DIY HVAC Coil Cleaning

jesus christ dude, pay the frickin $150 to have the unit properly serviced, there is a lot more to it then just cleaning the coils

Not really.

Outside

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Outside

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Hose.

Unless you have a spiney coil on the outside unit and something like cotton wood build up. In that case a torch to burn off the cotton stuff works well.

I use a regular all purpose cleaner like Simple Green, a soft nylon brush, and the hose. I pull the fuses, take off the fan assembly, clean out whatever crud is inside, then clean it inside and out. My AC guy only comes out to check the refrigerant level and I haven't needed an ounce since I put a new system in 3+ years ago. My condenser unit is shieled by the house and not where grass clippings and dirt gets blown near it so it really doesn't need much to clean up.

Duh coil cleaner and a hose

Turn unit off from thermostat
Kill power at the disconnect

If either of these steps are beyond your comfort zone, call someone. No sense trying to save a few bucks and mess up something more expensive.

Undo the where the fan is attached, will differ on each unit. Spray water from inside of the coils out. Flow is more important than pressure. Will likely have dirt, pollen, insects, and grass clippings in between the fins. This will remove some of the big stuff. You can stop there and get good results.

You can also pick up aerosol cans of coil cleaner or they make it in a gallon jug

After you apply the cleaner, rinse with water. Again rinse from inside to out. Being careful not to bend the fins. Let dry, and put everything back like it was.

Did mine yesterday. I try to clean with only water every 3-4 months and use the cleaner once a year.

You have a point, it does have an etching effect on the fins, which is why I only use it once a year, I also use under the recommended mix ratio (8:1 water to cleaner for lightly soiled, I’m probably half of that) and rinse it extremely well. Annual service cleaning often involves using that exact cleaner. If there is a non corrosive cleaner that works as well as that I haven’t found it.

Different circumstances require different solutions.

I promise I’m conscious of how I cut grass, and blow off my driveway. I can’t say the same about my neighbor.

I’ve talked with quite a few HVAC people who say that those specific cleaning products have their place but should not be overused, thats actually how I found the stuff the stuff the first time. An application and proper rinse once a year is not enough to degrade the life expectancy of the metal of the fins, past the expectancy of the entire system.

Most leaks occur in the evaporator coil rather than the condenser coil which rarely gets cleaned with chemicals anyway.

Bump:
Just wanted to report back, HVAC tech, with company I’ve used since 93, came to the house yesterday to for the first, of the twice a year system check - clean coils, check refrigerant pressures, amperage draw on motors, check capacitor and contractor, blow out evaporator drain, place algaicide tablets in the evap coil pan. I decided to renew this service, primarily to re-check refrigerant levels, after being 1 lb low of R-22 last July.

He did use a chemical cleaning agent to clean outdoor coil, it did seem to remove a good bit of dirt/debris after washing it down with the hose, and I have been washing the outdoor coil a couple times a year with just water, seems it was 3 or 4 months ago when I last hosed it.

He also used a foaming chemical agent cleaner on the evaporator coil, I assume condensation dripping off the coil into the evaporator pan removes it in short order. Don’t know what the name of the HVAC cleaning products he used.

If anyone is interested in cost, $164 for the 2 visits, 6 months apart, he was at the house about an hour for this first visit. .