Keep it clean
Summer is almost upon the inhabitants of Sarasota. Cue the hot and humid weather of this southwestern coastal city of Florida. Before it gets too hot, you might want to take a look at your outside air conditioner unit. Next time you’re out in town, perhaps coming home from Lido Beach Pool or Lido Key Beach, consider stopping by a wholesale air conditioner shop or home improvement retail store if you need any of the tools required for the cleaning tips mentioned in this article.
Tools for the job:
- Hedge trimmers / weed eater
- Vacuum cleaner
- Screwdriver
- Garden hose
- Wash rags
- Mild cleaning agent
- Fin comb
- Replacement AC filters
First things first
Forget an AC replacement. Now that you’ve got what you need to do the job, you’ll fly through this process in a breeze and have your air conditioner look and run cleaner than before. Be sure your air conditioner is shut off before any cleaning takes place.
Make way for air
Your air conditioner needs plenty of breathing space, so it’s important to clear approximately three feet around it. This includes clearing out: overgrown grass, shrubs, leaf piles. After this simple task is completed, we’re now ready to move onto the condenser unit, aka, the air conditioner located beside your home.
Suck it up
The first glance at your air conditioner after a long bout of neglect may not be a pretty sight. Fear not, a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner should be able to suck up a lot of the dirt and dust that have found a home on your air conditioner. Now let’s look inside.
Open it up, rinse it out
Using a screwdriver, or by simply unlatching the clips, open the top grate of your air conditioner. If the fan blades are dirty, be sure to wipe them down with a clean washrag and mild soap. Any conceivable thing that could impede the airflow inside the air conditioner should be cleaned out. The cleaner the better. After the fan blade is spotless, remove it if necessary to access further into the condenser unit. Do your best not to disturb the wires it’s connected to, and cover it with something waterproof, since we’re hosing it down.
Once the fan is out, it will be easier to hose out the vertical fins that line the condenser. Be sure to thoroughly rinse out between the small spaces that dirt and dust love to reside. Don’t forget to put the fan back in and screw the top grate back on!
Straighten up
I’m sure you’ve seen it before: crooked fins on your air conditioner. They’re just so delicate that it’s almost inevitable that you’ll have to deal with crooked and bent fins on your air conditioner. Well luckily for you, there is a tool specifically designed for this job. Carefully run the fin comb through the bent fins and you’ll be amazed at how quickly they’ll be looking in no time.
Replace
Look at your air filters. If any of them appear worn out or grimy, you’ll want to replace them. Having a clean filter is vital for a smoothly running air conditioner. It keeps dirt and dust out of your living space, and away from the other components of the ventilation system. This means a longer-lasting air conditioner and a saved trip to a wholesale air conditioner store for an AC replacement.