The condenser unit is the large box on the outside of your home. It is linked directly to the air conditioning system, and mainly responsible for drawing hot air out of your home, cooling the refrigerant lines, and producing cold air that can then be circulated into your duct system. Basically, it is essential to the functionality of an air conditioning system, and if it is not properly maintained, you can expect to have a fully efficient HVAC system.

Keep Your Unit Covered

This is why it is so important to clean your condenser unit on a regular basis. First of all, you can preserve and protect your condenser if you keep it well covered. Most condenser units come with a protective cover. Unfortunately, most people remove this during the summer and never put it back on. Using the cover is extremely vital, especially if you live somewhere that it snows during the winter. Snow buildup on the condenser coils can cause serious deterioration and reduced efficiency.

Clean the Condenser Unit

But, you will still need to regularly clean your condenser even if you keep the unit covered most of the time. The first thing you should clean is the coil system. The coils are the metal sheets that line the outside of the main cylinder. As you can see, these get bent, smashed, rusty, and dirty overtime if not properly maintained. The most vital thing is to make sure they are as clean and straight as possible. Even if you just spray them down every once a while with a hose, you can wash away a lot of the dirt. If possible, you should have your avoid using any sort of scrubber to clean your coils.

Coil cleaning is simple and something that can be done without turning off your condenser unit. But if you want to clean the inside of your unit, you need to be safe and turn off the power to your condenser. The inside of the unit, where the house fan is housed, is easy to clean after you remove the protective bird guard on top. This can be removed by just taking out a couple of the screws. A hose vacuum will enable you to suck up any dirt and leaves on the bottom of the compartment. You can also use a moist rag to wipe down the sidewalls and the fan blades. Proper maintenance of your condenser unit is basic, so you should really have no excuses. It is vital if you want to have a system that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg to run.