How to videos: Evaporator Cleaning

Consider cleaning your condenser and evaporator coils part of your annual tuneup. 

You get your car tuned up. You may even go for a yearly checkup at the doctors. Your air conditioner needs the same type of tune up. 

One of the biggest problems that you’ll encounter if your air conditioner is not well-maintained is dirty coils. If your air conditioner’s coils are not thoroughly cleaned every year, your home will likely be uncomfortable and your energy bills can go through the roof. 

Keeping homes cool this summer without racking up large energy bills relies on not only having an efficient A/C system, but making sure that it’s properly maintained as well. 

One important component of a well-maintained cooling system is clean evaporator coils.

As dirt build’s up on your air conditioner’s coils, it adds a layer on top of the coils that makes it harder to transfer and absorb heat. 

This makes your air conditioner work harder moving heat out of your home, and your system will have to run much more often and use a lot more energy to keep your home cool.

Evaporator coils in air conditioners contain refrigerant that removes heat from the air that passes over them, before the now hot refrigerant is pumped outside to the condensing unit. 

Keeping these coils clean is the key to making sure the heat exchange process works properly. Neglected coils have the potential to accumulate mold and rust, which can lead to costly repairs.

What Are Coils?

Your air conditioner has two sets of coils: evaporator coils and condenser coils. The evaporator coils are located in the indoor portion of your air conditioner, and they are responsible for absorbing heat from your home’s air and transferring it to the refrigerant that carries it out of the home. 

The condenser coils, which we touched upon in a related story last week , are located in the outdoor section of your air conditioner. They are responsible for transferring heat from the refrigerant to the air outside. 

How To Clean Evaporator Coils?  

1. Turn off the thermostat, making sure there is no power going to the A/C.

2. Remove the panel to the evaporator coils, which is located where the air duct connects. Use a soft brush to clean. 

3. Clean the coils either by using a physical tool, like a brush, or a specialized chemical agent like XFP-1, the X-Factor powder, a professional strength detergent. 

Mix the solution into a hand pump stray (part no. MA-SP41501 ) and apply to coils.

McCombs Supply has several effective evaporator coil cleaners, including the 

4171-75 Nu-Calgon evap foam no rinse evaporator coil cleaner aerosol spray.

It is important to find a cleaner made for evaporator coils. Apply the chemical or foam and leave on for 15 minutes before rinsing.  

How To Videos

Here is a 3 minute video on how to clean your evaporator. 

Why X-Press beats the competition and is rated highly by those in the industry. 

Here is a nice short video - about 1:35 in length - that talks about cleaning evaporator coils.