Services & Maintenance

Cleaning and maintaining your air conditioning unit may sound like an unnecessary and daunting task. After all, why fix something if it is not broken? Why bother cleaning it if it can keep your house cool, right? Wrong! Regular cleaning of your air conditioning unit brings about a lot of monetary and health benefits for you and your family.

1. Improved Air Conditioner Efficiency

Cleaning your air conditioner regularly allows it to perform more efficiently by reducing the stress and pressure, that dust and debris build-up usually put on your unit. When air filters get clogged and become dirty, the normal flow of air is impeded thus making your unit work harder than it should. In addition, when dust covers your evaporator coil, its ability to absorb heat is impaired, which further reduces efficiency and ability to cool your home.

2. Lower your Electricity Bills

In a normal household, air conditioners use a significantly large chunk of your monthly electrical consumption. On the same note, a dirty air conditioning unit consumes more power mainly because your unit is forced to work harder raising its operating costs. Such air conditioners in general use anywhere between 5%-25% more electricity. By cleaning your AC unit regularly, you can reduce your unit’s need to work harder and thus shave some dollars off your electricity bill.

3. Avoid Costly Future Air Conditioner Repairs and Replacement

Leaving air conditioners running in a dirty state will eventually lead to bigger problems or worse a complete failure of your unit. As your air conditioner unit gathers more dust and dirt, it will become more difficult to clean which may lead to costly replacement of parts. Additionally, all air conditioning units are prone to overheating as the evaporator coils are unable to dissipate heat effectively. These problems can be avoided by having your unit regularly cleaned by a professional air conditioning cleaning company such as Bermagui Refrigeration & Air Conditioning. 

Furthermore, while in the process of cleaning your unit, an expert can detect and identify potential problems that your unit may encounter in the future. This will prevent more expensive repairs, or worse, having to replace your whole air conditioning unit. While it is true that it will cost you money to hire expert cleaners, it is still far cheaper than the costs of future repairs and replacement.

4. Better Indoor Air Quality
Your air conditioning unit does more than just cool your home; it also plays an important role in helping to keep the air circulating inside your home clean and healthy. A dirty unit provides a suitable breeding ground for mould, fungi, bacteria, and germs to thrive. Whenever you turn on your unit, these particles get blown into the room and contaminate the air, exposing you, your family, and friends to a variety of respiratory infection and trigger asthma attacks.

Keeping your air conditioning unit properly maintained and regularly cleaned provides a lot of benefits.

The short answer is regularly. But in all honesty, it all depends on your level of usage. For example, in the summer it would be ideal to check the dust filters every month, but in the less extreme seasons when the air conditioner is being used less often, you may only need to check it once. For best results it is better to aim for at least once a year for a professional clean and service.

Poor Indoor Air Quality
Old and poorly-maintained AC units have been shown as factors in many health conditions, including respiratory conditions and the spread of some diseases. The indoor unit of an air conditioning unit creates condensation all summer long when the air conditioning unit runs, and is a prime catalyst for mould and mildew growth. As the system lays dormant over winter, the mould can spread and grow and, if not cleaned properly, can create respiratory problems and what some people refer to as a ‘dirty sock odor.’ The barrel fan and motor also can become dust covered, which is a food source for mould to thrive.

Huge Power Bills
Ensuring that your air conditioner filters and components are cleaned and properly maintained will ensure that the unit run as efficiently as possible and ensures that they are cheaper to run. Significant Power Savings are possible ensuring that the air conditioner is working correctly.

Despite popular opinion air conditioning units do require more maintenance then just cleaning of the filters. Please read below for a breakdown of all parts of your unit that require regular maintenance and the potential consequences for not servicing your unit.

1. Filters

The number one maintenance task required is replacing or cleaning your air-conditioners filters (commonly referred to as Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning filters or HVAC filters for short). The HVAC filters used in your home’s heating and cooling system have an important job to do. They filter dust, pollen, pet dander, and other small particles out of the air that you and your family breathe. These particles are trapped in the filter to prevent them from being recirculated throughout your home. The higher the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) rating, the more effective the filter will be.

What Are the Different Types of HVAC Filters?

The HVAC filters used in your home’s heating and cooling system have an important job to do. They filter dust, pollen, pet hair, and other small particles out of the air that you and your family breathe. These particles are trapped in the filter to prevent them from being recirculated throughout your home. The higher the MERV rating, the more effective the filter will be.

