Preparing for Summer

Once winter leaves and the weather starts warming up it is time to crank up the air conditioner. Before you do this, however, you need to make sure you take care of some things. One of these things is cleaning the condenser unit. Below is some information about what the condenser unit is, as well as tips for cleaning it. This will reduce the chances of something happening to your air conditioner.

Condenser Unit

The condenser unit contains a fan, cooling fins, tubes, and a compressor. The fan inside the condenser unit pulls air through the cooling fins. A cooling refrigerant then cools the air, and the compressor pumps the air through the fan. This fan is what pushes the air into the duct system and then through the register vents inside your home.

As you can see the condenser unit is a very important part of your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. If something goes wrong with the con the HVAC unit would not be able to cool your home.

Clean the Condenser Unit Fins

You can clean the condenser unit fins on your own, but make sure to turn the power off to your HVAC system before you get started. If you are not sure if the power is completely off, turn the breaker off that powers the unit.

Clean the fins using a soft brush. Be careful as these fins are fragile and you can easily bend them. The fins are located under the metal box on top of the outside HVAC unit. Unscrew the screws that hold the box in place and then lift it off. If you are having problems finding the metal box, refer to the owner's manual for your unit. The fins are attached to the box so be gentle when you lift it.

If you see there are bent fins, there are fin combs that you can purchase to straighten the fins out. If a lot of the fins are bent, you should have a professional straighten them out for you.

Clean the Air Conditioner Condenser

You cannot remove the air conditioner condenser because it is attached to the unit with a lot of wires. These wires should offer some give, however. Ask someone to help you hold up the condenser unit and use a vacuum to remove any debris that you see. You may see leaves, dirt, or some varmints. When finished carefully lay the condenser unit back down. The main thing here is to ensure no wires are disconnected.

Lastly, turn the power back on for the HVAC unit and try the air to ensure it is cool. You should also hire a air conditioning repair services to inspect and service the entire air conditioning system.