Portable Indoor Ac-or- Window Ac? My Cats Seem To Catch Colds With Acs Running.....

empirefalls

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With my cats catching colds with ACs, wonder which would be better, Portable indoor AC-or- Window AC?
Perhaps there is not an answer.
 

Azazel

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Yeah... cold air can make cold symptoms worse but it doesn’t cause colds. Another possibility could be that your vents need a cleaning if they are dusty.
 

Kat0121

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Yeah... cold air can make cold symptoms worse but it doesn’t cause colds. Another possibility could be that your vents need a cleaning if they are dusty.
I was thinking that too about the vents. I live in south Florida. My AC is on for pretty much 2/3 of the year. I think it might be allergies.
 

tabbytom

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With my cats catching colds with ACs, wonder which would be better, Portable indoor AC-or- Window AC?
Does not matter if your A/C is window/wall mounted or split units type. Regular maintenance is a must and filters need to be washed and cleaned periodically and dry before putting it back.

The compressor fins must be cleaned too so that mold and dust does not gather there, again it is to be maintain periodically.

I sleep with the A/C on every night and my boy sleeps with me every night. I also have an air purifier in my bedroom and it's on when it's bed time.

If there's foul moldy smell coming out from your A/C vents, it means that mold has already invaded the A/C and is on the vents, fins and wall where the A/C unit is and is recirculating moldy air in the room which is bad for health. This is when allergies set in and if you think you don't smell any, there still is and so periodic maintenance is a must. I have a contract to maintain my A/C units and they are maintained every quarterly.
 
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empirefalls

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Not sure a cold is a right word then. Sniffers, runny eyes,a day or 2 under the weather.

Edit: Right. I was thinking the same . Mold buildup.
Which brings me if an indoor portable for producing less mold air may be better then a window AC
Again, may be no answer, which is better.
 

di and bob

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They may have reoccuring feline herpes. Very common and is a 'kitty cold'. You might ask your vet for any recommendations on how to prevent it, but since it is a virus it is very difficult to control. You might keep one room warmer for them to go to and see if that helps in case the cold is affecting them, cats are desert animals and like it warm. Or get them some heated pads. It may be allergies too.
 

darg

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Not about the cats catching colds but unless you have an old and very inefficient central AC unit, it would likely cost you more money in power bills to cool your entire home with window or portable AC units. If you don't use enough of them you will experience cold and hot spots (you probably will anyway) and also won't effectively pull the humidity out of the home. With window and portable units you also have a security risk. Easy for a burglar or home invader to gain access through the plastic window vent adapter of the portable units or just kick a window unit right through the window opening or yank it out. In addition, most of them are 115V ac units and the larger ones draw a good deal of current. You will be looking for outlets to plug them into or move higher current appliances to other outlets because running a vacuum cleaner or the microwave on the same circuit as an 8000 or 10000 BTU or larger portable or window unit is likely to trip the circuit breaker. They are also noisier.

We keep an 11500 BTU window unit and a smaller 6000 BTU unit in the garage for emergencies in case the Central AC unit goes out. In September of 2017 we used them for over a month when our central unit died and we were collecting estimates and scheduling an installation. It was a slow process because of the uncertainty of hurricane Maria during that time. While they kept our common areas cool enough and did help to keep the overall home tolerable and allowed us to sleep, it would have taken several more units to cover the entire home (which is only 1800 square feet). The larger unit has to be run with a heavy duty extension cord to an outlet on a circuit with low draw because the outlet near that window also serves the microwave. But more than that, I grew up in home with wall units. We had a central unit installed when I was a teen. I can clearly remember the night and day difference between how quiet the new central unit was and how much more uniform the cooling was throughout the home with the new central unit. Not nearly as drafty either.

Point being, stick with the more modern amenity of the central unit. Unless there is something funky growing in the duct work or the air handlers coil or pan, you'll be far better off in many ways.
 

tabbytom

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Not sure a cold is a right word then. Sniffers, runny eyes,a day or 2 under the weather.

Edit: Right. I was thinking the same . Mold buildup.
Which brings me if an indoor portable for producing less mold air may be better then a window AC
Sniffers, runny nose and runny eyes could be due to temperature change. Same as us hoomans, some have more sensitive respiratory system, when going in and out of A/C rooms may trigger sniffling and runny nose maybe runny eyes and sometimes congested nose and you cant breathe well.

Again, indoor portable A/C makes no difference, same functions as the regular ones mentioned. Same recirculating air and same maintenance regime.

Remember, all A/C units have moisture and condensation. As long as once the A/C is switched off, warm air will fill the room and that's where mold starts to grow. Unless your A/C is turned on 24/7, then you'll have a dry room but places where moisture gathers which is not dry enough will still form mold.
 
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