How to clean your air conditioner's splits and ensure optimal functioning
Dinkun Chen/Wikimedia Commons
The stifling heat of summer forces many of us to use air conditioners extensively/continuously, and this can have a negative impact on the quality of the air we breathe. To ensure proper hygiene standards and prevent malfunctioning of the air conditioning system itself, it is highly recommended that you clean the "splits" of the system properly. But what does this mean? Well, keep reading to find out more:
What are the "splits" of an air conditioning system?
The splits of an air conditioning system are the internal units that blow air at a set temperature into the rooms. Many also call these units the "blowers". Splits (or blowers) are typically wall-mounted on the inside of the home/office, while the rest of the system (ie. the compressor and main motor) is usually installed on the outside. In other words, the complete system is split between its interior and exterior components (hence, the use of the terms "split" and "splitters"). As splitters are more commonly known as "blowers", we'll use this term for the remainder of this article.
How to clean the air conditioner's blowers
To thoroughly clean a blower, you need to unplug it and remove its front panel. If this is uncharted territory for you, it is best to check out some online tutorials first. If, after watching these, you are not confident you can get the job done yourself, contact an expert.
- If you're happy to proceed yourself, however, remove the front panel of the blower (as mentioned above), exposing its internals. The panel itself (which does not have any electrical contacts), can be cleaned separately. Ensure it is completely dry before reassembling it. To clean the panel, we recommend using a degreaser with bactericidal or germicidal agents.
- Now, you can move on to clean the blower's filters.
The nature of this task will depend on the specific model of your blowers, so make sure you consult the user manual if you have any doubts. The filters the very fine mesh grills inside the blower where dirt and most of the germs and bacteria are trapped.
Most filters can be easily removed from blowers, so you should go ahead and do this, working gently. Once removed, vacuum up the bulk of the dirt and grime from both sides of the filter, ensuring the vacuum attachment/brush does not damage the delicate fliter mesh. Once done, you can move on to washing the filter. This can be done in the shower, the bathtub or in a sink and using just hot water. If you want, you can also gently rub a mixture of diluted dishwashing liquid and hydrogen peroxide over the filter. - Now, you're ready to tackle the wall-mounted part of the blower:
Using a damp microfibre cloth, a brush or the vacuum cleaner with an appropriate attachment, remove all visible dirt and grime.
Once done, get another cloth and spray it with the mixture described above (ie. diluted dishwashing liquid and hydrogen peroxide), or use a commercially-available sanitizing product. Rubthe cloth over all the plastic parts thoroughly, but ensure you do not touch any electrical components. Make sure the cloth does not drip in/on the blower's components.
End the cleaning by wiping down all the surfaces with a clean, dry microfiber cloth. - Drying: do not reassemble the blower's components until they have dried out thoroughly. You should only reassemble the blower when each component is "bone dry".
Sanitizing routines and products
Experts advise using 75% ethyl alcohol to sanitize all the components and surfaces of a blower. Alternatively, the mixtures we've described above will suffice.
Experts also advise cleaning the blowers at least once every three months. That said, if you use your air conditioning system extensively and/or continuously, you can increase this cleaning frequency to once every two months (or even once a month, if necessary).
With a clean and sanitized air conditioner, the air you breathe indoors will be healthier for you and will also help prevent the system from malfunctioning.
