Tradie's shocking find in air conditioning unit sparks summer warning: 'Very acidic'
Mark was called to the Melbourne rental home to take a look at its split AC system. What he found was very surprising.
As temperatures start to sizzle heading into summer, many Aussies are turning to their air conditioning units for relief from the heat and heavy humidity. However, they may not be aware of problems hidden inside when they hit the on switch.
This was apparent last week when a Melbourne resident called an air conditioning maintenance worker for help with a split system. Mark from Simple Air Solutions responded, and capturing the moment on video he made a worrying discovery inside.
When he cracked the aircon open, the tradie was stunned to find its filters had been completely destroyed, providing no protection from any harmful elements passing through.
Mark told Yahoo News Australia on Thursday that while he doesn’t know for certain what happened, he suspects whoever damaged the filters was trying to clean them with “something very acidic” and “potentially let them soak and never rinsed them off”.
TikTok footage taken at the rental property has stunned other Aussies who wondered why they had even been put back into the appliance. “Cleaned out with fire!” one person joked. “Looks like they used oven cleaner or something,” said another.
Regularly cleaning air conditioning filters improves efficiency
Regularly cleaning aircon filters about once every six months — or at the very least once a year — proves to be very beneficial to the efficiency of the system as they could potentially be losing 20 to 30 per cent efficiency, Mark told Yahoo.
“Also if this is done regularly, then you shouldn’t have to replace the filters. Replacing the filters tends to be necessary when the filters have been neglected for a very long time — 10 plus years.
“The way I can tell if the filters need to be changed is if attempts at cleaning them are extremely difficult, or the material has visibly deteriorated, which would mean they are defective since they would not be catching all the dust required.”
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What Aussies should do to make sure their aircon run smoothly
The hotter it gets outside, the warmer people should set their thermostat, Mark said. “For example, the bigger the difference from the outside temperature and the indoor temperature, the longer and harder the compressor and components have to operate, causing significant stress on the system. “If it were a 40C day outside, and if the set-point on the thermostat was 22, that would be a difference of 18 degrees. The system would run continuously, likely never having a chance to cycle off.” If the aircon was set to 26 instead, it would give the system more of a chance to cycle off and therefore improve efficiency over time.
If a heatwave is on the way, it’s important to turn on your aircon in advance, rather than when you need it most. “I like to use an example of a ute carrying a heavy amount of cargo. You don’t want to turn it on with cargo, going uphill. You would want a run up to build momentum to negate the load.” For aircons, if you set the system to a moderate temperature of about 24 to 26C before you leave for work, “it would help a lot”.
Check your outdoor unit and make sure nothing is obstructing the back of the system outside. “As the unit outside relies so heavily on air circulating in behind it to discharge the heat, it needs as much freedom as possible,” Mark told Yahoo. “I find people storing/stacking stuff behind the aircon preventing sufficient airflow A LOT. It’s a very common thing, especially people in apartments that are fighting for space. They will stack chairs, cardboard — you name it — behind the AC preventing airflow.”
Replace the batteries in the hand-held remote once a year, and don’t use old batteries found after rummaging through the bottom of the drawer. “Fresh batteries out of the packet. Old batteries can corrode the battery compartment, which damages the remote and you end up having to replace the controller, thats a $200 problem easily avoidable by simply changing the batteries,” Mark added.
If you suspect your AC isn’t working as good as normal and you’ve done the simple tips above, call a professional.
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