When the time comes to clean your air conditioner, especially the outside unit, you may be nervous about spraying water on it. After all, one thing we were all taught when we were very young is that water and electrical appliances don’t mix. So how do you clean your outside AC unit?
The good news is that you absolutely can spray water on your air conditioner if it needs a cleaning, and nothing bad will happen. Spraying water on your AC’s condenser also helps it run more efficiently. In fact, your condenser needs a regular spritzing in order to keep doing a good job. Not something you’d expect from a device you need to plug in!
If you notice your air conditioner is water dripping or giving you trouble after you clean or spritz it, then rest assured that this is nothing more than a coincidence. When this happens, however, and you need to call a professional to come take a look, Ambient Edge is here for you. Just give us a call anytime day or night, and we can help your AC run correctly again.
Spraying Water on Your Air Conditioner
You can absolutely spray water on your air conditioner to clean it. You can use your reliable old garden hose, and you don’t even have to be gentle with it. Simply set it to a hard stream and run it over the unit from top to bottom for a thorough cleaning.
You’ll also need to give your condenser the occasional spray to help it run more efficiently. Though, of course, you don’t want to get those parts in an AC wet that should remain dry, or you’ll fry the machine and have a huge problem on your hands. While taking care of your condenser is a fairly easy job on its own, if you have any doubts at all, you should definitely call a professional for help rather than take a chance and kill your AC.
How “Spritzing” Helps
When you give your AC’s condenser the occasional spritz, this can work wonders for the efficiency of your machine. There are actually several benefits you can enjoy from this practice.
Improves Efficiency
When you spritz your condenser, you encourage it to evaporate the water, which helps it cool off more easily. It, therefore, needs to work less, which reduces the amount of energy it uses and the amount of burned energy you end up paying for in the long run.
Lengthens Its Lifespan
Further, by improving your air conditioner’s efficiency, you also lengthen its lifespan. The less it has to work, and the better you take care of it, the longer it will last. Side note: please take good care of your filters, cleaning them regularly and changing them every 60 to 90 days. A dirty filter can cause so many problems that you could otherwise avoid if you simply take good care of it.
Keeps It Clean
Spraying your air conditioner with water helps unstick the particles and debris that would otherwise build up over time in your air conditioner’s vents. The more stuff that builds up, the dirtier your filter gets – and it doesn’t catch all of it. Some of those particles will clog up the machine itself, eventually leading to costly repairs and replacements.
Cleaning Your AC Unit
While hosing down your AC is certainly effective when it comes to cleaning, there are additional tasks you can perform to help it run optimally and improve its overall performance.
Clean the Fins
In addition to the condenser, you can also clean your AC’s fins. First, use a soft brush to vacuum them down carefully, as they can bend or otherwise become damaged if you clean them too roughly. From there, you can modestly spray the fins with your hose from the inside of the unit. Remove the fan, then use moderate water pressure to remove some of the buildup on the fins.
Clean the Evaporator Coils
Cleaning your evaporator coils is important but not something everyone feels comfortable doing. This is something you may prefer to leave to the professionals.
Here is where you may find a preventive maintenance plan to be incredibly helpful. With preventive maintenance, you don’t have to concern yourself as much with the adequate cleaning and care of your air conditioner because you trust the professionals to do it for you.
Once a year, our team at Ambient Edge can stop by, make sure nothing is loose or malfunctioning, and clean your unit the way it’s meant to be cleaned to get it ready for the season ahead.
Need Help Cleaning Your Air Conditioner? Ambient Edge Is Here for You!
Cleaning an air conditioner isn’t necessarily a tough job, but you may be too worried that once you get in there, you may damage something or otherwise make a mess you’d rather not make. No worries – that’s what Ambient Edge is here for!
Call us or message us on our website to schedule service for your air conditioner. Don’t head into the warmer months unprepared – call Ambient Edge today and rest assured that your air conditioner is in good hands!