Easiest Ways to Clean Dust From Your A/C

As much as we love our air conditioning unit, they quickly collect dust and can be a pain to clean. Here are some easy tips for cleaning the dust from your air conditioner.

If summertime is finally around the corner, all most of us really want to do is relax in a perfectly air-conditioned, cool room and enjoy ourselves. It’s second nature when it’s hot outside to just flip on the air conditioning, but before you do that, it is very important to make sure your unit is in the best shape to be run all the time. It needs a good clean, and a quick check to make sure everything is working as it should.

Over the winter when it wasn’t being used, your air conditioning unit will have accumulated quite a lot of dust and grime. If you give your air filters a proper clean, this will ensure that you will be able to breathe in the freshest air you can when the A/C is running. As an added bonus, keeping the filter system clean and well-maintained will prolong the life of your air conditioning unit and help it to run more efficiently, using less power.

Cleaning your A/C is an easier process than you might think, but you will have to be prepared to put in a couple of hours of work to get it properly clean. Here are the steps that you need to take to get your air conditioning unit working at max capacity.

How To Properly Clean The A/C Filter

Before you start any cleaning, you should boot up the A/C system, run it, and then cycle it off to make sure that it is operating as it should. Look out for any issues when you do this, as you might need to make some repairs as well as clean.

If everything seems to be working correctly, turn off the main switch to your A/C and unplug the unit, to keep you safe while you work. Use a screwdriver to detach the front grill. This is the part on the A/C unit that looks like plastic slats and covers the unit. In most models, the filter is found behind this grill.

Carefully remove the filter. Check for any tears or other obvious damage. If you find any, stop cleaning. It’s better to just buy a new filter that will actually work properly.

With a vacuum cleaner, gently clean any dirt off the surface of the filters. Be very careful when you do this, as it’s easy to accidentally tear the filter. If it still looks grubby after a gentle vacuum, wash the filter with a mild detergent, and rinse well with warm water. A DIY detergent made from water and vinegar works well too. Just fill a large container with equal parts water and vinegar, and submerge the filter. Do not put your filter in the dishwasher.

Let the filter dry off, and then put it back into the unit. You’re done!