How to Clean Window AC (No Coil Cleaners)
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- čas přidán 13. 09. 2024
- How to clean a window air conditioner like a pro! A great thing to do if you air conditioner is not cooling like it used to. The hardest part about cleaning your AC is that you have to take it out of the window and bring it outside. All you need to clean it is just water. Any foam or liquid cleaners and soap are actually not necessary. Just a hose with water and a rag is all you need. You will probably spend more time taking it apart and putting it back together than actually cleaning the A/C. I hope your cleaning project will go smoothly for you though! Good luck.
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Being myself an AC tech I service these almost on a daily basis. I never remove them from the wall and the costumer won't do it. Also, all I do is buy lysol Household foaming solution spray it on the coils spray water on the coils Wipe them down with a plastic brush and Walla.
However, great video, if you want to take it apart and clean it the right way.
Thank you for sharing real life experience! If you can't take it out, then yes. What you described would be the next best thing. But if you are interested to see how well this actually cleans the coils, just watch the end of this video: czcams.com/video/nVLRm_S0zto/video.html
@@WordofAdviceTV Hey, can you make a video explaining why our 410 a is going to get phased out?
Walla? It’s VOILA my boy
Have cleaned hundreds of condenser units and quite a few furnace fan motor squirrel cage fans. Even had one fan motor blower fan so dirty with caked on dirt, and I didnt have a power washer handy, I took it off and took it to a self-serv car wash and used their power wash wand to clean it! LoL. True story. But have to admit, never have cleaned a window air conditioner. But in case i ever do, thanks for the tips Jay!
I love it! You actually took the blower wheel to a car wash. 😄 That's genius and I'm sure that cleaned it out real good. Thank you for sharing!
Yeah, cleaning a window AC is pretty much the same as cleaning a split unit but there's an added bonus of having to take the thing apart. 😅
You forgot to tell us about putting a few drops of oil on the fan motor shaft where it goes into motor. Even if there are no places to put oil in it helps keep the motor spinning freely. Done this on mine for years.
That's actually a good one! I wanted to mention that but forgot to do so. To tilt the unit on its face and put some oil on the shaft right where it is going into the motor. Thank you for at least mentioning it in the comments! It's rare but sometimes the motor can seize up after a good washing. A little bit of oil and spinning it back and forth would get it back up and running.
No way, yesterday I was saying this was the last year for this window unit, and here you are today, Jay. 😁 Thanks Buddy!
Isn't it wild how that happens? 😄 You talk about something and the next thing you know, you see someone posting about it. You're welcome!
Thank you for doing this. Great info and 'how to'. All of the basics can be applied to so many appliances; don't get the electronics wet, don't use chemicals and don't use a lot of pressure by hand or sprayer. Thx for filming this and sharing it with us.
You're welcome! You're right, these basics can be applied across the board! 🙂 Thank you for stopping by for the new video, have a marvelous new week!
@@WordofAdviceTV - you have a marvelous new week, too.
Very good '' How to '' vid Jay ... And the little girl that buried her flashlight , tells me she is full of compassion & doesn't attend school very much Aloha my friend
Thank you sir! 🙂 You're right about the little girl, she's pretty creative too! 😉 Aloha from Hawaii my friend, hope you have a fantastic new week!
Amazing video, don’t forget about the health is important and is necessary to clean this unit at least 1 time per year.
Yes, thank you for the reminder that this is important for health too.
Thank you, Jay for another great video, may God bless you🙇🙏
You're welcome! Thank you for stopping by for the new video, I receive and May God bless you and yours as well!
Thanks as always Jay.
You're welcome! Thank you for stopping by for the new video!
Have a fabulous new week!
If the unit is used in an environment that things like cooking fumes, hairspray or other sticky substances are present it may be necessary to use a cleaning product. I wouldn’t use anything stronger than an all purpose cleaner for the reasons you mentioned, definitely nothing with vinegar or things like an oven cleaner. It may be that it takes more time to soften the crud and hot water would definitely help.
I only agree. Thank you for pointing that out. 👍
making it a seasonal ( the end of summer) event , and ready for next season !
That's a good idea! Thank you
Great video. Thanks!
The pink tennis shoes look good on you.
Thank you 😄
Another great job 👍👍👍
Thank you Harry!! You are appreciated, have a splendid new week!
Good info, thank you!
You're welcome! Glad you found it useful.
Exactly
Would you use anything beyond water if there was mold in the vent area of the unit? can we use Dawn dish soap on it?
Pro tip for cleaning the inside blower wheel. Lysol !!!!!
Thank you for the pro tip!
If you want to be like my office lady cleaner who is always want to be looked like she is doing cleaning , but not actually cleaning up the office, then don't take your window air-conditioner down.
