Mould spores plus your Air Conditioner equals a Health Disaster and unfortunately it is common to find mould spores in the air conditioner’s main unit.
Inside your air conditioner is the ideal environment for mould to grow and then be blown into the air that you breathe.
Typical symptoms that mould-exposed persons report; alone or in a combination include:
- Eye irritation (burning, watery or reddened eyes)
- Respiratory problems (such as wheezing, coughing, or difficulty breathing)
- Skin rashes or irritation
- Headaches and fatigue
- Nose or throat irritation
The effects of mould to your health is a very serious matter and symptoms can range from mild to life threatening.
Below is an extract taken from an article on 9news.com.au
Melbourne woman says mouldy air conditioner caused crippling health condition
When Carly Buhagiar moved into a brand-new apartment in the trendy inner Melbourne suburb of Prahran she had no idea how disastrous the place would be for her health.
During the three years the 34-year-old high school PE teacher lived in the rental unit she developed lesions all over her skin.
She was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and eventually an autoimmune condition that left her so sick and exhausted she was forced to quit her job.
At the same time, Ms Buhagiar’s former partner, who was also living in the unit, developed an eerily similar autoimmune condition.
However, it would be years before they would connect the dots – and trace their dramatic health problems back to an air conditioner filled with mould.
MOULD FOUND AND A DIAGNOSIS AT LAST
It wasn’t until December last year, when Ms Buhagiar visited a new GP, that a breakthrough came.
“He asked me a simple question and it was, ‘Tell me when you have felt your best. When has your skin been the most clear?’ And I said, ‘When I go on a holiday’.”
“What he worked out then and there was that there was something in Melbourne that was making me sick.”
Luckily for Ms Buhagiar, the GP’s colleague had just had an experience with mould, with his son becoming very ill because of it.
With this in mind, Ms Buhagiar’s GP recommended she get the apartment tested for mould.
“I did a home test kit off the internet. And sure enough, alarm bells rang straight away,” she said.
Ms Buhagiar then contacted one of Australia’s leading mould experts and microbiologists, Dr Cameron Jones, to conduct further tests.
“He came out and swabbed the whole place. It was uninhabitable,” she said.
Dr Jones told nine.com.au tests on the apartment showed an extremely high concentration of mould spores in the living room and kitchen of the unit.
“It was extremely high where the air conditioner was pumping out. That was the central thing that you saw when you walked into the apartment,” he said.
Photos taken of the air conditioner at the time show mould growing inside the casing and on its fins.
“It was clear as crystal. It was the air conditioner,” Dr Jones said.
While reverse cycle air conditioners can be useful in lowering a home’s humidity, they can also become mouldy inside if they are not regularly checked and maintained, Dr Jones said.
Lint and debris collect inside the air conditioners over time and, when mixed with water, form mould, he said.
“It becomes mould contaminated and that’s when it’s a massive problem.
“If something is contaminated and it’s placed in front of the airstream, it will blow that contamination everywhere and the problem just keeps getting worse and worse.”
Unlike mould that can be seen growing on walls or in the bathroom, mouldy air conditioners were a hidden problem, he said.
“Air conditioners are something that are in people’s line of sight but are in a sense invisible because they’re a functional item. You only think about your heating or cooling if it does or doesn’t work.
Don’t wait for symptoms to appear, call HydroKleen today for a professional clean and sanitisation of your air conditioner.
