How to clean mold out of a smelly window AC unit
Stagnant moisture inside window and portable air conditioners causes a severe mold buildup that produces a terrible smell every time the unit runs. Because many users have never taken an AC apart to clean it, they struggle to figure out how to disassemble and wash out the internal components to get rid of the odor.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Disassembling the machine to clean it
- 2Replacing the unit if the mold cannot be cleaned from the inside
- 3clearing out the water pan
- 4letting the built-in fan blow for 2-3 hours to dry it out
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
r/CleaningTips1 person · September 2026
“If so, how do I clean it? what causes it?”source ↗
Rough_Seaweed9218 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes
r/HomeImprovement1 person · October 2026
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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