Last updated on September 28th, 2021
There are many benefits to conducting regular air conditioner maintenance of your air conditioner unit including better performance and an extended life of your unit. Many air conditioner maintenance tasks are easy to do on your own at home with little equipment.
An easy and important task to do regularly is to clean your air conditioner coils. We will walk you through the process of how to clean air conditioner coils to help you keep your air conditioner running well and keeping you cool during the hot summer months.
Simple Steps
Step 1 – For your own safety it is important to turn off the power to your air conditioner before conducting any work. This can be done by accessing the electrical shut off box of your unit if your unit has one. Look for this box outside of your home near your air conditioning unit. If you do not have a shut off box find your air conditioner on your homes circuit breaker and use this to turn off the power. Always complete this step before attempting to clean your air conditioner.
Step 2 – Clean the area surrounding your air conditioner. This important step should be completed on a regular basis. Cleaning up sticks, weeds, tall grass and other debris from the area surrounding your air conditioner will help to keep it running well and clean in the future. Complete this task before cleaning your coils to ensure a greater cleaning effect. Consider doing this task on a regular basis in order to reduce any future AC maintenance costs.
Step 3 – Remove the cover from your air conditioner. Keep a small container nearby to collect any screws or bolts to ensure you are able to easily recover your air conditioner unit. Check your user manual if you need assistance determining the correct screwdriver for your unit.
Step 4 – Spray the coils with water. You can use your garden hose to complete this task. This will help remove loose debris. Avoid directly spraying the fan of the unit.
Step 5 – Spray the coils with a foam cleaner. Do this by following the directions on the container and while the coils are still wet. Allow the cleaner to soak in.
Step 6 – Scrub the coils of the unit with a fin comb. At this time you can attempt to straighten out bent coils with the fin comb. This step cleans dust and stuck on debris from your unit. Fin combs can be purchased at an everyday hardware store.
Step 7 – the final step of cleaning your air conditioner coils is to spray the cleaner off of the coils. You can again use your garden hose to do this.
Sept 8 – Replace you unit cover and turn the air condition back on.
Maintenance Guide
Cleaning your air conditioner coils is an easy task that can be done on your own. By completing regular cleaning you will ensure your air conditioner is in good working order and can hopefully avoid costly repairs. Consider using our air conditioner maintenance checklist to help your with your maintenance schedule.
