In This Post:
Change Air Filters
Clean Heat Exchangers
Clear Debris near the Outdoor Unit
Optimise Airflow
Inspect Refrigerant and Insulation Pipes
Clean the Evaporator Coil
Fix Leaks
Remove Ice Build-up
If you have an air-conditioner in your home, you’ll agree that the biggest challenge of owning one is paying for its pricey repairs and ensuring its maintenance during the off-season. To help you in this regard, here’s our take on easy air conditioner repairs and maintenance tips. You can also add it to your summer home maintenance checklist.
This guide will help you detect minor issues in the cooling units before they turn into expensive air-conditioning repairs or breakdowns. We’ll also share a few tips to help you make your AC run as efficiently as possible to ensure maximum cooling and lower energy bills.
So, without further ado, let’s get your air-conditioner working!
Tips to Repair an Air-Conditioner at Home and Easy Maintenance Tricks to Save Money
Given the weather conditions in the southern parts of Pakistan, most homeowners rely on air conditioners until late September and even October in cities like Karachi to keep them cool. As you would expect, most of us tend to easily forget about our dear air-conditioners as soon as the first breeze of winter hits. The due maintenance gets pushed back, and we end up paying for pricey repairs in the next season. In fact, some of us end up replacing the old one with a new one.
So, to make preventative maintenance super-convenient and comprehensive for you, here’s our compilation of a few easy air-conditioner repairs and maintenance tips to save you some money:
- Change Air Filters
- Clean Heat Exchangers
- Clear Debris near the Outdoor Unit
- Optimise Airflow
- Inspect Refrigerant and Insulation Pipes
- Clean the Evaporator Coil
- Fix Leaks
- Remove Ice Build-up
Change Air Filters
It might sound like a cliché or a worn-out trick, but changing or cleaning the air filters in your AC is crucial if you want to avoid paying for costly repairs. As you would expect, the cooling unit of your air conditioner is a host for dust and other airborne allergens like pollen, mites, dander, and even fallen hairs. Depending on how often and how long your AC runs, you should change the air filters annually and clean them every ten to fifteen days.
Besides being a magnet for dirt and dust, an uncleaned air filter also hinders airflow, which can drastically result in less cooling and eventually cause leakages. Ignore it for too long, and you will end up with a damaged cooling system that will need repairs, maybe replacement. Cleaning the air filter is incredibly easy and can be done at home without hiring a professional. Here’s what you need to do:
- Turn off the AC and turn off the main switch as well.
- Lift the front panel of your cooling unit until you hear a click. By holding the hinges gently from both sides, you can easily remove the front panel.
- Using a damp cloth, remove all the dust from the front panel of the wall unit. You can even wash it using a solution of liquid soap and water. Keep it aside for drying.
- Now, get to the air filters and slowly remove them by pushing them upwards.
- Remember the correct placement of both air filters and which one goes where to avoid inconvenience later.
- Gently wash both air filters with lukewarm water and remove all the dust and dirt gathered on it.
- Place both air filters aside and allow them to dry.
- Once everything has dried, put everything back in its place.
Some air filters have a secondary air filter within the frame placed at the back and mostly placed downward. This is the air-cleaning filter. You should clean this secondary filter every three months, the same way you clean the primary air filters and replace it annually if need be.
Remember to carry out the cleaning with gloves and a face mask if you have a dust allergy. Place all the things away from the reach of children or pets while cleaning or drying.
Clean Heat Exchangers
After you have removed the front panel and air filter, the next thing on our list of easy air-conditioner repairs and maintenance tips is cleaning the heat exchangers, which is often ignored. The heat exchanger is a part of your wall unit, as shown in the picture above. Cleaning the heat exchanger of your cooling unit is a rather expert task, but you can do it yourself by following the instructions mentioned below:
- Take a small and soft brush – you can use an old toothbrush for this purpose.
- Wear gloves and a face mask if you have a dust allergy.
- Follow the fins of the heat exchanger and start brushing vertically.
- Brush the central part and the hidden spots in the corners as well.
- Brush gently until all the dust has been removed.
- Directions are critical and ignoring them can damage the fins of the heat exchanger.
Before you start cleaning the heat exchangers, make sure that the air-conditioner is turned off and hasn’t been used for at least five hours. This precaution will help you avoid the moisture or heat that builds up in the cooling unit.
Clean Debris Near the Outdoor Unit
Next on our list of tips to repair an air-conditioner at home is cleaning debris from the outdoor unit – a vital part of a split AC. It is also known as a compressor or condenser in the local lingo. The main function of this unit is to convert the gaseous refrigerant into a liquid state to pump air to the indoor unit in your room.
