Clear Away Surface Debris
Before using any special techniques, remove the dirt and debris you can from the surface of your coils. This can be done with your hand or you might use a coil cleaning brush that is specifically designed for this purpose. Either way, removing this debris will help you to better see the condition of the coil. Just removing this material will likely help the coil to operate more efficiently although a more in-depth clean is also likely required.
Engage A Professional When Necessary
An air conditioner is a decent investment and one that is often vital to your familys comfort during summer. If you are unsure about the cleaning process or general maintenance, it is better to be safe than sorry. Call a professional to assess your machine and conduct the required cleaning. You dont want to cause unnecessary damage that will cost you in the long run.
Now that weve run through the process of how to clean AC coils, you should feel a little more prepared to keep your air conditioner in optimum condition. While it may seem like a tedious task, cleaning your air conditioner will help it to operate more effectively and save you money on repairs in the long run. Always remember to engage a professional to help clean and maintain your machine if you are feeling out of your depth. They know what they are doing and will be able to ensure your air conditioner is able to keep your home cool throughout the entire summer. Youll be glad to have a working machine when the heat hits!
What Are Air Conditioner Coils
Air conditioner coils are the metal pipes that run back and forth to disperse heat from the unit. As refrigerant travels around your AC system, in and outside your home, it runs through these pipes to manipulate temperature.
The coils are usually made of copper, as it is a great heat conductor, but steel and aluminum are also common. The coils are surrounded by aluminum fins that further help disperse heat and fan out the hot air we want to get rid of.
Your air conditioner does its job by moving heat from inside your home to the outdoors. The coils are an essential part of this process as they remove heat from the AC system to the outside air. This short video explains air conditioning physics in more detail.
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Why Is It Important To Clean Ac Coils
Due to the tight spacing between the coil fins, surface moisture from the cooling process, and the amount of air that flows across them, dirt, dust, debris and other pollutants can build up on the coil surfaces. Over time, this buildup reduces the systems ability to transfer heat into and out of the home, thus reducing your systems ability to provide summer cooling. In more extreme cases, dirty coils can also hinder or block the airflow that is so important to the entire process. This can result in having a less comfortable home and rising utility bills due to the lost energy efficiency. Even worse, dirty coils make the system work harder than intended and can result in shorter system life and potentially expensive repair bills. In short, the cleaner the air conditioning coil, the more efficient the system will operate.
Dirty coils can lead to:
Increased operating temperatures. Excess buildup of dirt and debris can cause undue stress on the system, causing fans and compressors to work harder and at increased operating temperatures to achieve the desired indoor comfort.
Reduced comfort. Your air conditioning system helps remove unwanted and uncomfortable humidity from your home as a natural part of the cooling process. Dirty coils can reduce overall system effectiveness, causing higher humidity inside and less overall comfort.
Increased cooling costs. Less efficient operation means higher operating costs. Dirty coils mean spending more money keeping your space cool.
Use A Homemade Solution Or Commercial Cleaner
To be 100% sure that the cleaning exercise is successful:
- Use a homemade solution or commercial cleaner.
- Sprinkle the solution into a clean brush and give it a minute or so to settle down.
- Use the brush to eliminate any dirt that may have been left inside the coil.
Note: when purchasing a commercial cleaner, dont just pick any. Take your time and research. Take note of the ease of application, ingredient, brand, and formula before buying it.
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Combining Ac Coil Cleaning Costs With Other Services
You can save on the price to clean your coils by combining this job with other services. In most cases, you can have both coils cleaned as part of two other services:
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Annual AC service costs$75$200. However, you might pay a bit more to have the evaporator coil cleaned.
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Duct cleaning costs$250$500. It almost always covers the evaporator coil, but rarely the outdoor condenser.
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Basic Air Conditioner Service
Split-system cooling systems before-mentioned as central air conditioners consist of an indoor and outdoor unit. The outdoor system holds the condenser, condenser coils, and compressor. At the same time, the indoor unit includes the evaporator, evaporator coils, and the air handler. Heat is received by the evaporator coils and scattered by the condenser coils.
As the refrigerant flows through the system, it varies state from a liquid to a gas and following again, depending upon where it is in the cycle. Heat is consumed or released during these changes of land. The process, cooling is created for your home or business location. Aeriform refrigerant carries heat, and into the outdoor unit, it is pressurized in the compressor. The coolant then enters that condenser, wherever the heat it includes is discharged into the outside air by the compressor coil. In the process, the refrigerant passes to its liquid state.
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How Often Should You Clean Your Ac Coils
As a general rule, you should clean the dust and debris on your AC coils every two months. This routine should be followed in addition to your annual AC tune-ups. But how frequently must you clean your AC coils?
