How to Clean a Room Air Conditioner

A simple cleaning is all it takes to keep your room air conditioner bustling.

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Introduction

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

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • A/C curl cleaner
  • Electric motor oil
  • Household cleaner

How to Clean Your A/C Unit

Nigh people assume warm air from their air-conditioning unit means it'due south low on refrigerant. That'southward not ever the cause. Many times, window and through-the-wall A/C units can't blow cold air because the evaporator and condenser coils or cooling fins are clogged. Hither are some air conditioning mistakes y'all tin can avoid.

Professional cleaning costs more than $100. But yous tin do the entire job yourself in most an 60 minutes with a few dollars in supplies. If cleaning doesn't do the pull a fast one on, you can ever phone call in a pro (or buy a newer, more than efficient unit). But before yous do that, check out our step-by-step air conditioner cleaning instructions beneath.

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

Project step-past-pace (6)

Step 1

The Cleaning Procedure:

Outset, remove the plastic filter holder/trim panel. It usually snaps off. Then remove the unit of measurement from the window or slide it out of the wall. (Become aid. Information technology's heavy.)

If y'all're working on a window A/C unit, remove the mounting frame and the case. The case screws are usually located forth the bottom edge. Note the location of whatsoever odd-length screws since they have to get back in the same spots upon reassembly. Plus, your air conditioner won't work fully if you don't practice this.

Footstep 2

Comb Out the Mats

  • Straighten the bent cooling fins with a fin comb.
  • Match the correct end of the air conditioner fin comb to the fin spacing on your coils.
  • Then insert the air conditioner fin rummage and pull upwardly to straighten the fins.
  • Clothing leather gloves to forbid nasty cuts.

comb out air conditioner mats

Step 3

Air Conditioner Fin Rummage Details

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

air conditioner fin comb

Step 4

Clean Out the Grime

  • Buy 2 cans of A/C unit of measurement whorl cleaner (we used AC-Rubber No. AC-920 from The Home Depot.).
  • Earlier applying the cleaner, vacuum all visible buildup from both coils.

clean out air conditioner crud

Step five

Employ Foam Cleaner

  • Shoot the spray over the unabridged surface of both coils and let the foam exercise the work for yous.
  • If the buildup is heavy, brush in the direction of the fins with a nylon-bristle brush.

AC Unit Coil Cleaner

Pace six

Service the Fan Motor

  • While the cream works, clean the fan blades with a household cleaner and a rag.
  • If the fan motor has plastic- or rubber-capped oiling ports, pop them and squeeze in a few drops of electric motor oil (pros apply the Zoomspout oiler) and recap.
  • Finally, wash (or supersede) the air filter and reinstall the unit.
  • It just might blow a lot cooler. If not, you accept other problems!

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

service air conditioner fan