How to prevent air cooler water from stinking?

Air coolers are great solutions in keeping your surroundings cool, especially in times when the temperature becomes an issue.

It is one of the most common air cooling systems in the market because of its many advantages. It is efficient and effective, budget-friendly, and eco-friendly as well.

You can easily install it wherever you want, plus it is low-maintenance.

However, over time, it may show signs of depreciation. Although it only uses water as a refrigerant, it may produce an unpleasant smell which you’ll find to be distracting and annoying.

You wouldn’t want to breathe stinky air. One way of avoiding it is to do regular and consistent cleaning and to service your unit. 

There are simple steps that you can easily follow in cleaning your air coolers. By doing these, you’ll surely be able to make use of your machine for a longer period of time.

Preventing water from stinking

Since air coolers use a natural way of cooling, it mainly uses water as its refrigerant. It introduces the “evaporation” of water to produce a cooler quality of air.

If not properly maintained, the water in the tank may produce a foul odor. We want to avoid this from happening as much as possible.

Regularly clean the water tank.

The air cooler comes with a water tank that serves as the reservoir. This must be cleaned on a regular basis to avoid mold-growth and a breeding ground for bacteria that may cause the water from the tank to stink.

Cleaning should be at least every 3 days to ensure that there is no build-up of any living microorganisms. 

Remove the cooling pads and the panels.

For ease in cleaning the whole tank, take out the cooling pads and panels first. Always make sure that the air cooler is unplugged.

The water supply is turned off before you start to avoid any accidents.

Scrub the water tank interior.

Over time, debris may start to build-up in the inside of the tank. This may block the filters and cooling pads and may hamper the function of the entire air cooler.

You need to scrape this to prevent it from piling up. If not done earlier, it may be hard to do it as time pass by.

You can clean the rest of the inside using a soft damp cloth or a sponge. 

Sanitize the water tank.

Rinse off the water tank using only mild detergent and lukewarm water.

An effective way of doing so is by filling up the tank with a vinegar and water solution and leaving it for about an hour. 

Brush the tank.

In the exterior of the tank, you can use a brush or soft cloth, then rinse it off with clean water.

Regularly change the water in the tank.

Water stocked in the tank for a long time produces a foul-smell if not replaced regularly. To avoid stinky odor to develop, empty the cooler with the old water for once in a while.

Some air coolers come with a drain plug for easy draining. For some, the tanks are detachable. In this case, you can detach the tank and throw the water inside. 

Note that the water temperature does not affect the cooling ability of your air cooler. Any water temperature will be fine. 

Clean or change the cooling pads.

The air cooler cooling pads are moistened and wet because of the water that moves through it. It may attract bacteria to build up, thus creating a fishy smell.

When it happens, it also contaminates the water. To avoid this, clean the cooling pads religiously. You can soak it in a lemon juice or vinegar solution to sanitize and deodorize it.

Then, let it dry completely before putting it back inside the cooler. 

But in case the pads are no longer ideal cleaning, you may opt to just replace them. Through this, you are sure that the air it produces is fresh and clean. 

Deodorize the water tank

Deodorizing your water tank is an effective way of minimizing, if not eliminating, the foul odors in your air coolers.

It would be useless to put fresh and clean water in your tank only to find out that the problem is with your water tank.

The freshness of your water won’t stay for too long if the water tank interior is smelly. 

You can purchase deodorizers for your air coolers, or you can use baking soda or vinegar and water solution. 

The water used is contaminated.

One of the reasons in the foul odor of the water in your air cooler is that the water used in filling it in is dirty or contaminated.

In refilling the water tank, make sure that you use clean and freshwater. The condensed water is an obvious reason for it to smell bad, especially if it stays in the tank for a long period. 

Inspect the interior of the water tank.

If you are sure that you have filled the tank with fresh water, but there is still the presence of a horrible smell, you may want to check your cooler if it has any creature, insect, or small animals that might have died inside it.

It could be lizards, rodents, or frogs that are trapped in the cooler. When their bodies decay, it causes a foul smell. 

Seek professional help.

If you have already checked and followed all the steps mentioned above and nothing changes, you may want to contact your maintenance man or repair services.

There could be some issues that need to be handled by service personnel or an expert to fix it.

There is a good chance that they can assess better what is causing the smelly odor, and they can suggest better options for you. 

If you have an air cooler, you would normally want to get the best out of it. There is no other common culprit for an air cooler with stinking water in it but no proper handling and maintenance of the unit.

If you are experiencing any unpleasant smell, foul odor, or stinking odor from your air cooler, the above-mentioned factors can be a great start to consider.