The frequency of AC coil cleaning depends on various factors:
- When your AC usage is particularly high, you should increase the cleaning frequency.
- If you live in an area with high pollution levels, you will need to clean your coils more often.
- Cleaning AC coils also depends on how often you change your AC filters.
Smart HVAC devices such as smart thermostats for central and smart AC controllers that work with mini-split, window, or portable AC, can be quite beneficial in keeping your unit up to date with its maintenance. As dirty filters can lead to grime buildup on the coils, you can use smart controllers like Cielo Breez Plus to keep track of air filter cleanliness.
How To Clean Your Furnaces Evaporator Coil
As cooler weather approaches, you probably ask a lot of from your heating system warm and comfortable home, clean air and reasonable heating bills. For your furnace to deliver the goods, it needs a little help in the form of regular cleaning. Read on to learn why its important to clean your evaporator coil, and how to do.
Whats an Evaporator Coil?
The evaporator coil is the heat exchanger component of your heat pump or central A/C. It transfers heat energy into your home or out of your home . No matter the season, however, the evaporator is highly susceptible to collecting large amounts of dust, dirt and even mold growth.
Further, if you heat your home with a gas furnace and cool with a central A/C system, your A/Cs evaporator coil probably sits atop the furnace and shares the blower. So, a dirty coil even if only used for cooling is going to obstruct airflow and heating efficiency.
Evaporator Coil Cleaning 101
The first step to cleaning your evaporator is safety. Turn off the furnace at the thermostat, circuit breaker and furnace disconnect switch. Next:
Alternatively, spray the entire coil and fins with an antimicrobial coil cleaner. A foaming, self-rinsing spray cleaner is the easiest. Better yet, ask your HVAC professional to clean the evaporator for you during your upcoming preventive maintenance appointment!
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What Can I Spray My Ac Coils With To Clean
While we recommend a commercial coil cleaner, you might want to try something else.
Your best option for a homemade cleaner would be mixing water and a tablespoon of household detergent or dish soap. Add a tablespoon of baking soda for extra cleaning power.
Avoid acidic cleaners, especially if you have copper coils. The acid can cause corrosion.
Clean Like A Pro Or Call One
You can usually clean your air conditioner coils with a garden hose and a couple of easy-to-find products, but its not for everybody. The important thing to remember is that professional air conditioning experts are always ready for a maintenance call.Whether you do it yourself or , just make sure your AC unit gets the coils cleaned before every summer. This will save you money in the long run and turn your home into a cool, refreshing paradise to escape the dog days of summer.
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Need Efficient Ac Repair In Corona Contact Us Now
Lack of AC maintenance can cause a range of issues, including severely clogged condensate drains, ACs dripping water inside, and even major breakdowns. If you are concerned you need an AC repair or air conditioning system service, contact HVAC experts sooner rather than later to have them inspect and clean your unit.
Homeowners in Corona and surrounding South Riverside cities can depend on Action Air Conditioning, Heating and Solar for expertise-based AC repair, maintenance, and installation services. Whether you are located near Santiago Peak or down south near Discovery Lake, you can depend on Action to provide fast-response service and expert solutions. With updated certification and years of field experience, our technicians are capable of resolving all kinds of AC concerns with precision and efficiency.
Contact Action Air Conditioning Heating and Solar to maximize your indoor comfort and minimize your energy bills. We are your service call for all your heating and cooling needs. Feel free to reach out to our professional team today.
Using Air: Compressed Air For Cleaning Hvac Evaporator Coils
Some HVAC technicians clean an evaporator coil by blowing it off with compressed air. This is a quick and probably effective method to clean the coil, which has the additional feature of blowing dust, debris, and possibly mold into the building air – not something we approve.
Air is sprayed from the cleaner side of the coil towards the dirty side – or in other words, in the opposite direction from the normal air flow across the coil. Be sure to spray from the correct side of the coil or you’ll just be forcing dirt and debris more deeply into the coil fins.
Watch out: if you are using high pressure air to try to clean a coil, be sure you blow air at right-angles or straight through the coil fins. Blowing high pressure air at the HVAC coil fins on an angle is likely to bend over the fins, clogging the coil and possibly ruining it. If just a few fins have been bent on a coil they can often be straightened by working gently with an HVAC coil comb designed for that purpose.
Watch out: if you are not careful, just using compressed air to blow off a coil may leave a large amount of dust and debris inside the air handler where it collects anew on coil surfaces, or in your eyes . Using a shop vac in concert with the compressed air sprayer and moving carefully can reduce dust and debris spillover and make cleaning up easier.