Filters also play an important part in keeping your system free from larger particles that could damage it. Therefore, you want to make sure that you are always using the right type of filter and change it when it is dirty.

Fiberglass Air Filters

Fiberglass air filters are disposable and the least expensive type of filter. They do cause less strain on HVAC systems when drawing in air and keep large particles out of your system. However, they do not do such a great job of keeping out dust and other smaller contaminant particles. If you or members of your family suffer from allergies or have respiratory problems, this type of filter may not be powerful enough to help relieve or prevent respiratory problems. It will typically have a MERV 4 rating.

Pleated Air Filters

Pleated air filters are made of cotton or polyester folds. They are slightly more expensive than fiberglass filters, but they are more effective with filtering dust and other small particles like pollen, mold spores, and pet dander. Those with more pleats provide better filtering and help prevent dust and other particulates from being recirculated in the air. MERV ratings for these filters typically run between 5 to 8.

HEPA Filters

If you or your family have allergies or other respiratory problems, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are recommended. While they are more expensive than fiberglass or pleated air filters, they are the most effective at screening up to 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, pet dander, viruses, bacteria, and other irritants out of the air. Look for filters that are rated MERV 11 or higher. However, please be aware that the higher the MERV, the more difficult it is for your HVAC system to pull in air. You should check with us to see what is best for your system.

UV Filters

UV filters are used in air cleaners that may be built into your HVAC system. Using ultraviolet light, these filters kill viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms in the air that passes through them. However, they are not so efficient at removing dust and other contaminants, but they are great if you have concerns over indoor air quality that an air cleaner can address.

Filters also play an important part in keeping your system free from larger particles that could damage it. Therefore, you want to make sure that you are always using the right type of filter and change it when it is dirty. By having dirty filters, especially where a filter becomes blocked or clogged as this can severely impact the unit. Dirty filters block the standard air flow causing your unit to work harder than its supposed to, this is also where you can see an increase in power consumption. By replacing or cleaning these filters, your power consumption can reduce by 5-25%.

Do I clean or replace my filters?
This question does depend on which unit you have as filters are available in a mixture of types which all have different efficiencies. Some types of filters can be reusable and therefore can be cleaned regularly while other filters are disposable and as such will need to be replaced.

How often should I clean my filters?
We recommend cleaning your air conditioner filter’s every 6 weeks during peak cooling seasons, and then 3 monthly during the remainder of the year, however this all does depend on your needs and your home. For example, if you have pets or run your air con constantly, we recommend cleaning these more frequently. If you barely use the system and the unit is in a clean environment, you may not need to clean them as often.

2. Condensation Drains

The condensation drains on your air conditioner can become clogged, if you air conditioner is blocked or clogged the unit will stop reducing the humidity. Drains that are not functioning efficiently can cause some severe damage to your walls and carpets.

How can my drain become blocked?
There are many different reasons as to why your aircon drains become blocked this include but are not limited to: Ants, Wasps, Large Bugs, quality of the air con and drains, age of the system, and unsatisfactory installation.

What should you do if your drain is clogged?
If you see that your drains are blocked, or even notice water dripping from your indoor head unit, please seek professional help as trying to fix this issue yourself could cause more damage. 

3. Coils

Both your Air Conditioners Evaporator and Condenser Coils can collect dust and debris, this can cause your Air Conditioner to reduce not only the amount of airflow but also the standard and this Is where you could get stale smelling air blowing into the house. Another big point is damaged, or dirty coils can reduce your Units ability to absorb heat, this means your home/ room will take longer to cool to desired temperature and will use significantly more power.

What do I do?
We recommend looking over your coils to ensure the condition is satisfactory at least once per year. However, if your outdoor unit Is placed in a dusty area, a garden or in any position where your mower may flick debris towards the unit, we recommend checking your coils every 6 months.

How do I fix a dirty/ damaged coil?
Seek professional advice/ services to fix your coils, trying to fix these coils your self can cause further damage to your unit.

4. Yearly Maintenance Check and Service

We recommend a full service yearly.Your yearly service should be done by a professional. Your yearly service should include:

– Full Hydro Cell Bag System Clean.
– Clean filters in front of fan coil.
– Clean fan coil at head unit.
– Flush drain and check operation.
– Check electrical connections.
– Check airflow from head unit.
– Check refrigerant gas pressure at compressor.
– Remove any obstructions from outdoor unit.