How to Prevent Air Conditioning Repair by Cleaning the Unit

Indeed, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That’s true whether you want to prevent auto theft or identify theft. The rule also applies if you want to minimize the mount of air conditioning repair that your unit needs. By periodically cleaning your air conditioner, you can significantly reduce the need for future repairs. Here are some tips for cleaning your air conditioner:

1. Turn off the unit before cleaning it.
This is a crucial step, to prevent the cleaning from being a shocking experience (quick literally). Use the circuit breaker that powers your AC unit.

2. Maintain the coils.
There are some basic steps to clean and service the coils of the air conditioner. First, use an ordinary garden hose to wet the coils of the air conditioner. Next, use a commercial air conditioner cleaner to spray the coils. Then let the coils set for the time indicated on the bottle of the cleaner. Next, you’ll need to rinse the cleaner off the air conditioner’s coils.

If your air conditioner is a wall unit, then use your vacuum cleaner’s soft brush attachment, to clean the coil’s fins. This is a crucial step in keeping your air conditioner unit as clean as possible.

3. Clean the air conditioner’s drain.
You can find the drain located outside your house or apartment. Simply use a wet/dry vacuum cleaner to clean out the air conditioner’s drain. Before performing this cleaning you’ll need to remove the cap. After cleaning the drain, make sure to place the cap back on the drain. If your drain lacks a cap (or needs to be replaced), you can purchase one at your friendly neighborhood hardware store. This is yet another crucial way to prevent the need for future air conditioning repair.

4. Have a professional perform periodic maintenance.
While you can take certain steps to keep your air conditioner as clean as possible, a trained professional will also need to perform some maintenance on your unit. For instance, you should annually hire a repairman to use a heavy-duty vacuum on the air conditioner’s drain. That will help to prevent the buildup of mold on it.

5. Replace the filter.
It’s important to do this periodically. During the hottest months when you use the air conditioner, you should replace the filter once a month or every-other-month-depending on how often you operate the appliance. While the filter is one of the most basic parts of an air conditioner, it’s the first line of defense in preventing the unit from becoming dirty. And ultimately that will reduce the amount of air conditioning repair required.

Cleaning your air conditioner is easier than you imagined, and can significantly reduce the amount of repair work needed. These easy steps can keep your unit as clean as a bean!