The outdoor unit often seems like a piece of complex machinery, and its maintenance sounds like something undoable to many. To understand it better, you should know that it comprises three major components: the compressor, condenser, and a large fan, which is most visible through its body.
If the amount of dust gathered in your wall unit is surprising, imagine the scenario with your outdoor unit that has been sitting either on your balcony, yard, or roof forever, and is always in direct contact with dust and debris.
If you have ignored your outdoor unit for too long, now is the time to pay a little attention to it. To maximise the cooling of an air-conditioner and avoid the pricey repairs, be sure to clear out the outdoor unit from dust and everything that can potentially block the heat transfer.
You can further inspect whether the placement of your outdoor unit is correct or not by taking a look at the things mentioned below:
- Make sure the compressor is not covered with fallen leaves and is clear of grass crippling if it’s placed in the garden or yard.
- Inspect the outdoor unit and look for debris that managed to get inside the fan.
- Camouflaging your compressor is a no-no.
- Do not put any fences around it.
- Make sure at least two to three feet of the area around the compressor is clear and clean.
Remember that the lifespan of your air-conditioner decreases when you do not pay attention to the outdoor unit. Avoid forcing it to work harder than it already is. The condenser fins are extremely delicate, so never wash them with water or use a pressurised hose. If the outer body of the compressor is dirty, use a damp cloth to clean it.
Before you begin the maintenance and inspection, make sure that you shut the AC off and turn off the main switch as well. Read the manual and follow all the safety protocols. Trust us when we say this – once you have followed all the steps mentioned in this section, you will notice a significant reduction in your energy bills.
Optimise Airflow
Optimising the airflow in your cooling unit is a tricky business, but we have you covered with our compilation of tips to repair an air-conditioner at home. That said, here’s a list of things you should do to improve the airflow and maximise the cooling of an air-conditioner:
- Keep the air filters cleaned and replace them if need be.
- Make sure that the air ventilation system in your home is clean and not blocked.
- If there’s any leakage in the wall unit or compressor, take care of it immediately.
- Seal up the room while the AC is turned on.
- Pay attention to window cracks.
- Limit the traffic in the room when the AC is working.
- A ceiling fan can suppress the cold air, so remember to switch it off as soon as you turn on the AC.
- Keep the temperature moderate and run your AC on 24 degrees.
Moreover, optimised airflow can also help you save the cost of air-conditioner service and maintenance. No matter how tempted you are, avoid closing or sealing the vents to restrict airflow. It might seem like a good idea if the repairman has suggested it, but in the long run, it could harm the cooling system.
Inspect Refrigerant and Insulation Pipes
The next item on our checklist for AC maintenance is refrigerant and insulation pipe. The refrigerant pipe is a delicate part of your AC, and it can get damaged with poor handling and less maintenance. In order to avoid the pricey repairs of your air-conditioner, you should:
Conduct a quick inspection of the refrigerant pipe and its insulation during springtime or before you turn on the AC in summer. If you are wondering where it is situated, well, it is quite visible, and it connects your wall unit to the outdoor unit. You will notice that the refrigerant pipe is covered with a foam-like pipe, which is used to provide protection. This coverage is called an insulation pipe.
If you notice any cracks or disintegration in the insulation, replace it immediately. Before you begin, remember to shut down the AC, along with the main switch. Take all the necessary precautions that are mentioned in the user manual. Afterwards, measure the length of the current insulation pipe, so you can purchase a new one if needed.
The foaming pipe is a popular type of insulation in Pakistan since it is cheap and extremely easy to handle. It is available in almost every market. The price of a refrigerant pipe is PKR 125 per foot, while an insulation pipe can cost you around PKR 160 per foot. A brand new, 10 feet refrigerant pipe, along with insulation, can cost you around PKR 2,000 in Pakistan. It is mostly known as the AC connecting pipe.
We recommend that you only buy the insulation pipe and leave the refrigerant pipe to the experts or professionals. If the refrigerant pipe is broken or damaged, call a professional to help you out. After you have bought the insulation pipe, follow the steps mentioned below:
- Clean out the old insulation pipe by carefully stripping it off the refrigerant pipe.
- Take the insulation pipe and cut it open – you will notice a slit cut that is present by default and would be equal to the length of the refrigeration pipe.
- Fit the insulation pipe properly over the refrigerant pipe.
- Seal the pipe with white or red tape from both ends and a little in the middle to avoid slipping.
Moving forward, if you are still wondering whether changing the insulation pipe can help you or not and would it really make much of a difference – the answer is YES. Fixing the insulation can save you a lot of money that you spend on the seasonal maintenance of an AC. You would be surprised to know that almost 10 percent of the cooling capacity of your wall unit depends on the stability of the refrigerant pipes.
