How to Clean Air Conditioner Condenser Coil?

The most important Air Conditioning maintenance that needs to be done every year is the cleaning of the condenser coil. Doing the job of cleaning the A/C coil is the best way to make sure that your air conditioning system is working efficiently and giving you the best performance possible.


The tools needed to do the air conditioner condenser coil cleaning will be:


Garden hose with nozzle
Garden pump sprayer
Condenser coil cleaner (can be purchased at HVAC Supply houses, or many hardware type stores)
Hand tools needed to remove condenser fan


To do the job correctly you will need to first turn off the power to the unit and remove the condenser fan.








Once the condenser fan is removed then, you should wet down the condenser fins with a garden hose. Use nozzle that will give you a high volume spray but not with high pressure. Too much pressure will bend the fragile fins and cause them to shut off the ability of the air to flow through them, this is want you want to avoid. You want it to be as easy as possible for the air to get through the fins, for the best possible heat exchange.


After wetting the fins, you then will need to spray the fins inside and out with a foaming coil cleaner. Make sure to wear eye protection and hand protection. If you have sensitive skin, you may also want to wear long sleeves to protect exposed skin. I buy it in a concentrated formula then dilute it with water to the proper working formula. You may need to go over the fins a couple of times with the coil cleaner to get it worked into the fins. Allow the coil cleaner time to work the dirt loose and boil it out of the fins.









After about fifteen minutes start to rinse the coils with fresh water. This will take a long time and lots of water to fully rinse the coil cleaner from the fins. It also is very important that you get everything rinsed fully. Failure to do this will result in excessive dirt accumulation and also can cause corrosion. Make sure that the water is running clear and that all bubbles are gone before stopping your rinse.


Then reassemble the condenser fan, turn on the power, and check the operation of the unit. It is okay to run the unit immediately after washing it. The water will not hurt the unit.





You now will have an Air Conditioning unit that will give you the best possible performance!