If you’re going to take care of your HVAC unit, you’re going to need to clean and maintain its individual parts. If you don’t, the dirty unit will wind up working harder, causing more strain on its internal mechanisms, which will consequentially result in a busted unit.
Here are a few tips to help homeowners with cleaning air conditioners, so that they won’t have to worry about fixing air conditioners later on.
The Filter.
The most important part of HVAC cleaning is making sure the filter is in good shape. If residential HVAC air filters get clogged, the airflow gets blocked and the unit becomes horrifyingly inefficient. Some filters can be reused, while other need to be replaced. Whichever needs to be done to yours — cleaning or replacing — do it about once a month. These HVAC cleaning tasks can lower the unit’s energy consumption by as much as 15% — so be sure to take care of it.
The Fins.
Less of an HVAC cleaning task and more of a maintenance task, you also need to make sure that your AC unit’s fins are in good shape. Often times, the aluminum fins on the condenser and evaporator coils get bent easily, which causes them to block the airflow. If a unit’s fins are bent, a “fin comb” can be purchased and used to put them back into their original shape and condition.
The Coils.
Over a unit’s tenure, its evaporator and condenser coil tend to get quite dirty. This dirt not only blocks the airflow, but also reduces the unit’s ability to absorb heat. Though it’s very important, this HVAC cleaning task only needs to be done annually, luckily.
If you don’t want to deal with a broken HVAC unit, you need to make sure it’s clean and maintained. If you have any questions about HVAC cleaning or know of any tips, feel free to share in the comments.