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How To Clean Your A/c Unit
Most people assume warm air from their air conditioning unit means its low on refrigerant. Thats not always the cause. Many times, window and through-the-wall A/C units cant blow cold air because the evaporator and condenser coils or cooling fins are clogged. Here are some air conditioning mistakes you can avoid.
Professional cleaning costs more than $100. But you can do the entire job yourself in about an hour with a few dollars in supplies. If cleaning doesnt do the trick, you can always call in a pro . But before you do that, check out our step-by-step air conditioner cleaning instructions below.
Dont Be Afraid Of Foam And Bubbles
If you run into a heavy buildup of mold, mildew, or algae, then chances are youll need to tackle it with something a bit tougher than the aforementioned mild detergent solution. In this case, youll need to use a foaming cleaner, preferably one thats specifically designed to be used on HVAC systems. Its a good idea to look for a foaming cleaner thats also rinse-free so you wont have to deal with rinsing away any leftover foam cleaner from the evaporator coil.
Once you have your foaming no-rinse cleaner on hand, spray the cleaner all over the evaporator coil and simply let it sit. The foaming action of the cleaner will dislodge any dirt, debris, or organic growth from the evaporator coil. Afterwards, the foam will break down and drain away from the coil, taking with it all of the debris it collected. For especially heavy buildup, you may need to apply the foaming cleaner onto the evaporator coil a second time before giving your coil a clean bill of health.
If you ever need a professionals touch when it comes to cleaning your evaporator coil, dont hesitate to contact the experts at HELP Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Drains. We can tackle a wide variety of HVAC maintenance issues with the care and promptness youve come to expect.
Posted in: Air Conditioning, Heating
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To Minimize Stress On The System
When AC coils become too dirty, the compressors and fans have to work harder to maintain a cool temperature within your home. It also increases the operating temperature meaning the system is working under increasing pressure. This places stress on the entire system which can lead to greater wear and tear.
The longer you ignore dirty coils, the more maintenance and repairs your air conditioner is likely to need. If you dont know how to clean AC coils in-house, it is worth engaging a professional to conduct a service on your machine and assess its condition. American Home Water can help with air conditioners in Phoenix.
Why Is It Important To Clean Air Conditioning System
A build up of dirt and debris in the AC coils will make the system work harder, causing an increase in the temperature of the unit and reducing cooling efficiency. Less efficiency leads to higher energy costs, and increased risk of system breaking down due to overworking. This can cause component replacement and, potentially, the need to replace an entire system.
If you want to save money, and keep yourself from trouble of fixing your AC, make sure to clean it at least once a year.
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Advice On Choosing An A/c Or Heat Pump Coil Cleaning Product: Chemistry
Watch out: review your choice of HVAC coil cleaner with the equipment manufacturer and/or the cleaner manufacturer before choosing a coil cleaner, and then be sure to follow the coil cleaner’s instructions. Choosing the wrong type or wrong chemistry of coil cleaner or failure to rinse off cleaners can result in costly damage to the coil and could even be unsafe.
Do not use an acidic soil cleaner on coils made of aluminum, copper, or other metal that may be damaged by the corrosive effects of the copper. Some air handlers use a plastic blower squirrel cage fan wheel that is also sensitive to acids, becoming brittle and possibly breaking from acid treatment.
Some HVAC service companies may use an acidic coil cleaner on the outdoor coil, followed by a water wash.
Some HVAC service technicians whose comments we’ve read or asked-for opine that plain water is perfectly adequate to clean and rinse most residential outdoor coils.
Field Report: Corrosion Visible After A Cooling Coil Was Cleaned
I just had my duct work and AC cooling fins cleaned out. After the cleaning it appeared as if the aluminum cooling fins were full of with fluffy green stuff.
I called the technicians who came back to look and then explained that what I was seeing was corroded aluminum that was more visible since the cooing fins are now clean. Although this sounds plausible I have two concerns.
1. if if is corroded aluminum do I need to be concerned about using the ducts.
2. it is not corroded aluminum and they did a really bad job at cleaning
The cleaners are part of the national duct cleaners association , seemed quite knowledgeable and experienced , but I am surprised that the fins look so bad. I would like to know whether what I am seeing is to be expected.
l. I did snap a picture on the one side of the “V” that was easily accessible, here it is. This is the AFTER cleaning picture, I dont have a before. The schmutz has a slightly greenish hue.
The AC handler and ductwork is old, and based on the amount of crud throughout the system appeared as if it may have never been cleaned before.. That conclusion also comes from the fact that the prior owners seemed to take pride in performing NO basic maintenance on the house for many years. I just hope that firing up the AC system in a couple weeks won’t endanger my family. – Kevin 4/28/2014
thanks. K.C. 4/28/2014
Reply:
If we see open air space between the fins then the coli has been successfully as opened as we’re going to get it.
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