How to Clean a Carrier Air Conditioner

Your Carrier air conditioner will run for many years at peak efficiency if you perform a few basic maintenance and cleaning tasks on a regular schedule. A preventive maintenance program with your HVAC contractor will include seasonal or annual inspections and adjustments to keep your system in prime condition, but there are also a few simple maintenance tasks that you can perform yourself.

Your air conditioning technician can give you tips on how to clean a Carrier air conditioner when he does his seasonal inspection and maintenance work. He will check the mechanical condition of your system and make adjustments and repairs as necessary. He will:

• Clean the evaporator and condenser coils.
• Check electrical connections and make sure controls are working.
• Oil motors as required.
• Check refrigerant levels and balance as necessary.
• Check thermostats for correct operation.
• Inspect filters and ductwork.

You can do the following things between regular maintenance calls to keep your air conditioner running efficiently:

Safety note: Always turn off the power to your air conditioner any time you’re doing maintenance work or repairs on it.

• Change filters on a regular schedule. If you have indoor pets or live on a dusty road, you will need to change filters more often, for example, than if you live in a pet-free home on a paved street.
• Keep the outside of the outdoor condenser unit free of leaves, trash and other debris. Never use a garden hose or other water source to try to clean inside the outdoor unit. Leave any maintenance that requires opening the unit housing to your A/C technician.
• Clean indoor coils, if they are easily accessible, by vacuuming or wiping with a soft cloth.
• Make sure your air supply and return registers are not blocked by drapes, rugs or furniture. Vacuum registers to remove dust or other debris and straighten any bent vent fins to keep airflow unobstructed.

Call us at HVAC & Plumbing Unlimited with any questions you have about how to clean a Carrier air conditioner. Our technicians can help you with scheduled maintenance or repairs to keep your Northern Virginia home comfortable and all of its cooling and heating systems running efficiently.