Spring is the ideal season for HVAC cleaning. There’s no better time than now to give your air conditioner a meticulous rinse and wash. From the harsh freezing hail to the heavy drizzling rain, your outdoor air conditioner has probably seen better days. After months of enduring through the volatile weather conditions, your AC unit could benefit from some rigorous cleaning and general maintenance.
There are numerous benefits for cleaning your air conditioner regularly. This cleanse ensures the air conditioner functions at its highest level of efficiency, without any clogs or debris. In addition, cleaning the AC helps to preserve the longevity of the HVAC equipment. When the air conditioner parts are well-maintained, you should encounter fewer problems overall and the number of necessary repairs will decrease.
Follow these best practices on how to clean an air conditioner properly:
1. Turn off the air conditioner’s power
Before the cleaning commences, always turn off the power as a safety precaution. Start by shutting off the power on the exterior condenser and compressor. Next, turn off the power at the breaker box, which is usually situated inside your house. It can get messy and dangerous if you clean an air conditioner that is still running, so make sure you turn off the power completely.
2. Clear away natural debris from the AC
During winter, it is unlikely that you went outside and cleaned the air conditioner in midst of the freezing temperatures. This means your AC unit has gone through many months without any proper cleaning. The signs of neglect will be evident in the air conditioner’s exterior appearance. Your AC unit had been struck by the brunt of harsh winds and storms, so don’t be surprised if it’s completely covered with branches, leaves, or dead insects.
Before you start cleaning inside the air conditioner, get rid of all the natural debris surrounding the unit’s exterior. Otherwise, they will obstruct your cleaning processes. Clear away the leaves, twigs, grass, pine needles, and any other nature’s remnants from the air conditioner.
3. Be proactive with air conditioner cleaning
Cleaning an air conditioner isn’t exactly an enjoyable task, and many homeowners feel reluctant to do this type of work. A common excuse to avoid the maintenance work is that the air conditioner looks clean enough, just because you can’t see any natural debris. However, never assume that your air conditioner is clean based on its exterior appearance.
Some debris are small and covert, so they may evade your detection at first. You may not even realize how dirty your air conditioner is until a closer examination. If you have vines, bushes or flowers growing nearby, pollen may find a way to infiltrate your air conditioner. The same goes for mould spores and dust particles. All these pollutants are barely visible, but they can block the AC unit from pulling in air and reduce its efficiency.
You should take a proactive approach towards cleaning your air conditioner. Instead of using your pure instincts to decide if the AC is clean or not, establish a regular cleaning schedule. At the start of every spring season, you can follow this schedule to make sure the air conditioner stays clean.
4. Clean the air conditioner fins
The fins are a part of the condenser that moves heat away from the air conditioner. You can use a vacuum to remove dirt from the fins, and then give them a thorough spray with the garden hose. If the fins are very dirty, there are fin cleaning sprays specifically designed to remove the more persistent debris.
Once you’ve cleaned the fins, take a look to see if any of them are bent. Bent fins can cause a reduction in air flow, leading to decreased efficiency. Contact a professional air conditioner repair service if you need help to straighten the air conditioner fins.
5. Clean the air filters
The air filter captures the pollutants and hazardous particles that go through the AC unit. As a result, the filter quickly becomes clogged with dust and dirt. When the air filter is too dirty, it will obstruct regular airflow and cause a decrease in efficiency.
Air filters can be replaceable or reusable. Replaceable filters are usually made from a papery material, whereas reusable filters are made from a rubber or metal material. You should try to change replaceable air filters twice a year. If your AC unit has reusable filters, you should aim to clean them twice a year.
To clean the filters, wash them gently with dish soap and lukewarm water. The filters tend to be delicate, so make sure you handle them carefully to avoid damages.
6. Clean the air conditioner drain line
In addition, you should clean the air conditioner’s drain line. As the evaporator unit cools and dehumidifies the air from outside, it produces a liquid that runs through a thin plastic pipe to a drain in the floor of your basement. Over time, mould and algae have the potential to plug up the drain.
