How to clean an air conditioner

March 29th, 2012

Air Conditioners Appliance Talk

It’s time for some autumn cleaning!

Keeping the air in a house clean is an even greater consideration with the approach of winter and the bugs and germs it brings along.

Especially for allergy sufferers, as dusty, damp filters can be an excellent breeding ground for mould.

Dirty filters on air conditioner units will not only run less efficiently but they can even push through and circulate disease, such as Legionnaires’!

In spite of this a new survey has found that in Australia over two thirds of Generation X and Yers have never had their air conditioner cleaned.

It’s easy enough to call an appliance repair person to clean your air conditioner, but for the hands on types, here is a DIY guide. A filter should be checked and cleaned every six months for energy efficiency as much as healthy air.

How to clean an air conditioner

Firstly, check with the unit manual for any cautionary advice, or special instructions. Then turn off the electricity by unplugging the unit.

Check if the air filter is replaceable (in which case you will need to buy a new one) or whether you can simply remove, clean and replace it.

Most units have a removable front which can be easily pulled off. In some cases you’ll need to remove screws. Now you have access to the filter.

The same goes for removing the filter: it will either slide out or require unfastening.

To clean the filter, soak it in warm soapy water for half an hour or so then rinse it out. Now soak it in a mixture of warm water with white vinegar for an hour – this is important as it will kill any harmful bacteria or viruses.

Next, give it a gentle wipe and then dry out the filter completely. It’s essential that the filter is totally dry as you don’t want to mix electricity and water!

It’s as easy as vacuuming the unit to maintain the filter cleaner for longer.