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Yikes. I am usually not the kind of person to recommend creating waste and getting something new, but this is an item that filters and fills your room with the air you breathe. If it has black mold on it, which is toxic, I would strongly recommend you get yourself a new a/c.

Depending on how old the air conditioner is (more than 10 years?) it would be better to replace them with newer models that are more energy efficient. Otherwise I would suggest checking with a regular A/C repair shop (your warranty may give referals) to see if they provide that cleaning service.

There are services that come and take your a/c in the fall, clean it, store it, and reinstall it in the summer. I used to do that. Then I got married -- I always thought having a partner to deal with air conditioners is one reason people got married in the first place.

Anyway, it costs about $150-200 and these days you can buy a new a/c for that (not that you'd want to). But I agree with the previous poster: "black mold" = a trip to Lowes is in order.

I used Airwave (that's the company's name - they send me postcards in the mail which is why I use them), and they come and clean and tune up air conditioners. My price was just over $60 for my wall-thru a/c unit. If your a/c is beyond repair, they will probably tell you when they visit.

I second airwave, i bought three units from them when we moved to a new apt and am really pleased with how professional they are and how well they service (clean!) the units. http://www.airwaveac.com/

while living in Brooklyn our ACs lived for 3-5 years top. Mind the knobs that got broken quickly, pigens made nests on top/inside our ACs. It's cheaper to just buy a new one...

Maybe it's black mold, but I would think more likely it's that fine black dirt that air conditioners tend to gather out of the air (especially in New York). I would give Airwave a try and get a professional opinion though.

How high is the ac unit?

Can you reach it?

If so, you can go to an industrial hardware store and purchase a bottle of COIL CLEAN.

Spray that all over the fine ac coils, let it sit for 5-10 minutes and hose it off. Hmmm....NYC? Probably no hose access.

We have hose access here.

coil cleaning:

http://www.goodway.com/coil-cleaning.htm

If you are in a rental, check with your apartment manager (landlord) to see if they do seasonal maintenance for A/C units i.e. cleaning, replacing the filter, repairs, etc.

If they do, which should be no charge to you as a renter, then I would advise to have them take care of it.

Hey, it's Alicia, the original poster.
I tried to get my boyfriend to better explain to me what he thinks it is in the AC and he can only describe it as "algea or moss looking. Well, I guess it could just be mold."
We have 2 ACs, one came with the apartment that I rent, and I'd say it even works better than the one I brought at this point, but we've never taken it out of its casing to look before. The second AC I bought at PC Richard only about a year ago! That thing was expensive! And was such a bitch to install!
I think I'll call Airwave, though, thanks guys. I think $60-100 is worth the hassle of not having to get rid of the ACs and get them to ship up new ones? Dunno, I do live right down the street from a Richards and have an elevator, now!

Black mold?!?!? It's time to bag those (literally) and get some new ones. I recommend going with Portable Air Conditioners

They are inside your conditioned space which means no exposure to the outside elements.

They are also so much easier to clean.

Sorry, here's a link that works!

http://store.h-mac.com/suwapoaircof.html

thanks for these suggestion

here are some more tips on Air Conditioner Components and care