Like many of you, I had put off cleaning the aircons in my house. And to save a few bucks, I thought, “Aircon cleaning? How hard can it be to do it myself?” But, I was wrong. The first one took so long that I couldn’t bear doing the rest, so I just called a professional in the end.
Here’s why cleaning my own aircons was such a disaster for me.
The Easy Part
I lifted up the casing, pulled out the front filters, and gave them a good wash. That was easy enough. But, as it turns out, that’s like washing the wheels of your car and thinking you’ve done a full service. The real problem was hidden deep inside, in places I couldn’t even see, let alone clean properly.
Next, I decided to tackle the evaporator coils. These are thin metal fins under the filters. I gave it a vacuum, but some of the fins were caked with a weird goop. So I grabbed a brush and started trying to clean them. But those fins are delicate. I ended up bending a few (!).
Then, I focused on the drain pan. This is a little tray that catches the condensation. I looked inside, and it was a slimy mess. I tried to wipe it down, but it’s hard to reach without unscrewing the side panel. After a long time, i figured out where the screws where and managed to get them off, and the moment I did, the pan tilts to one side and spills all the slimy water on the floor.
Feeling a bit defeated, I decided to try and clean the blower wheel. I managed to get it out since I had already unscrewed the panels. But it’s hard to clean without rinsing it with a water jet. Then, putting it back is another thing. I just couldn’t get it to sit right. I was worried that when I turned the aircon back on, it would vibrate like crazy, or fall out and break something.
There was one last section of the indoor unit that I didn’t dare to clean, which was the electrical panel. It has some dust on it, but i didn’t dare to vacuum that in case I short circuited something. So that part was left out. How unsatisfying.
Once I closed up the indoor unit. I looked at the outdoor unit. It was outside my window on a bracket mounted to the wall. I would have to open my window grille, climb out on the roof to wipe it. I wasn’t about to try an be Spiderman, so i didn’t touch it.
The Truth: DIY Did Not Work For Me
I spent nearly an trying to figure out how to open and clean my first aircon, and I ended up doing some damage. And the thing wasn’t even properly clean in the end. And I still had 3 more units to clean.
So I gave up and called a pro. They fixed everything I’d messed up, cleaned the unit properly, and even found a few problems I hadn’t noticed. They did it quickly, efficiently, and safely.
My Advice: Save Yourself the Trouble
So, here’s my advice: don’t try to do it yourself. It’s not worth the risk. Save yourself the time, money, and headaches, and call a professional. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.
Are you a homeowner who’s thinking about DIY aircon servicing? Don’t. Learn from my mistake. Contact a professional air-conditioning service, and get it done right. You’ll thank me later.