DIY AC service at home: Are you waiting for your AC to be serviced before operating it? If so, you can perform a soft service on your AC yourself. This involves cleaning the filter, coils, and outdoor unit with water and an old toothbrush. This soft service allows you to operate your AC while also giving you at least a 15-day gap before performing a hard service.

How to clean an AC with a toothbrush: The afternoon sun has become intense in February, prompting people to call technicians for AC service. However, if for some reason a technician can't find time to service your AC, you can service it yourself. This requires no tools, just an old toothbrush and water. This is especially important when the AC needs to be operated and hasn't received a hard service. Keep

in mind that when servicing your AC yourself, you'll need to clean the coils from the front and back and the outdoor unit. This gives you at least 15 days for a hard service. Additionally, you can use this method to maintain your AC after a hard service.

Difference between hard and soft service

Hard AC service is performed by a technician using a variety of tools. Soft service, on the other hand, doesn't require tools. The user manually cleans the most critical parts of the AC.

The key difference is that while hard service involves cleaning the entire AC, soft service involves cleaning the most critical parts of the AC.

What things will be needed?

To perform a DIY AC soft service, you'll need water, a water hose, a toothbrush, and a cloth. Keep the AC plug unplugged during this entire process.

How to Soft Service an AC: Step 1

Begin your AC's soft service by cleaning its filter. Both window and split ACs have a mesh-like filter mounted over the coils. The air the AC draws in passes through this filter, and it becomes dirty every 15-20 days.

As the first step to soft-service your AC, rinse the filter under a strong stream of water. Ensure there's no dirt left on the filter, and then let it dry.

Step 2: Clean the coils

Next, grab an old toothbrush and start cleaning the AC coils. You'll find these under the front cover of your window or split AC. To clean them, dampen the brush in water and gently scrub the coils.

As you clean, rinse away any dirt that accumulates on the brush with water. Remember to do this gently and not apply too much force.

Step 3: Cleaning the back of your window AC

This step is only for window AC users. After cleaning the front coils in the previous step, you'll now need to clean the coils at the back of the window AC. This will require a water hose and a strong stream of water.

Simply rinse the coils at the back of the window AC with a strong stream of water. This will allow your AC to draw in room air and expel hot air from the back.

Step 4: Clean the outdoor unit of the split AC

Just as the previous step used to clean the coils behind a window AC with a strong stream of water, split AC users will also need to clean their outdoor unit with a strong stream of water. This will also clean the coils behind the outdoor unit.

Step 5: Check the Coolness

After this, wait at least one to one and a half hours, then start the AC and feel the difference in cooling. However, remember that soft service can never replace hard service. Therefore, be sure to have your AC serviced within the next 15 days. You can check here what you need to keep in mind during this time.

 PC:NDTV