Get a wide mouth vacuum connection hose and some CO2. You can do it indoors if you want to take the chance lol
I've actually never tried cleaning an air conditioner with CO2. Have you? Would be cool to hear how well that works. I'm thinking this would still be in the category of "making it look like it got cleaned" though. Now that I think about it, the CO2 tank I used to have didn't have a regulator on it so I'm pretty sure the pressure from it would actually bend the fins too. 😅
Well obviously, back away far enough not to damage the fins if you do not have a regulator. I do commerical refrigeration and CO2 or Nitrogen is great when there is no water source nearby.
your videos are great... is it possible to put a wall thermostat to bypass the control board>?( my pcb board is no longer available).... thank you
It should be possible but it's not something I've tried doing before so I don't have any recommendations as to how to go about rewiring it.
I recommend using coil cleaner to clean a window, air conditioner or a mini split or a central air conditioner cooling system I do not agree on this topic
Thank you for the recommendation and the vote for using coil cleaners. There are times when the cleaners may be needed but I still stand on my opinion that for the majority, water only is enough.
@@WordofAdviceTV can you make a video explaining why our 410 a refrigerant is going to get phased out?
Care to make a video for through the wall units? That cant be removed. I know you can only do so much with them compared to a Windows ac
If I get the chance, I'll try to get that video done. Thanks for the suggestion!
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A great video as always!
I have some questions about heat pump systems, my current system is over 20 years old and still runs great. I heard that R410a system will be phased out next year. Just wondering if I need to upgrade my current system-R22 to R410a or wait for next year for new A2L system (R32 or R454b)?
Heard that the A2L system (heating and colling) will be more expensive than the current system (30%+)
Any feedbacks will be really appreciated!!
Thank you! Honestly, I love R22 systems the most so if it was me I would hang on to the old one as long as possible. They are the most reliable.
@@WordofAdviceTV Thanks for your feedback! Not sure if you could review the A2L system in the near future? Thanks again!
@@mnew213 I've seen plenty of R22 units that were well over 30 years old. My guess is that the A2L trend will only last like 5-10 years and then they will say it needs to get phased out as well for one reason or another. But thank you for the video idea! Maybe I'll make a video on this later.
Do those accordian side covers stop the cold air from leaving escaping the room or should you insulate them?
I would insulate, it's not enough. Use foam.
The accordions are okay and do a good enough job at keep the cold air in and the hot air out but like the other commenter said, foam would be a better choice.
Interesting question. Without the slides, the cooler, denser air would naturally "pour" out of the window, pushing the warmer, less dense air inside. With the slides, the cold air can only pass through the gaps above and below the accordion, slowing which slows it down to a trickle. The hotter the outside air is versus the inside air, the more cold air will escape.
That answers your first question about whether or not the slides prevent cold air from leaving the interior. The answer is no.
The slides are there because without them, you'd have a half open window for bugs, dirt or whatever else to get in. Yes, they kinda keep cold air in, the same way closed blinds make an open window less breezy on a windy day.
You close the blinds on an open window for privacy, to block light, or whatever. As a side effect, you get less airflow. If it was your intention to reduce airflow, then you would close the window.
The accordion slides should be thought of the same way in that they make an open window feel "less open." That is their purpose.
As far as insulating them, that's a bit more tricky to give a straight answer to.
My general answer is gonna be no, you shouldn't bother insulting them, but you should have a barrier between the slides themselves and the interior air at the least. Let me explain why.
Unless it's a temporary solution until your main hvac system gets repaired, if you're using window units, then you probably live in an older structure. Generalizing here, but if your space was built before the year 2000, then there probably wasn't much thought put into thermal insulation. If your space was built without a central HVAC, then the thermal insulation is even worse, if present at all.
Another factor for not insulating the slides are the windows themselves. If your space still has the "old" single pane windows, then it doesn't make much sense to insulate the slides.
The window unit represents a small percentage of the total surface area of the window itself. Single pane windows generally allow 90-95% of solar heat to pass right through.
I'm gonna make up some numbers here for an extremely oversimplified example scenario.
Let's say you have two windows side by side. The sunlight coming through each window is strong enough to heat up the air inside by ten degrees. You install a window ac that takes up 20% of one window, 10% is the unit, the other 10% are the slides.
Let's say the unit itself blocks 100% of the solar heat, and the slides block as much as the glass, so 0% change.
The unit is "insulating" 10% of one window. Since there are two windows, the unit is blocking (10%/2) 5% of solar heat. If the windows raised the temperature by 10 degrees before, they now raise the temperature by 9.5 degrees.
If you choose to also insulate the slides, you block 5% more of the total solar heat, meaning the windows heat the room by 9 degrees instead of 9.5.
It doesn't make sense to insulate the slides unless the rest of the window glass is also insulated.
I like analogies, so here's another one.
Getting trapped in a burning house is like having single pane windows. Insulating the slides to keep it cool inside is like extinguishing the fire in the room that you're in and thinking you're safe.
