Abstract
Fungi flourish inside the damp environment of air-conditioners running in cooling mode. Spores are often emitted from fungi-contaminated air-conditioners. We developed a new method, using intermittent short-time-heating, to prevent fungal growth. The method entails keeping the inside of the air-conditioners at 40°C for 10 minutes per day by operating the air-conditioners in heating mode for 5 minutes daily. Fungi grow again when the intermittent heating is stopped, indicating that the method does not kill fungi, but does prevent their growth. A field test was conducted in a house with air-conditioners, that are affected by fungal growth every summer. After using the intermittent short-time-heating method, no fungal contamination was detected in the air-conditioners at the end of the hot weather season.
