Most central air conditioners have a shutoff box outside near
the unit
itself. You may have to pull out the shutoff box, flip a switch or
remove a fuse. If there's no shutoff box, find the circuit breaker panel
that controls the air conditioner and turn off power there.
Take care that any cuttings from grass, flowers, bushes or weeds don't
get inside the unit. Trim foliage to be at least 2 feet away from the
unit.
Depending on the fasteners, you'll need either a screwdriver or nut
driver to do this.
Depending on how the air conditioner is constructed, this may mean
lifting the fan assembly off with it. If your air conditioner is
constructed this way, be careful not to stretch and damage the fan
wires.
Clean dirt off the fan blades with either a rag or whisk broom and use a
shop vacuum to clean dirt off the fan motor and shaft. If the motor is
designed to require lubrication, apply a small amount of oil to each of
its lubrication ports. Use a whisk broom or stiff brush for this.
You can do this with just water, or if the dirt is considerable, a
biodegradable foaming cleaner mixed with water. Spray the cleaner from
the outside in and let it soak in for 10 to 15 minutes. You may wish to
re-apply the cleaner and let the second application soak for another 5
minutes.
Spray the rinse water from the inside to the outside so that the dirt
is pushed away from the air conditioner coils instead of toward them.
Continue rinsing until the runoff is clear.
If any of the coil fins appear bent, they can be combed straight with a
special "fin comb," available from an air conditioning supply store. You
should only need to fully clean the air conditioner once a year, but
if you live near cottonwood trees or dandelions, you may have to clean
the unit more frequently during the spring, possibly weekly or even
daily. The above instructions can also be used if you own a heat pump,
as the
external condenser unit is constructed similar to an air conditioner.