The house is still on fire, you just made it "less on fire."
Typically all you need to do is seal the slides from the elements. You can do that with a scrap piece of corrugated fiber board (a sturdy cardboard box) and some metal tape. Rough cut the cardboard, dry fit it as tight as possible to fill the space, leaving a little more than you need.
Once cut, wrap the piece in metal tape, and stuff it into the space, pressing and folding the extra bit you left left around the edges so it's wedged in tight. Then use metal tape around the rim to secure it to the windowsill and the ac unit, sealing up any gaps. Do the same to the other side.
Then run a strip of metal tape across the top and bottom of the ac unit, sealing that to the window and the ledge.
Strongly recommend the metal hvac tape because it's weather resistant, reusable, and doesn't leave a residue when removed.
Honestly, you don't even need the cardboard. You can seal it up using just the metal tape. Even though it's metal, air gap between the slide and the tape is enough of a barrier to block more heat than the glass. The cardboard pieces just save time when you remove them in winter to clean.
You can seal them again next time with just a few strips of tape, if you tape right over the slides it can get messy and stick to itself when you remove it, so you usually have to fix that.
Is there a way to disable the beep sound from the control panel every time I change a setting or turn on??????
Some brands allow you to disable it or put it in silent mode but with most window air conditioners unfortunately you can't turn off the beep. What brand A/C do you have?
@@WordofAdviceTV A Comfort Aire 10,000 BTU window unit.
@@chocolateyum583 I looked up the manual but was not able to find a way to disable the beep. I don't think it's possible with this one.
@@WordofAdviceTV Thanks For Try !!! By the way, Great channel and info. Please keep up the great work.
Take off the front grill and find the buzzer. It'll be a plastic cylinder, somewhere between the size of a quarter and a nickel, and between 1/4 and 1/2 inch tall. It'll kinda look like a speaker, either with a slotted grill, or a single hole in the center. Could be soldered directly to the control board, or located somewhere else with two wires leading back to the control board, one red one black.
If you're not sure you found the right thing, plug the ac back in and push a button. Put your ear close to it, you'll know. You could also rest your finger VERY gently against the plastic housing and press a button. If you feel it vibrate, then you found it.
If wired, cut the black one.
If not wired, cover all the openings on the top with a couple pieces of tape. That won't silent it, but it will reduce the volume by about 90%. If you really hate it, you can put some glue in the hole (hot glue works, if you use super glue, add a few drops, then use a toothpick to gently sprinkle a tiny bit of baking soda into the opening, onto the glue. You don't need much, just a finger tip worth should work) then cover with tape. That'll silence it by 99% if not entirely.
The "beep" sound is made by a device known as a piezoelectric buzzer. It uses a permanent magnet paired with an electromagnet to create an electric charge that vibrates a thin disc at a very high frequency. That vibration makes the "beep" sound.
So what you're trying to do is prevent the disc from vibrating.
The tape does that by blocking air flow into and out of the buzzer. As the disc vibrates, the air pressure inside the buzzer rapidly switches between high and low. The pressure changes generate waves in the surrounding air, those waves hit your ear drums, and you hear the beep. If you seal the buzzer from the ambient air, then the waves can't escape into the world and into your ears.
The idea behind the glue is to physically prevent or at least dampen the vibration of the disc itself. Hot glue works well because it does a great job at absorbing the vibrations while also sealing the hole. When you mix super glue with baking soda, it becomes hard and inflexible, and the weak electrical force isn't strong enough to vibrate the disc.
You should be able to use that knowledge to figure out a solution that works for you with what you have.
I wouldn't recommend poking holes in the disc, though. Piezoelectric is weird, and there's a chance the tiny charge will end up being fed back to the control board and could damage it.
Stick to blocking the air or interfering with the vibration.
Is there a version of this for NYC apartments where you don't own a yard or a water hose?? 😅
I use a 2 gallon pump sprayer. Got it from home depot for about $20.
*pro tip, OPEN THE BOX BEFORE YOU BUY IT, make sure the spray nozzle hasn't been stolen
If the spray wand is just an open tube with nothing on the spray end, then the nozzle is missing and it won't work well at all
What about legionnaires disease? I thought AC systems can have stagnant dirty water inside them?
If the window air conditioner will not be used for a long time, it is best to take it out and drain out the water. I am not sure about the legionnaires disease though. Never had to deal with that and don't know anyone that has. If you or someone reading this has, please share your experience.
Midea split window is totally different than this unit
For sure. I haven't tried taking apart one of those yet. If anyone reading this has, please share with us what the experience was like.
I’m 65 years old. I will never remember how to put this back together 😂.
When the room hits 85° you'll figure it out, lol
Always take pictures of where everything goes with your phone or digital camera and you should be just fine