How To's & Quick Tips > How To: Clean an Air Conditioner Help your hard-working air conditioner keep you cool this season and the next when you give your unit a much-needed scrub down. Air conditioners are our saving grace during sticky summers—there’s nothing quite like the relief of walking into a room that has the cool air blasting after hours in unrelenting 70-degree-and-sunny heat. But while we appreciate our ACs, we don’t often give them the treatment they deserve. Keeping your air conditioner clean not only benefits its efficiency, but it also improves the overall air quality in your home. Follow these simple steps to get your unit in tip-top shape. - Vacuum with brush attachment It’s incredibly important to start by unplugging the air conditioner before you even touch any cleaning tools—not doing so could put you at risk of an electrical shock. Once you’ve disconnected your unit, use a moist, soft cloth and a little bit of dish soap to rub off dirt or stains on the front and surface of the air conditioner.

Avoid using spray cleaners on the front of the air conditioner, and don’t put too much water on the cloth, as it can drip into the unit and cause damage. Remove the front cover. Some will come off simply with your hands, while others will require a screwdriver. Take note of where the screws belong, as they will need to be replaced the same way for the unit to fit together correctly. Carefully remove the filter and wash it using a mild dish soap and warm water. Give it a final rinse, then shake the excess water from it and let the filter air-dry. (If you are short on time, you can skip the suds and instead vacuum the filter using the brush attachment.) When you’re done with the filter, check the fins to see if any are bent; if so, use a fin comb to straighten them out. The fin blades are extremely sharp, so proceed with caution when working with them. Use the brush attachment to vacuum away any dirt or debris covering the interior evaporator or condenser coils. For a more intensive clean, spray specialized coil cleaner (found at your local hardware store) on the coils, and let them soak for approximately 10 minutes.

Then, rinse the coils off with water, but be careful not to get water on any nearby electrical parts of the unit. Next, move on to the outside of the unit and clean the exterior condenser coils with the brush attachment. Gently wipe down the fan blades with household cleaner or a soft cloth. Make sure everything is fully dry, and then carefully reassemble your unit. Although your air filter should be cleaned every month during the warm-weather season, you might also consider completing this deep-clean process at the beginning and end of each summer to extend the life of your air conditioner.USE A CLEANING PRODUCT THAT CONTAINS ENZYMES TO CLEAN CAR INTERIOR SMELL: Odor problems in your cars ac system are easy to remove with ac car interior cleaners. The best way to remove your cars interior ac odor is to use a cleaner that uses enzymes. Enzymes in cleaners kill odors at the source and completely kill the smelly substance material and therefore stopping the a bad smell. Do not use common household cleaners as most do not have enzymes and the majority are just heavily perfumed which only masks the smell.

How To Remove Smells From Your Cars A/C Vent SystemREMOVING CIGARETTE SMOKE FROM A CARS INTERIOR: Cigarette smoke is probably the hardest of the smells to remove from your cars ac vents. where is the coil on my ac unitThe smoke from cigarettes gets into everything within your cars interior. ac unit thermostat controlYou can remove the tobacco stench by shampooing the carpets, the upholstery and the headliner using an enzyme based cleaning product. air conditioning units for horizontal sliding windowsAfter cleaning these areas of your car it is best to use an Odor Neutralizer with enzymes to finish the job and remove smoke smell for good. Does your vehicle need a new Cabin Air Filter? Find it and replace it yourself!

WHY YOUR CARS AC VENTS MAY SMELL BAD: If the bad smell is coming directly out of the cars air conditioning (A/C) system then there are a few methods to try. The air that comes into your car through the interior ac vents goes past the cars evaporator. Water condenses around the coils on the evaporator and the moisture on the evaporator makes it easy for harmful air particles, dust, dirt, pollen, spores and germs to enter your cars interior. These air particles form harmful and smelly substances such as bacteria, mites, and fungus.Removing and replacing a dirty cabin air filter on your car can stop that bad smellCHECK YOUR CARS REPLACEABLE CABIN AIR FILTER: Newer cars have an air filter inside the cabin of the car that removes bad smells from the air that comes into the car. You can look in your owners manual to find out if your car had a removable air filter installed. If your car has an air filter, then remove and replace it with one that your car manufacturer recommends. Sometimes after replacing the dirty air filter that horrible smell can still be present.

If the smell remains you can get your car an A/C and heating system cleaning. These A/C System Cleaners are sprayed into the exterior air intake vents (located just underneath the windshield wipers) and the inside the cars vents. These cleaners kill odors that are actually inside your cars ac vent system.HOW TO CLEAN THE CARS AC VENT SYSTEM: First turn on the ac to full, make sure the “recirculate” button is not on, spray a large amount of cleaner with odor killing enzymes into the EXTERIOR air intakes that are located just below the windshield wipers, let the car run for about 10 minutes with the ac on, after 10 minutes turn off ac and spray the cleaner into the ac vents on the INSIDE of your car. After doing all this, let the car sit for 20 minutes turned off and windows rolled up. Then repeat if the smell is still in the car. By doing this you are killing the bacteria or mold in the car ac vent ducts and also the evaporator mold that may be present. A/C Vent Odor Cleaner Spray For Your CarPlease Share Our Helpful DIY Information