If you notice the drain is flowing slowly, you’ll need to unplug it. This can be done by applying a wet/dry vacuum on the end of the drain line. Keep vacuuming until the clog and any excess moisture are cleared from the drain.
As the winter season fades into a distant memory, many homeowners are starting to embrace the warmer weather. In the upcoming weeks, the sun might shine brighter, the days might feel longer, and the temperature might get a lot hotter. Eventually, there comes a time when the summer weather becomes too hot to endure. At this point, you’ll want to turn on the air conditioner and cool down from the sweltering heat.
Unfortunately, what if your AC won’t turn on for some reason? No matter how many times you tinker with the power switch, the air conditioner still doesn’t seem to be running. As frustration sets in, you may feel completely perplexed by why the air conditioner isn’t working. In some cases, you may need to contact an air conditioner repair service to find out what has gone wrong.
To help you troubleshoot this issue, below are the six possible reasons why your AC won’t turn on:
1. Your AC won’t turn on because there’s too much dust and dirt.
A likely reason why your AC won’t turn on is because of its poor upkeep. Dirt, dust, and debris all tend to quickly accumulate within an air conditioner system. When the AC unit is clogged with filth, this will affect its ability to operate efficiently or properly. If you haven’t been cleaning the air conditioner for a long time, there are probably excessive amounts of muck and grime within the unit.
Several air conditioner parts are especially vulnerable to dust and dirt, such as the air filters. Since this filter is designed to remove harmful pollutants from the air, it may become dirty rather easily. An unclean filter will obstruct the regular air flow of the AC system, potentially leading to equipment failure. To avoid this, you should make a habit of cleaning or changing the air filters on a regular basis.
2. Your AC won’t turn on because it’s too old & rusty.
Air conditioner problems become more frequent with growing age. The parts may deteriorate, the components can break down, and the equipment will naturally wear out over time. Once an air conditioner is more than ten years old, the risks of equipment failure will increase considerably. As the unit gets older and older, you may need to contact an AC repair service with alarming frequency.
Keep in mind that certain air conditioner parts may have less longevity than others. For instance, every air conditioner component might be working perfectly, all except for the dying condenser fan motor. If this is the case, it doesn’t mean you need a whole new AC unit. You can just replace the motor (or any specific part causing the problem) and the AC might turn on again after this fix.
3. Your AC won’t turn on due to the ice buildup.
Even though the winter season seems so long ago, this may not be your last encounter with frost and ice. You might feel surprised to find a buildup of ice inside your AC unit, particularly around the evaporator coils or the lines outside. The ice usually forms if the air filter is clogged or there is low refrigerant in the system.
This inefficiency means the AC does not have enough warm air passing the through the coil. As a result, the coil becomes colder than usual, which drops the temperatures below the freezing level. This causes internal parts of the coil and lines to collect ice all the way to the outside unit.
4. Your AC won’t turn on due to a thermostat problem.
A thermostat serves as the control panel for the air conditioning system. If your AC won’t turn on, the problem might potentially be traced back to this device. Some common thermostat problems include outdated software, faulty components, electronic glitches, and insufficient battery power. For troubleshooting, you can test the thermostat and check to see if all the settings are working properly.
5. Your AC won’t turn on because of the home’s wiring problem.
The problem with your air conditioner may not be an isolated incident. Inspect whether you can turn on the other electronics and appliances in your household. If several items do not have power either, this could signify an underlying issue with your home’s wiring system.
When the wires are broken or damaged, this may prevent sufficient power or communication from connecting to your household equipment, including the AC unit. You will need to contact an HVAC technician in order to resolve this issue.
6. Your AC won’t turn on due to a tripped circuit breaker.
A tripped circuit breaker can be the reason why your AC won’t turn on. As a safety measure, circuit breakers are supposed to shut off when they receive an overload of electricity. This often happens when too many appliances are being used at once, or an old appliance is hogging too much electricity. If there was a recent thunderstorm, the sudden power surge may have also tripped the circuit breaker.
To fix this issue, inspect the breaker box, specifically the breaker connected to the AC unit. If you discover the breaker has tripped, reset it and then try turning on the AC again. If the breaker shuts off again, there may be an underlying issue and you should contact an HVAC technician.
