Moldy life

  

This may be sideways, but there's no good way to look at it. My living room ac wall unit gave me this gift Sunday morning. I had been running it at 70 degrees, so supposedly it would dehumidify the largest area in the apartment...so it usually cut on a couple of times during the night, and in the evening, even though it was down to the 50s at night.

How it just blossomed so much mold on Sunday when I was opening the nearby windows because it was after all 63 outside!! It must have been off for maybe 8 hours...

So I unplugged it, and I pushed myself to figure out how to spray something into the guts of the machine, as there's that grill like thing behind the louvers. (looked up mold removal techniques, various solutions (literally liquids sprayed into it)) I looked up using bleach solutions, or vinegar...but decided to start with this detergent based one first.

I sprayed Lysol kitchen cleaner in there. Let it sit about 15 minutes, then with a rag on my index finger, swabbed these surfaces with warm soapy water. The rag went into the trash, and water was changed a few times.

 I did wear an N-95 mask for the awful cleanup job above. But I really don't have enough lung power to breathe in it any more. Geese, wonder why.

Then I let it sit for a couple of hours, hoping the Lysol on the innerds would do something.

And turned it on AC and constant fan for a couple of hours. I checked to see if any more little black things showed up. As of Mon when I write this, I have conquered one mold source. Actually I also did the window sills, including the sliding window tracks, which are vinyl clad with all kinds of cracks. More rags, spray, wipe down. let dry!

Then I was sweeping the front porch and the vinyl clad screen/storm door frame had the tailtell grey specks all along it, where I enter the apartment sometimes brushing against it. After brooming it and finding little results, this time I tried vinegar straight. Again, those cracks where it's got lots of bends were full of black stuff. I tried using lots of wetness in the rag of vinegar.

How do I live here, I sometimes wonder.

And the good news...I am going to let the plants outside die back in their natural ways. I'll keep deadheading the geranium. But the basil and mint may just lose their leaves and I will water them occasionally. Time for fall.

I think the sad little never-repotted orchid may also go to the trash. I'll overwinter the lavendar, which is looking very good for its first year. Maybe next year we'll have flowers!