Air conditioners are some of the best appliances to have at home. However, a lot of people don’t really maintain theirs which is clearly a bad idea. It’s crucial for homeowners to have their air conditioners cleaned as much as possible because failure to do so leads to some bad consequences.
When we say clean your air conditioner, we don’t mean wiping the surface off of dust. We are, of course, talking about having it deep cleaned – in and out. The important parts of the air conditioner are on the inside and it’s those pieces that should be regularly maintained.
As a general rule of thumb, your air conditioner should be deep cleaned at least twice annually. You can choose to go a few more times especially if you use your air conditioner regularly for extended hours. Exactly why is it important to keep it clean?
What Goes Around, Comes Around
To understand why it’s important, it’s first crucial to know how air conditioners work. Air conditioners work by circulating the air inside your home to make it cooler. With this, you can see that air conditioners actually just circulate the air inside your house. That also means that anything inside the air conditioner itself is distributed inside your home.
There are three primary dangers that can reside in your air conditioner: viruses, bacteria, and mold. If your air conditioner is not properly maintained, then these three dangers are just going to circulate around your home, putting all those that reside in it at a clear health risk.
This can be very bad especially if someone inside the house is already sick, to begin with. As they cough or sneeze, the bacteria or virus they release in the air is just going to be absorbed by the air conditioning unit, processed by it, and then circulated around the house – possibly infecting someone else.
Allergens Can Reside Inside Your Air Conditioner
Aside from those three, another thing you should be worried about inside your air conditioner is allergens. These include dust particles, dirt, animal fur, and other serious contaminants that can trigger allergies to anyone inside the house. While many allergic reactions aren’t that serious, there are some that could put the lives of others in danger.
Don’t be mistaken, allergic reactions go beyond respiratory problems. People can also suffer from allergic reactions to the skin and eyes. It can make living inside the house uncomfortable. If you want to make sure that everyone is comfortable breathing the air inside your home, then have your air conditioner cleaned!
Respiratory Problems
Of course, it should be obvious by now but since air conditioners circulate the air that you breathe – you can experience severe respiratory problems because of a dirty air conditioner. You should have it cleaned especially of contaminants like mold which are known to cause major health risks especially for the young and the elderly.
Mold develops over time inside air conditioners because of the moisture and humidity that thrives inside. You can know that you have a mold problem with your air conditioner simply by smelling the air and looking for hints of an earthy odor. In cases like these, the mold problem is already severe.
It’s very important that you have mold problems inside your air conditioners professionally removed. If you do it on your own and you don’t do it properly, the mold will just reappear in a couple of days. When removing mold, it’s crucial to make sure that not even a trace of it survives.
Prevent Major Problems
Last but not the least, it’s not just health risks that you face if you don’t clean your air conditioner. You also put your unit at risk of facing severe problems in the future as well. The cleaner your air conditioner is, the fewer problems there are going to be and the longer it will last.
Air conditioners that are dirty and clogged up are also less efficient when it comes to cooling your home. The more pressing matter is that dirt can eventually ruin your air conditioners. These units can last for a decade with proper maintenance so it’s vital to make sure that it reaches that long.
Having your air conditioner cleaned shouldn’t be too bothersome. Just call professionals to do it as properly and as quickly as possible. You can get seriously ill with a dirty air conditioner and the medical fees you pay afterward are far less costly as compared to what you pay for cleaning services.