Summer is right around the corner, so if you don’t want to sweat your way through it you’ll need to get your air conditioning unit in check. You may have noticed that after a while your air conditioning unit appears to be pumping out less air. Less air means less efficiency. Less efficiency results in an air conditioner that isn’t very effective at cooling your home. There are a wide range of things that may be to blame for a less efficient air conditioner. Most of these problems can be solved by a bit of DIY cleaning and maintenance. If you want to try and bring your air conditioning unit back to life and maximum efficiency, you’ll need to learn how to do a full and thorough clean.
So how do you clean your air conditioner? It’s not as difficult as it may sound, and once you’ve done it once, you’ll be confident in how to do it again. This is what you need to do:
Clean the condenser (Outdoor unit)
Before you do anything, think safety first. You’ll want to turn off all power running to the air conditioning unit before you start anything. Turn it off at the wall, not just the unit itself. If possible turn the power off at the circuit board to err on the side of caution. A working air conditioning unit is not worth a trip to the hospital due to an electric shock so follow all safety measures before beginning. You’ll be dealing with the big outdoor part of your unit so it’s crucial there is no power running to the unit.
The condenser is located on the outdoor unit. To get access to clean your air conditioning unit’s condenser you’ll need to remove the casing. Have a screwdriver hand as you’ll most likely need one to get in. The condenser comes in the form of coils. After removing the outer casing, you should have direct access to the coils. Remove what you can if there is anything else in the way.
Start cleaning the condenser by brushing off any surface dirt or dust using a brush or similar. Next, you’ll want to remove any caked-on dirt. Use a generic cleaning product and rinse with water. Cleaning the condenser of any built-up dirt and dust will greatly improve its efficiency. It’s a good idea to also check the coil fins while you’re there. If you noticed any are damaged or bent out of shape you can comb them straight with a ‘fin comb’, which you can get from your local supplier.
Clean the filters (Indoor unit)
Now you’ll want to move indoors to the primary air conditioning unit. Your air conditioning unit should have an access panel that you can remove, or even flip up that will expose the filters. The filter will look like 1 or 2 large mesh sheets that will most likely be clogged with dust. The filters help reduce airborne dust and bacteria from being blow out and around by the air conditioning unit. Because these filters usually do such a great job, they get dirty and clogged very quickly. This means you’ll need to be cleaning them out regularly.
These filters are very easy to clean and won’t take you very long at all. Carefully remove the mesh sheets from the air conditioning unit and be wary of not letting any dust or grime fall off during transport. Head outside with it and give it a good shake, or bang against the wall. This should get the bulk of the debris off while any remaining gunk can be removed by hand. Simply as that.
Clean the fan (Indoor unit)
The final part of your quality air conditioning clean is the indoor unit’s fan. To get to it you’ll want to remove the entire casing of the air conditioning unit. You’ll probably have to whip out the screwdriver you used earlier to get into it.
Once you’re in cleaning is simply. You’ll want to spray the fan coil with a generic household cleaner and leave it to sit for a while. After a few minutes or so rinse it off with water. You don’t have to worry about spilling water inside as the air conditioning units drip tray should catch any spillage. Just make sure you don’t overflow the drip tray. Then you might have a problem.
And that’s it. Your quality air conditioning unit should now be clean and in perfect working order. If it isn’t you’ll probably want to contact the professionals like the guys over at https://www.carrierair.com.au/. They’ll be able to help you get your air conditioning unit ready to beat the summer heat.