Edit ArticleHow to Clean Air Conditioner Coils Cleaning your air conditioner's condenser coils regularly will let your air conditioner run cooler with less energy and make you feel more comfortable. The best time to clean your air conditioner is in the spring, just before you anticipate using it for the first time in the year. Here are the steps to follow to clean your air conditioner coils. Disconnect power to the air conditioner. Trim away any plant growth around the air conditioner. Detach the outer case or access panels. Remove the top of the air conditioner. Clean and lubricate the fan assembly. Brush away surface dirt from the air conditioner coils. Spray-clean away trapped dirt from the coils. You can do this with just water, or if the dirt is considerable, a biodegradable foaming cleaner mixed with water. Spray the cleaner from the outside in and let it soak in for 10 to 15 minutes. You may wish to re-apply the cleaner and let the second application soak for another 5 minutes.

Before you spray the air conditioner, cover any electric wires or motors with plastic. Rinse away the cleaner from the coils. Inspect the coil fins for any damage. Reassemble the air conditioner. You should only need to fully clean the air conditioner once a year, but if you live near cottonwood trees or dandelions, you may have to clean the unit more frequently during the spring, possibly weekly or even daily. The above instructions can also be used if you own a heat pump, as the external condenser unit is constructed similar to an air conditioner. If you spot any problems during the cleaning process, such as an oil leak or damage to the refrigerant coolers, contact an air conditioner service technician.In this article, we'll show you how to clean and maintain your central air conditioner to keep it running efficiently. We won't demonstrate the maintenance steps for a window-mounted model here. Most central air conditioners have two basic parts: an outdoor unit (compressor/condenser) that sits next to your home and an indoor unit (evaporator) that's located in a central duct near your furnace (Fig. A).

If you have a heat pump instead of a furnace, the indoor unit will be in the air handler. Use the same maintenance steps we show here. If your furnace looks different from the one in Fig. A, or you have a heat pump, use the owner's manual to find your way around it. The basic parts will be the same.Portable Hot Tub Enclosures The most important maintenance steps are fairly simple, but if this is the first time you've cleaned the unit, allow about a half day to carefully work through the steps. Carrier Ac Units 3 TonIf you're not up to the task, call a pro (look under “Air Conditioning Contractors” in your Yellow Pages). Fish Window Cleaning Job ReviewCleaning and servicing a central air conditioner costs $100 to $250. Fig. A shows a typical central air conditioning/furnace setup.

Two copper tubes connect the outdoor compressor and its condenser coil (a “coil” is a combination of fins and tubes) to the indoor evaporator coil that's located in the plenum (Fig. A) above the furnace blower. One tube is covered with foam insulation. If you have a heat pump, both tubes will be insulated. Outside, your main job is to clean the condenser coil (Photos 2 - 4). The fan inside the condenser coil sucks air through the fins, and as a result, pulls dirt and debris with it. Dust, leaves, dead grass and anything else that collects on the fins will block airflow and reduce the unit's efficiency. Grass clippings thrown by the lawn mower and “cotton” from cottonwood trees and dandelions are particularly bad offenders. You might have to clear the fins weekly or even daily during the spring “cotton” season! Always begin by shutting off the electrical power (Photo 1). Then proceed with the cleaning (Photos 2 - 4). If the fan motor (Photo 3) has lubrication ports, apply five drops of special oil for electric motors (not penetrating or all-purpose oil).

You can find oil for electric motors at hardware stores. Many fan motors are maintenance-free—they don't have oil ports (ours doesn't) and can't be lubricated. Check your owner's manual if unsure. The compressor and its motor sit inside the coil (Fig. A). They're usually sealed and won't need maintenance. However, if you have an older compressor that's belt-driven by a separate motor, lubricate the motor through its oil ports. In every case, keep an eye out for dark drip marks on the bottom of the compressor case or pad (Photo 5). This indicates an oil leak; the compressor or tubes might be leaking coolant (refrigerant) as well. If you find a leak, call in a pro to check the problem. Don't tighten joints to try to stop leaks yourself! Over-tightening can make the problem worse. And only a pro with proper equipment can recharge the system to the proper level of coolant.Show All ItemsWith summer approaching soon comes the time to turn on the AC to keep the house cold. You might notice that your electric bill spikes up more than expected or that your house is just having trouble staying cold.

If it's been more than a few years sense your last AC unit cleaning (or you cant remember ever having them cleaned) then its probably time for a clean. It's a fairly easy process so save some money by doing it yourself! Step 1: Safety firstShow All ItemsWhenever doing ANY work with electronics its important to turn the electricity off and check voltage on the unit with a multimeter. Again, DO NOT WORK ON LIVE ELECTRONICS. For this particular project the risk isn't as much to do with shock (though this still exists and adding water to the mix is even more reason to be cautious) but more to do with fear of the unit turning on and spinning fan blades. Most units should have an electronics box near the unit on the outside of the building. Open it up and flip the switch to the OFF position. Imagine your body is wrapped in a fuzzy, wool blanket on a sizzling summer day. The wool blanket prevents heat in your body from escaping, causing your body to overheat.But your air conditioner goes through this same struggle every year when it gets covered in leaves, dust and dirt.

And it’s costing you money.Look at the outside unit on the left of this image from AHRI. Its job is to release heat the refrigerant absorbed from your indoor air.But if the outside unit’s condenser coils (what the refrigerant flows through) are covered in dirt, it can’t release the heat. Just like how your body couldn’t release the heat when wrapped in the wool blanket.So the air conditioner needs to run longer to cool your home. You spend more money. And the air conditioner risks overheating—leading to a breakdown on the hottest day of the year.So here’s how to prevent all that by cleaning the outside unit.Do this at least once a year, preferably during spring.Cleaning the air conditioner’s outside unit is just one of many tasks that need to be done to maintain your system’s energy efficiency.Check out our maintenance checklist to see everything we do during a maintenance visit. This includes cleaning your outside unit, if you don’t have the time to do it yourself.Schedule a $88 air conditioner tune-up today.