Air Conditioner A-Coil cleaning ?????

[dragonchick]

The A coil on my central unit is easily accessible so I have decided to give it a much needed cleaning. I removed the blanket of dirt and fuzz that covered it with the vacuum. There still seems to be a lot that refuses to come off this way though. Probably oily residue from before we bought the house since the return is actually in the kitchen/dining. Is there anything homemade that I can mix up to clean this? IF I MUST I can go to the store and get a speciality cleaner but would rather not since the stuff is rather expensive and only comes in gallon concentrates.

The coil looks good with no bent fins, gouges, holes and the like. Its just very dirty and I'm sure it would work much better if it were cleaned. It might even lower my heating/cooling bills.
TIA

[silentcrow]

If you are dealing with something oily, would Dawn dish soap work?

[Travis in Louisiana]

When I worked on A/C units, I would spray 409 cleaner or similer onto the coil to clean it. The "A" coil sits in a shallow tray that catches the moister from the air when it is running. Sometimes this tray gets a buildup and I usually pour chlorox into it so it will dissolve the buildup and clean out the drain line from the tray. It is better to spray the cleaner on the coil. You can also take a brush and brush the fins in the direction they run. Never brush ACROSS the fins. Don't use a steel brush as this may put a hole in the tubing. It you pour too much liquid onto the coil, it may go through the coil and miss the tray, either falling on the floor or onto the fan underneath it. Hope this helps.

[tyusclan]

Lowe's carries an aerosol coil cleaner, but they may not have any until spring.

You just spray it on the coil nice and thick, turn the a/c on and let it run. The condensation from the coil rinses the cleaner and the dirt off.

[PD-Riverman]

"Hot" water with Dawn dish det. will help alot, but Greased Lightning is what I use!

[Shrek]

Try Purple Power in a spray bottle. I used that cocotion on the window unit I use. Sprayed the coil and fins well, let it sit a while then sprayed it off. Its only a few bucks for a small bottle of concentrate.

[dragonchick]

Looks like I will be waiting until summer to finish cleaning the unit as there is NO WAY I am turining on the AC in the winter. BTW this thing that I am calling the a-coil is under the inside unit (split unit) and above (part of) the return duct. The return duct is a 3x4 hole in the wall with the inside (furnace unit) above it ( I can stand on my knees in this hole). There is no water that drips or flows onto this coil thingy. When you look at it it looks like a bunch of closely spaced fins with a lot of dirt.

[RACCOON]

The professionals use a spray called Stay Bright, u spray it on and it foams all the dirt out,then u spray it off with water

[Big Dave]

Raccoon is right it is called foaming coil cleaner and I use it annually to clean the a/c coils on the a frame as well as the outside coils. Be sure and read the bottle.

[tyusclan]

The cleaners for the evaporator coil, which is what dragonchick is referring to, are designed so that they don't foam as much. If you're using one that foams a lot, it's designed for the condenser, or outside, coil.

Some of the other suggestions will work, but the results will be inferior to a good coil cleaner.

If it's as dirty as you say, any cleaning will definitely help. Do what you can now, and get a good coil cleaner in the spring, and clean it good then.