For those of you who have evaporative coolers, I offer the following tips that I've discovered over the years to deal with some of the problems associated with them.
For dealing with hard water/calcium scale:
Use sodium hexametaphoshate. A white powder available at chemical supply houses. Dissolve a 1/2 cup in the cooler pan of water, and it will greatly help reduce mineral scale. Nothing eliminates the problem completely, but NaHMP helps alot. Also works in any water-using appliance (shower heads, pots, toilets, etc.)
Oil for bearings:
Use Supco 88, 50/50 with your favorite lightweight oil. The solvent qualities in the Supco reduce varnish and residue due to old oil, and will extend the life of the bearings considerably. It even helps "restore" tight/sticky bearings.
For odor control:
Use a capful of your favorite fabric softener.
To condition new aspen pads:
New Aspen pads don't always absorb water very well, because of the natural oils present in the wood fibers. Wash the cooler pads with a citrus-based cleaner, and rinse thoroughly before putting them in the cooler. The fibers will then absorb water much more efficiently and cool better.
Mold problems:
Some brands of cooler have a plastic liner inside the pan, so water doesn't actually contact the metal. This is claimed to reduce rusting. However, moisture does accumulate between the liner and cooler pan, and mold can grow there. Eventually it will spread enough to cause stains/smells. Every spring before cooler start-up, take the liner out and spray some Scrubbing Bubbles in the cooler pan. Let it sit 5 minutes, then wipe out and replace the plastic liner. The residual spray will retard the growth of mold and algae.
Hope this helps y'all out!
For dealing with hard water/calcium scale:
Use sodium hexametaphoshate. A white powder available at chemical supply houses. Dissolve a 1/2 cup in the cooler pan of water, and it will greatly help reduce mineral scale. Nothing eliminates the problem completely, but NaHMP helps alot. Also works in any water-using appliance (shower heads, pots, toilets, etc.)
Oil for bearings:
Use Supco 88, 50/50 with your favorite lightweight oil. The solvent qualities in the Supco reduce varnish and residue due to old oil, and will extend the life of the bearings considerably. It even helps "restore" tight/sticky bearings.
For odor control:
Use a capful of your favorite fabric softener.
To condition new aspen pads:
New Aspen pads don't always absorb water very well, because of the natural oils present in the wood fibers. Wash the cooler pads with a citrus-based cleaner, and rinse thoroughly before putting them in the cooler. The fibers will then absorb water much more efficiently and cool better.
Mold problems:
Some brands of cooler have a plastic liner inside the pan, so water doesn't actually contact the metal. This is claimed to reduce rusting. However, moisture does accumulate between the liner and cooler pan, and mold can grow there. Eventually it will spread enough to cause stains/smells. Every spring before cooler start-up, take the liner out and spray some Scrubbing Bubbles in the cooler pan. Let it sit 5 minutes, then wipe out and replace the plastic liner. The residual spray will retard the growth of mold and algae.
Hope this helps y'all out!
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