Clean the Evaporator Coil
Right after the insulation pipe, the evaporator is the second most important part of your cooling box. It is situated underneath the body of the wall unit and is used to absorb the heat blown from the outdoor unit. The evaporator needs to be cleaned seasonally or annually. The ideal time to clean it is during spring – right before you feel that you will need the AC in a few days.
Before you step into this type of ac maintenance, make sure you have nothing else on your list since cleaning it is more of an in-depth process and requires your undivided attention. The cleaning is quite easy if you have a chemical spray. An evaporator coil cleaner is readily available in the market, and it can cost you around PKR 3,000 to PKR 6,000 depending on the volume. Make sure you buy ‘no rinse’ cleaners.
However, locating the evaporator coil is the tricky part. Take a look at the user manual, and you will be able to detect where it is situated. If you still can’t do it, we have the answer. As mentioned earlier, the evaporator coil of the AC is a part of the wall unit. It is most commonly found sitting on the top of the furnace. You cannot jump into cleaning it directly because you will need to remove the plastic body of the split AC first. Follow the steps mentioned below:
- Remove the front panel following the instructions mentioned above (air filter section).
- Unfasten the centre, right, and left shafts of the horizontal wind blade and remove them. The wind blade is the same part as the one that is used for swinging the air.
- Remove the two screws placed under the wind blades. Be sure to put them somewhere safe once you have unscrewed them.
- Detach the three hooks at the top of the plastic body of your wall unit. You will now be able to take out the plastic body.
- Shake the spray bottle and spray it carefully on the evaporator coil. You will notice a foam building up.
- Wait for the foam to soak and reverse all the steps to put back the plastic body.
Fix Leaks
Knowing how to unclog the condensation drain can help you save thousands of rupees you will otherwise spend on the maintenance of your air-conditioner. It is one of the most common problems faced by people who have ACs in their homes, and it’s certainly not a cheap fix. If you call a professional ac repairman in Pakistan, they can easily charge you around PKR 3,000 to PKR 5,000 for this job.
At this point, we would like you to know that you can avoid being overcharged for a job that is relatively cheaper and doesn’t take much time to fix.
Before the unclogging, you will have to identify whether you have a clogged condensation drainage system or not. There are two ways for it: first, if you notice water around the wall unit, you should know that it is time to unclog the drainage system. Secondly, and perhaps most obvious, is when your AC stops cooling – even if you have just filled the gas.
Now, let’s pick up from where we left off. The best method to unclog the condensation is to use the vacuum cleaner and follow these steps:
- Remove the plastic body of your wall unit following the steps mentioned before.
- You will find the condensation drainage pipe at the bottom of the cooling unit.
- The drain hose will be attached to the hose leading to the unit, usually with electrical tape. You will need to detach both of these in order to clean it.
- Make sure you have placed a bucket underneath, so the water goes into it once you have detached it.
- Once it is detached, take the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner and fit it over the drainpipe to suck out all the dirt.
- Repeat the same with the hose that leads outside.
Remember to call a professional if you are not confident, or any part of the drain line seems inaccessible. Do not put force on any parts of the AC, you can easily end up with a broken one.
Remove Ice Build-up
Last on our list of tips to repair an air-conditioner at home is removing ice build-ups. Before we begin, we would like to warn you that ice build-up on any component of your AC is not normal. Do not wait for any problem to occur, and never assume that the ice build-up is just accidental. In fact, it is a sign that your AC might stop working in a few days.
When you notice any ice build-up around your cooling unit, the first thing you need to do is to shut down the AC, turn off the main switch, and allow the ice to melt.
Do not try to force melt the ice with a dryer, or scrape it away. Doing this can damage the AC, and it might stop working. Simply allow it to melt on its own. Usually, ice build-ups are caused by any of the two reasons mentioned below:
- Airflow: A dirty, damaged, or broken air filter can cause ice to build around your cooling unit. Check the air filters immediately and if that’s the problem, clean or replace them. The price of an air filter in Pakistan is around PKR 1,500.
- Low Level of Refrigerant: If it’s not air filters, then it is probably a low level of refrigerant. It is known as gas in the local lingo. At this point, you need to call a professional for help and avoid replacing or adding more refrigerant by yourself at any cost.
This wraps up our post on tips to repair an air-conditioner at home. We have mentioned some of the most common problems that occur with your cooling units. These simple and easy air-conditioner repairs and maintenance tips can help you save a lot of money. If you have any further questions, you can write to us at blog@zameen.com.
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