can use a pool algicide too or one spray of tilex. You don't need a lot to control algae...

 

I use tilex in our bathroom shower walls all the time.

 

Bee

 

True, if it's only a few drops I shouldn't be able to smell it at all.

[silkworm]

I am not a fan of bleach and how often it is used, but a few drops would totally do it there. Your regular tap water would probably kill the algae.