I know Singapore is always hot and sunny but come on, these few days have been unbearable. It’s so humid that I’ll start sweating once I get out of the shower.
That literally defeats the point of showering, am I right?
Due to this heat that we Singaporeans have to suffer through, we’re all accustomed to relying on the one and only item to survive — air conditioners. Honestly, what can we do without them?
I’ll admit right off the bat that I switch on the air con every night for 365 days (ok, that’s an exaggeration but you get what I mean). While this habit is good for my health, it’s not so good for my air con.
Cooling your home daily can put a strain on your AC system, leading to a shorter lifespan for your air con. This explains why it’s common for most homeowners to change their air con once every few years.
And, in this economy, nobody wants to waste precious dollars like that, especially when there are ways to extend its life.
Early prevention is better than cure, so if you’ve a BTO coming up or you’re a proud new homeowner, you gotta see these tips to maintain your air con.
1. Cleaning the filters
Remove the front covers of the air con and you’ll see a layer of filters. These filters are what trap all that dirt and dust in the air.
If these particles manage to end up in the evaporator coils, there goes a smooth airflow and good cooling efficiency. In short, your air con has to work twice as hard, which also means it’ll be damaged twice as quickly.
Experts recommend cleaning these filters once every month and you can do so simply with a vacuum cleaner, water and detergent.
You’ll need to switch off your air con first before inspecting that each filter has no signs of wear and tear. If they do, they need to be replaced, no questions asked.
If everything looks good, it’s time to bust out that vacuum cleaner and suck all that grime. You can then proceed to rinse your filters in a bucket of warm water and detergent.
Wipe them dry before placing them back in the air con!
2. Clean the coil fins
Remember when I said that filters block out the dirt and dust from touching the evaporator coils?
Turns out these particles are peskier than I thought as some of them are tough enough to find their way into the coil fins.
As such, one shouldn’t be complacent to leave out cleaning the coils. It doesn’t take much effort anyway, so they can easily be given some tidying up after you’ve washed your filters.
You can use either the vacuum cleaner or a brush to get rid of the dust. If you’re going for the latter, make sure to avoid wire or hard-bristle brushes as they can potentially harm the coil fins (aka a damaged air con).
For something ‘gentler’, consider counting on a commercial cleaner instead. The cleaner has to come in a spray bottle (or you can pour the liquid into a spray bottle, do whatever makes you happy) as you’ll need to spray it onto the fins.
Be patient by giving some time for the cleaner to fully soak into the fins. I’d say it’ll take roughly five to ten minutes for the debris to loosen up.
Afterwards, you can re-apply the cleaner once more.
3. Hire a professional
While cleaning the filters and evaporator coils once every month helps in increasing the longevity of your air con, it’s not enough.
You’ve to deep clean your air con once every six months. If that’s not possible, at least once a year.
Since most of us lack the proper equipment to do so, not to mention knowledge as well, this is where a professional air con cleaning company comes in. They can get into all the itty-bitty technical stuff that us noobs aren’t able to reach.
Take for example, Fujita M&E. Their Chemical Service offers a detailed procedure involving a chemical wash of your air con’s blowers and coils, plus vacuuming of the drainage pipe.
That’s not all as their maintenance team will also take this opportunity to check the air con’s refrigerant pressure and electrical components to ensure all’s well.
Such effort is the secret to better air con performance such as producing cooler air and being more energy efficient.
Thankfully, Fujita M&E is in the holiday mood this National Day period as they’re having a promotion for all new contracts signed between 5 August and 30 September 2024.
All you’ve to do is text message <Refreshing National Day> to +65 9295 9722 to redeem $30 free credits.
These credits can be used for any of Fujita M&E’s repair and maintenance services, and are valid for one year from the date of the contract signed.
Just a heads-up: these credits are non-transferable and can’t be swapped for cash or combined with other deals.
Ready to give your air conditioner the TLC it deserves?
Fujita M&E Pte Ltd
Website
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This post is brought to you by Fujita M&E Pte Ltd.
