While many homeowners know that cleaning the air conditioner is one of the most vital ways to keep the AC in top working condition, most don’t know when to do it, so you will hear them asking, how often should AC be cleaned?
According to AC repair services providers, there is no definite frequency you should clean the air conditioner. It depends on plenty of factors such as your environment, your preferences, the air filters you have installed, among many other things.
If you live in a dusty environment, to keep your AC functioning efficiently, you need to clean it more regularly than another person living in a less dusty area. Also, if you love having a clean unit, you will have to clean it more regularly than someone who doesn’t mind having some dirt on their unit.
Medical conditions such as allergies can make you clean the air conditioner more frequently than when you don’t have a medical condition.
Since that is out of the way, let’s proceed to clean the air conditioner. When cleaning the air conditioner, you should know that you have to do it both on the inside and outside the unit.
How to clean the outside of the air conditioner
As you can guess, this is often the dirtiest part of the air conditioner as it’s located outside. To clean it, you need to follow these steps:
Disconnect and remove the air conditioner grille: Begin with shutting off power at the outdoor disconnect box, remove the sheet metal screws at the top of the unit and lift the fan unit and grille. Most units have enough slack in the wires that allows you to set the top down easily and lean it against the wall without having to disconnect the wires, so you don’t have to worry about damaging the wires.
Remove debris from the air conditioner: Depending on your air conditioner, there will be varying amounts of debris at the bottom of the air conditioner. Most low-end air conditioners don’t have guards to stop debris from coming through the top of the fan unit so if you have an entry level air conditioner, expect to have leaves, seeds, and even tiny twigs at the bottom pan.
Clean the AC coils and fins: Every air conditioner has AC coils that you need to clean to keep the unit in top shape. To clean the coils, buy a coil-cleaning solution from your local home improvement store and use it to clean the coils.
Mix or dilute the mixing solution according to the given directions, add it to the pump sprayer and spray it onto the coils. The solution will foam up in a few minutes, and all you need to do is wash it off with a hose.
Don’t use a pressure washer for the task as the fins are delicate, and the high pressure can damage them.
Straighten the AC fins: It’s normal for some of the AC fins to bend, and since bent fins reduce airflow, you should straighten them up. The best way to do it is to use a fin tool, an inexpensive kit with teeth that easily combs several fins per inch.
To avoid damage, ensure that you use the right number of fins per inch for your unit.
Clean around the air conditioner: Once everything is in place, clean around the air conditioner and ensure no bushes or debris in at least 2 feet in every direction.
As you are clearing the surrounding area, also ensure the air conditioner is level and if not level, level it.
Cleaning the inside of the air conditioner
When it comes to the insides of the AC, focus on the evaporator coils, the drain pan, and the air filter. Before you do the cleaning, turn off the power to the air conditioner and open the AC to access the internal parts.
You can clean the insides of the air conditioner and even the air filters by yourself, but for the best service, let an experienced and certified HVAC repair companies Huntington help you out.
Before hiring an AC maintenance company, interview every company that applies to ensure you hire the very best.