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

[profdant139]

I've had my trailer for ten years -- never did anything to clean the a/c components. (Shameful, I know.)

But last summer, the a/c iced up once or twice -- sending me a message to do something.

I can climb up onto the roof, although I don't want to. And I know I can buy A/C maintenance tools, like a comb to clean the fins.

My question is simple: how many folks do it all themselves, and how many hire a pro?

Thanks in advance for playing! 😉

[ken56]

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.

[jjrbus]

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.

[Tvov]

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.

[gbopp]

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

ArmorAll?

[LynnandCarol]

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.