Black Mold or Mildew in Air Conditioner?!?

Apergilus Niger is a potentially toxic black mold that is common in households. Without taking a sample and identifying under a microscope, it's almost impossible for anyone to confirm exactly what it is.

Be cautious when selecting products to treat mold/mildew. If you look closely at the label, most say they're "Mold and Mildew STAIN removers" which is much different from actually killing the mold/mildew. There are some molds (dry rot) that have absolutely no treatment.

Thanks, Dr. Michael Tansey @ Indiana University, for being a great Mycology instructor.

I'd contact a heating/AC company, see if you can get a free estimate and get their opinion on a diagnosis of the problem and how it may affect your family.

Good luck!

Some molds and fungi can be extremely dangerous, many are less so, but can still become health issues if anyone in the home develops an allergy to them. If I were in your position, I'd want to find out what's growing in there. You can google "testing for mold in your home" and get lots of information. Good luck!

Mold can be a health threat. It can cause chronic respiratory distress and allergies. You may not notice symptoms for awhile but eventually you will if your system is vulnerable. There is no way of knowing if your body will eventually react or not.

The apartment building in which my daughter lives has had difficulty with mold. One of her friends apartment had mold on the bedroom window sills. The management cleaned it off and repainted. Her children still had chronic "colds." The management replaced the wall and her children's symptoms lessoned but never went away. She moved and reported back that they were even better.

Definitely do not use the air conditioner. My father was a repairman and he said that once mold is in your air conditioner you cannot get it out. There are too many cracks and crannies.

I recommend replacing the air conditioner and having it professionally installed. The water running down the wall was probably caused by the unit not being level. It could also have had a leak.

It is now moldy (mildew is a mold) because it wasn't completely dried out when you covered it (a leak?) or water seeped in afterwards and because it was covered the water couldn't evaporate/run back out.

Did you cover it on the outside? I only cover the inside even tho I live in Oregon where it rains all winter/spring long. My air conditioners have been in place for at least 10 years. The outside of a window air conditioner is made to withstand the elements.

That stuff is extremely dangerous!
It can give anyone asthma! It's really bad for children.
It can make a whole lot of health problems.

Get it out of the house ASAP.

God bless.

It's most likely mildew from condensation. We had this issue last year. The carpet on either side of the wall was mildewy and our landlord fixed it and we had the carpets steam cleaned. I would have it looked at.