Regardless of whether you live in a hot climate and want to make sure that you and your family can escape the hot temperatures, or you’ve recently decided to treat yourself to your very first air conditioning system to stay cool indoors – making sure that you keep your air conditioning filter clean is extremely important!
Without taking the time to schedule regular cleaning sessions for your air conditioning filter, you’re more than likely going to discover that it won’t be able to do what you need it to do due to a build-up of dirt, debris, and dust that has built up across the top of the filter.
What’s more, besides impacting its performance, it’ll also mean that you will be breathing in all that dirt – and no one wants that!
Luckily, though, cleaning your air conditioning filter is a lot easier than you might think… and we’re here to show you how!
In this guide, we, CLEANA commercial cleaning company are going to be providing you with simple step-by-step instructions that will help you to ensure that your air conditioner remains sparkling clean. So, whenever you’re ready – let’s dive right in.
How To Clean An Air Conditioner Filter?
Check Your Air Conditioning System To See If Your Filter Needs To Be Cleaned Or Replaced
Before you even think about cleaning your air conditioning filter, you should first take a moment to inspect what kind of air conditioning filter you have!
The majority of air conditioning units on the market currently will consist of a permanent, fixed filter that will need to be regularly cleaned in order to ensure that it can work properly.
However, it is important to note that there are also some air conditioning units on the market that are specifically designed to only be compatible with temporary filters that will need to be replaced every few weeks or so.
If you’re not overly sure of what type of air conditioner you have, don’t panic!
The best way to determine what kind of filter your air conditioner utilizes is by referring to the owner’s manual that you would have gotten upon purchasing the air conditioning unit.
Although, if you’ve misplaced that or can’t find the information needed, then you can also reach out to your air conditioning system’s manufacturer for assistance on what kind of filter your air conditioner uses.
More often than not, you should be able to locate the customer service team via the official website.
Switch Your Air Conditioner Off And Locate The Filter
After you have determined what type of air conditioner filter you have, if your filter is the kind that needs to be cleaned, then you can proceed to turn off your air conditioner and then locate the filter.
It is very important that you make sure to turn off your air conditioner before attempting to clean the filter, as keeping your air conditioner turned on will not only mean that unfiltered air will be circulated throughout your home, but it will also mean that a greater amount of dirt and debris will be pulled into your air conditioning system and collect across the exposed components of your air conditioner.
Once you have done this, you can then go ahead and locate the filter inside the interior of your air conditioner unit.
If you find that you have a few issues trying to locate the filter, then we recommend that you locate the return duct, as the filter should be positioned somewhere along with this air conditioning component.
After you have located the filter, you might need to unscrew some bolts to reveal it, but keep in mind that this might not always be the case.
As always, if you find that you are struggling to access your filter at any point and you’re not confident that you’re going to be able to access it without damaging the rest of the unit, then we recommend that you either refer to your owner’s manual for instructions or alternatively reach out to your manufacturer for assistance.
Vacuum Your Air Conditioner Filter
Once you have exposed the filter, you can then take a vacuum cleaner across the surface of the filter to get rid of any dirt and debris.
To do this, all you are going to need to do is simply remove the filter and then take the tube of your vacuum cleaner across the filter to get rid of all the built-up dust, dirt, and debris that you can see across the surface of your air conditioning filter.
As a side note, if you are vacuuming your air conditioner filter and can’t see anything coming out of the filter, then don’t panic.
Most of the debris that collects across the surface of your filter will be invisible to our eyes because of how small the particles are – so don’t worry if you’re not seeing any obvious signs of improvement.
Rinse Your Filter To Ensure That All Remaining Particles Are Removed
After you have finished vacuuming the surface of your air conditioning filter, we then recommend that you quickly run your filter underneath a tap of cold water, as this will ensure that you will get rid of any remaining particles that the vacuum didn’t catch.
To do this, you can either opt to rinse your filter quickly underneath a tap of water for a few moments before then allowing it to dry, or you could alternatively decide to submerge your filter in a bowl of water for an hour for a deeper clean.
Whichever method you choose, you should be sure to finish up by thoroughly drying your filter before placing it back inside your air conditioner – we recommend that you air dry your filter for the best result!
