How To Maintain Your Outside AC Unit

As the seasons change and the weather warms, many homeowners start to think about their air conditioner, knowing it won’t be long before they rely on it to cool their homes again. But sometimes, improper maintenance of the AC’s outdoor component throughout winter leaves it in bad shape, causing cooling problems when using it. In this guide, we’ll explain how to clean your outdoor AC unit and how often to do it, plus explain why this AC maintenance task is so important. Let’s take a look!

Why Outdoor AC Unit Maintenance Is Important

Before we can understand why maintaining an outdoor AC unit is so essential, we need to learn how these systems work. 

An air conditioner cools your home by absorbing heat from the home with pressured refrigerant that turns into a gas. Your air conditioner’s compressor (located indoors) repressurizes that refrigerant and sends it to the condenser coils in your outdoor AC unit. From here, the condenser fan blows cold air on the coils to cool them down, allowing the heat to dissipate outside and the refrigerant to become liquid again. The liquid refrigerant is cycled back into the house to absorb more warm air, and the process continues.

However, issues can arise when your outdoor unit is clogged, dirty, or damaged. This restricts airflow, which makes it harder for your air conditioner to release the heat from your home. This means it will take longer for your home to cool down, and you’ll be paying more for utilities at the same time. Without AC repairs, this will eventually cause a total system shutdown, which is expensive and time-consuming.

Fortunately, avoiding these issues is as simple as periodically cleaning your outdoor AC unit.

Step-by-Step Guide: How To Clean Your Outdoor AC Unit

We understand the components of an air conditioner and how they work. Now, how do you clean an AC condenser outside of the home? We can break down the process into 10 simple steps.

Step one: Gather your tools

First, you’ll need to get a few tools and supplies together. You’ll need the following tools to clean your outdoor AC unit thoroughly:

• Air conditioner coil cleaner (check your AC manufacturer’s recommendations for picking the right one)
• Vacuum cleaner with a soft brush head
• Water hose with spray nozzle
• Work clothes, work gloves, and eye protection
• An AC fin comb

With these tools together and your safety gear on, it’s time to begin your outdoor AC unit maintenance.

Step two: Turn off the thermostat

Head to your indoor thermostat and switch it to the ‘off’ position. This is mostly a precaution, as we’ll disconnect the unit from power anyway, but it’s always a good idea to do this step.

Step three: Switch off the air conditioner

Near your outdoor AC unit, find the electrical disconnect. This is typically a small metal box attached to an exterior wall, though it can sometimes be elsewhere. Once you find it, open the box and find the switch that controls the air conditioner, usually a pullout switch or a circuit breaker. Pull out the plug or flip the breaker to the off position to shut off your air conditioner.

Step four: Remove large debris

Next, you’ll need to remove any large pieces of debris from the air conditioner unit by hand. It’s important to wear tough work gloves here, as the metal condenser fins are surprisingly sharp and can easily cut you if you’re not careful. While you’re at it, we suggest clearing debris from the area around the unit to prevent future buildup.

Step five: Vacuum the condenser fins

There may be more bits of debris that are too small to remove by hand. Clip your soft brush attachment to your vacuum, and carefully vacuum the condenser fins. Be gentle as you do this, as the fins are quite delicate and can bend out of shape easily. 

Step six: Straighten the condenser fins

If you did bend a fin or two (or if they were already bent when you started working), it’s time to straighten them. You need a fin comb for this step — you may be tempted to improvise with pliers or another tool, but there’s a good chance you’ll just do more damage. Fortunately, fin combs are cheap and easy to find. Simply pull the comb through areas with bent fins, gently straightening them back out. 

Step seven: Spray the unit with water

Once most of the debris is out and your fins are straightened, attach your spray nozzle to your garden hose and spray the unit down. Be aware of the water pressure, as high-pressure sprays can bend the fins you just worked to straighten out. Spray the entire unit, removing any grass and leaves you missed in the previous steps.

Step eight: Spray the unit with coil cleaner

With your unit rinsed, it’s time to apply the coil cleaner. Spray the entire outside with the coil cleaner, and leave it to sit and work for about 10 to 15 minutes. The cleaner should foam as it sits, bonding to dirt and debris and removing it easily.

Step nine: Rinse the unit again

After the coil cleaner has sat for a while, turn your hose back on and spray the unit clean.

Step ten: Turn the AC on and test

Finally, you can turn the AC back on at the electrical box and adjust your thermostat as needed. See if you notice an improvement immediately as the air conditioner cools your home. Even if you can’t, you’ll see the difference when you get your next electrical bill.

How Often Should You Schedule Professional AC Maintenance?

As your AC unit sits outside through the winter, it’s common for it to get clogged, dirty, and damaged. This leads to reduced efficiency and lackluster cooling power, a frustrating problem to discover as the weather heats up.

While outdoor AC unit maintenance is a fairly straightforward DIY task, many homeowners are too busy to do it as often as they should. We recommend doing this AC upkeep job at least once a year, ideally in spring, before you need to start using the air conditioner again. 

Working with a professional is the best option to maximize your air conditioner’s performance. They will quickly and efficiently clean your AC unit and help with many other tasks, such as identifying the source of strange AC noises, checking refrigerant levels, and other key parts of preparing an air conditioner for summer.

Get Ready for Summer With Fleetwell

We know that your air conditioner is essential during our warm California summers, so you can count on our team to get it in perfect working order in time. Our HVAC technicians are skilled, experienced, and courteous. They will work efficiently and carefully to service your air conditioner, improving its effectiveness and efficiency. If you need AC repair or a tune-up, we have you covered — contact us today!