Cleaning A/C coils: DIY or hire a pro? (See March 8 update)

We do ours yearly. You can buy the coil cleaner at a hardware store. Spray and let it sit for a few minutes, then brush off. We use an old tooth brush so we can get to the smaller areas (i.e. bends in the tubes). At the same time lubricate the fan axle and apply armorall (sp??) on the plastic fan blade.

LynnandCarol wrote:
apply armall (sp??) on the plastic fan blade.

ArmorAll?

It has never occurred to me to clean out the A/C coils on our camper. How much do you guys use your AC? We usually only use ours a couples weekends during the hottest part of the summer. Going on 20 years, AC still works fine.

It started out simple enough, I did not know anything about AC. Paid to have some stuff done, Tech shows up for 30 minutes, installs a $30 part and charges me $250, that was back when $250 was a lot of money!! So I learned some of the simple basic things. I have also seen perfectly good roof airs replaced because the evaporator was plugged with gunk!

Then I learned more and more,now I do my own installs! Yup even in my house. Have a new LG AC delivered yesterday going in my Roadtrek this week! Go to You tube and search coil cleaning, read the comments as some of the videos are done be people that don't have a clue.

The combs are for straightening the fins not cleaning them. Whatever you do, do not bend those fins and straighten any that are. Just get a can of cleaner and use a directed. Look at YouTube for videos on how. It's not complicated but can messy if you aren't careful.

The cleaning is pretty easy spray product on the coils and then let the condensation created by the unit running rinse the chemical, & most dirt/grease away.
coil cleaner
Took two applications to clean my 10 year old unit the first time.

I had freeze up probs once. It turned out that the ice sensor had fallen out of the coils.

Unless you pull the unit, aren't the evap coils only accessible from the inside? Mine just has the condenser coils accessible from the roof. The roof coils are the hot side. :h

A comb is used to straighten bent fins and can puncture coils if not careful. Use a brush to clean.

DO NOT USE HIGH PRESSURE WATER SOURCE. No pressure washer for sure. You'll bend every fin in under two seconds.

Be sure to clean the condensate drain pan out as well. Gunk that collects there can clog the drain holes, which will lead to water dripping into the trailer through the AC cover.