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Spring has Sprung!

April 11, 2010

It’s time to clean the Air Conditioner Honey!

Every time we install an air conditioner we get the same question. “Who’s responsible to clean the air conditioner, me or my husband?” Actually that’s not the question, usually. It’s “What kind of maintenance should be done on my air conditioner?” The great thing about air conditioners is that they’re like your car, they’re built to be outside and handle the seasons. Unlike your car they don’t have to suffer the stress’s of driving conditions, rush hour traffic and potholes!

Most air conditioners are built like this: There is a coil with vertical fins attached to it that makes up most of the body of the air conditioner and houses the compressor. Either on one corner or side is the electrical section and under a grate on the top is condenser motor. During operation the condenser motor draws air up through the coil and discharges the warm air (this is how it cools, that heat was in your house). That drawing action is what gets your air conditioner dirty, which is where you come in, honey!

Step by Step Cleaning

You’re going to wash the coil with your garden hose so there are a few areas that are ok to get wet but that you should avoid hitting directly with the water.

  • The electrical section, identifiable by looking to see where the power lines attach to the unit
  • The condenser motor, identifiable by looking into the top of the unit. (It’s the round thing attached to the fan blades. :)
  1. Shut off the power to the unit!! Just because its not running doesn’t mean the power is off. Unless the disconnect or breaker is off there is most likely 230 volts inside SO BEWARE!
  2. If you wish, apply coil cleaner, though it’s not required and probably not needed. If you do, don’t leave it on too long, it could weaken the coil material.
  3. Aim your water stream at the coil and get as close as you can without bending the coils over. I like to aim at a downward angle to avoid hitting the motor and if it’s a two pass coil it’s more effective to get through.
  4. You can spray and look into the top to see if the water is coming through clean, that way you can thoroughly clean your coil all the way around.
  5. Turn the power back on.
  6. That’s it. Go grab a drink and enjoy summer!