Keeping Your A/C Clean on the Outside Can Improve the System's Capacity

If you want to avoid expensive repairs to your air conditioning unit or even a complete replacement, it’s worth investing a little time into keeping the a/c clean. When it’s not maintained in a clean state, those nasty things are possible, and even if it doesn’t get to that point, you are almost certain to lose cooling performance and capacity with a dirty unit. The ‘keep-it-clean’ strategy can apply to both room conditioners and central air conditioners.

Cleaning the Indoor Unit of a Central Air Conditioner

• Unplug the indoor unit and clean the existing air filter
• Vacuum up dust and debris from the blower compartment
• Check for algae in the plastic condensation tube
• Use a pipe cleaner to clean the drain tube
• Hook everything up again and restore power

Cleaning the Indoor Unit of a Central Air Conditioner

• Shut off power to the unit.
• Vacuum the condenser fins and remove grass, weeds, leaves, and other debris.
• Unscrew the grill top and wipe the exposed fan clean.
• If the fan has lubrication ports, add a few drops of oil to them.
• Using a water hose, spray the fins from the inside of the unit.
• Return fan and grill to their original positions and screw everything back in place.
• Allow unit to sit idle for a day, then restore power.

Cleaning a Room Air Conditioner

• Unplug the air conditioner, remove the rear exhaust panel and clean the fins and coils.
• Clean out the drain channels with a pipe cleaner or small brush.
• Remove the front grill and clean the air filter with soapy water. Make sure it has dried before replacing it.
• Dust off the grill and vents, and after you have made your a/c clean as possible, you can restore power to it.

Contact Us

We at Paschal Heat, Air & Geothermal have been serving the northwest Arkansas region for more than 38 years, and we’d like to serve you too. If you need any expert advice on home comfort issues for your home, please contact us through our website or if you’re in the Springdale area, stop in and see us.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Springdale, Arkansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about clean A/Cs and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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