How Often Should You Clean Your Airconditioner

Cleaning your air conditioners

The moment technology took over the world, everyone has had the privilege of conveniently enjoying cool air through air conditioners.

Air conditioning units often referred to as AC, are considered among the most essential pieces of equipment that you’ll need to make yourself relaxed and at ease.

Thanks to the advancement of technology, manufacturers of air conditioners design ACs to not only have faster cooling rates but also save up to 60% electricity. The latest models now come with anti-dust filters, built-in stabilizers, as well as auto-adjust temperature features. These gadgets decrease humidity levels and purify the air by filtering out smoke particles, mites, and odors.

Nowadays, you’ll find air conditioners almost everywhere, which only proves that humans have become dependent on air conditioners to make themselves more comfortable especially during the stifling heat of summer.

But just like other equipment, air conditioning, air filters, coils, and fins also need some TLC which means it has to be regularly cleaned and maintained in order for it to function at peak efficiency.

Importance of a Clean Air Conditioning Unit

Having good health means eating clean and healthy foods, drinking clean water, and breathing clean air. However, imagine if you are breathing contaminated air day-by-day due to unclean filters from your air conditioner.

Safe from Allergies

Turning on an unclean and moldy air conditioner means spreading mold spores and bacteria into the air and your lungs thus exposing yourself, your family, friends, and colleagues to potentially serious, even deadly health problems. A moldy air conditioner is a cause of chronic illness, so fixing it right away would prevent you from catching viruses and bacteria.

Colder Air

Having a clogged air filter hinders the normal flow of air making your unit work harder than it should. In addition, when dust covers your evaporator coil, its ability to absorb heat is impaired, which further reduces the efficiency and the ability to cool your home. Thus, cleaning the aircon’s filter and removing any unwanted dirt will guarantee you a dramatic difference in cooler air production and allow it to perform more efficiently by reducing stress and pressure.

Electricity Bill Savings

As the dirt and dust get trapped in the air conditioner’s filter, it uses more energy and power for It produces quality air which results in higher electricity bills. Because of the tiny elements stuck inside it, the unit exerts extra effort into cooling air. Such air conditioners in general use anywhere between 5%-25% more electricity.  As a consequence, your electricity consumption also goes up and all trickles into more expensive electricity rates every minute. So, in order to save money while having the comfort of a cooler air temperature, it is important to act on this as soon as possible.

Prolonged Aircon Lifespan

Prolonging the lifespan of your air conditioner unit means performing preventive measures to ensure that you can experience the best air conditioner performance. Regular maintenance and cleaning of the filters guarantee you have continuous cool and clean air produced by the unit.

How Often Should Air Conditioners Be Cleaned

If Professional cleaners would answer, they would say it varies depending on how you are using your air conditioning units. For example, if you are using your unit regularly or during the summer, it’s highly advisable to have your unit serviced once every month to maintain maximum efficiency. However, if you are using it during the winter season, it’s better to have it serviced once every 3 months.

How to Clean Air Conditioners

Your air conditioning unit is composed of different parts that should be properly maintained and clean.

Properly cleaning your air conditioners

Filters

Filters in air conditioning units play an important job as they filter dust, pollen, pet dander, and other small particles out of the air that you breathe thus replacing or cleaning your air-conditioner’s filter is the number one maintenance task required. Cleaning your unit’s filter depends on the air conditioning unit that you have as filters are available in a mixture of types which all have different efficiencies. Some filters can be reusable and therefore can be cleaned regularly while other filters are disposable and will need to be replaced.

Condensation Drains

Condensation drains help to maintain the humidity of the environment however this can become clogged and will stop doing its function. Clogged drains can be easily noticed when there is water dripping from your indoor head unit. Professional cleaners can help you fix this issue as doing it yourself could cause more damage.

Coils

Dirty coils can reduce your unit’s ability to absorb heat which means your room will take a longer time to cool to the desired temperature and will use significantly more power as evaporator and condenser coils can collect dust and debris which reduces not only the amount of airflow but also the standard and this is where you could get stale smelling air blowing into the house.

It is recommended to look over the coils at least once per year. However, it still depends on the location of where the outdoor unit is placed. If outdoor units are placed in a dusty area or in a garden, then it is recommended to check it every 6 months. Dirty or damaged coils are suggested to be fixed by experts as fixing them yourself can cause further damage to your unit.

Why Professionals Should Do Them

Even though maid services or yourself can change and clean your aircon filters, it is highly advisable to consult with a professional through a commercial cleaning agency in order to have a guarantee that proper equipment and requirements are being met along with safety measures.

You can also take the opportunity to ask the professional cleaners for their recommended advice on how to maintain your ACs which is fairly and highly important as the technicians can assess the needs of your unit depending on its age and recent issues.