How to Clean a Room Air Conditioner

A simple cleaning is all information technology takes to keep your room air conditioner humming.

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Introduction

Air conditioners work more than efficiently when the evaporator and condenser coils or cooling fins are clean and the fins are direct. Save money and keep your house cooler by cleaning a room air conditioner yourself.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • A/C coil cleaner
  • Electrical motor oil
  • Household cleaner

How to Make clean Your A/C Unit

Most people assume warm air from their air conditioning unit means it's low on refrigerant. That's not always the crusade. Many times, window and through-the-wall A/C units tin't blow common cold air because the evaporator and condenser coils or cooling fins are clogged. Hither are some air conditioning mistakes you tin can avert.

Professional cleaning costs more $100. But you can practice the entire chore yourself in about an hr with a few dollars in supplies. If cleaning doesn't do the trick, yous can ever phone call in a pro (or buy a newer, more efficient unit). But earlier you exercise that, bank check out our stride-by-step air conditioner cleaning instructions beneath.

Plus, here's where you lot shouldn't install your A/C.

Projection pace-by-step (half dozen)

Step 1

The Cleaning Process:

Get-go, remove the plastic filter holder/trim panel. It usually snaps off. Then remove the unit from the window or slide information technology out of the wall. (Get help. It'due south heavy.)

If you're working on a window A/C unit, remove the mounting frame and the case. The case screws are commonly located along the lesser border. Note the location of whatsoever odd-length screws since they accept to go back in the same spots upon reassembly. Plus, your air conditioner won't work fully if you don't exercise this.

Step two

Comb Out the Mats

  • Straighten the bent cooling fins with a fin comb.
  • Match the right end of the air conditioner fin comb to the fin spacing on your coils.
  • Then insert the air conditioner fin comb and pull up to straighten the fins.
  • Wear leather gloves to foreclose nasty cuts.

comb out air conditioner mats

Footstep 3

Air Conditioner Fin Comb Details

  • Fin combs are available for most common air conditioners.
  • Go fin combs on Amazon.

air conditioner fin comb

Stride iv

Clean Out the Crud

  • Buy two cans of A/C unit coil cleaner (we used Air conditioning-Safe No. Air-conditioning-920 from The Home Depot.).
  • Before applying the cleaner, vacuum all visible buildup from both coils.

clean out air conditioner crud

Footstep 5

Apply Cream Cleaner

  • Shoot the spray over the entire surface of both coils and let the foam do the work for y'all.
  • If the buildup is heavy, brush in the direction of the fins with a nylon-bristle brush.

AC Unit Coil Cleaner

Stride 6

Service the Fan Motor

  • While the foam works, clean the fan blades with a household cleaner and a rag.
  • If the fan motor has plastic- or prophylactic-capped oiling ports, pop them and squeeze in a few drops of electric motor oil (pros use the Zoomspout oiler) and recap.
  • Finally, launder (or replace) the air filter and reinstall the unit of measurement.
  • It just might accident a lot libation. If not, you have other problems!

And if you lot don't have an air conditioner, check out these creative ways to stay cool all summer long.

service air conditioner fan

Originally Published: July 28, 2020