A Guide to DIY Cleaning Your Aircon Coils
It’s not enough to simply find the best aircon installation Singapore or keep changing who you’re getting for your aircon installation Singapore. Other means are needed when it comes to maintaining and making sure your air conditioner runs smoothly like it should.
In our last article, we explained why it’s so important to clean your air conditioner coils periodically. Here, we get down to the basics to let you know how you can clean your air conditioner coil properly.
How to Clean Air Conditioner Coils
Safety Precautions Beforehand
Before you get down and dirty, make sure you equip yourself with the right tools first. It’s important to turn off your unit before opening it to access the coils. To be extra careful, you can switch off the circuit breaker. Avoid touching the fins forcibly because they are highly delicate and can easily bend.
Tools to Prepare
Prepare tools like a fin comb, coil comb, commercial cleaning detergent, cleaning brush, a pair of gloves, cleaning brush, and protective eyewear like goggles to shield yourself.
Cleaning Your Evaporator Coils
If you’re looking at cleaning your evaporator coils, you need to first pry open the access panel. You can use your air conditioners manual to find out where that is. Pull off the tape that seals the panel and proceed to remove any fasteners or screws attached to it.
Lastly, remove the panel cover, and you should be able to spot the coils.
Cleaning Your Condenser Coils
On the other hand, if you want to clean the condenser coils, you should look for the condenser cover and remove it. You’ll be able to spot a cage within the unit. Following which, you need to get rid of the screws at the bottom of the cage.
After extracting the cage, you will spot the fins and the coils.
Coil Cleaning Techniques
Cleaning With a Brush
A brush is a handy tool that’s also easy to use when you want to clean your air conditioner coils, particularly if you’re looking at brushing down the dirt buildup from the daily use of your unit. However, we advise you to opt for brushes with soft bristles.
Check whether there is any dust or debris located at the exterior surface of the coils. If you spot any, use the brush lightly and sweep the dust away until all the dust is gone.
Next, use a coil comb to clean the part between the coil fins. Avoid forcefully using the comb in areas where it does not pass through easily, because they are susceptible to tears.
If you see any bent fins, you can use the fin comb to straighten them carefully. After finishing, clean the area surrounding the unit.
Cleaning With a Commercial Detergent
It’s easy to find a commercial cleaner or detergent that is specially made for air conditioner cleaning. Foaming cleansers, for example, are available and are popular for their ability to loosen dirt and dust on the coils.
Read the instructions that are provided before getting started. You can spray the coil cleaner, wait for it to begin foaming and separate the dust that has collected.
Spray it again as many times as necessary, and wipe off the residue with a piece of soft cloth.
Heavy-duty Coil Cleaning
Sometimes, the dirt and debris gathered cannot be easily removed. This is when you need to consider applying heavy-duty methods like a steam cleaning or pressure wash. If you’ve already tried these methods without success, ring up your aircon cleaning technician or get a reliable aircon contractor Singapore to do it for you.
