Can air conditioning really make you sick? A microbiologist explains

By Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of Leicester

Air conditioning can feel heaven-sent on hot summer days. It keeps temperatures comfortable and controls humidity, making indoor environments tolerable even on the most brutally warm days.

But some people avoid using air conditioning (AC) no matter how hot it gets outside, out of fear that it will make them sick. While this may sound far-fetched to some, as a microbiologist I can say this fear isn’t altogether unfounded.

If an air conditioning system malfunctions or isn’t properly maintained, it can become contaminated with infectious microbes. This can turn your AC unit…

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