Evaporator Coil Cleaning

If I were to name two of the biggest contributors to furnace failure, and the cause of most service repair calls I would have to blame it on 1. Dirty Filters and 2. Clogged and dirty Evaporator Coils.

I will post an article about Filters another day but today I want to review how important it is to have your indoor evaporator checked and cleaned. Heating and air conditioning are all about air flow. Proper air circulation thru your central duct system is crucial to a properly functioning HVAC system in your home.

The evaporator sits on top of your furnace if it's in the garage or hallway or alongside the furnace or air handler if it's in the attic. It is the indoor portion of your air conditioner if it is a split system. What happens is that over the years dust makes it into this component due to clogged air filters, leaky ductwork and because of lack of routine maintenance becomes coated with dust. Imagine the radiator in your car. The coil is very similar in that it has very small openings  for air to pass thru. when these openings get clogged with dust and dirt it blocks the airflow thru the unit and the air has to go around the coil causing reduced air flow and an increase of static pressure in the coil which causes problems for proper circulation of heated or cooled air.

This causes a cluster of issues. In the winter, reduced air flow out of the furnace will cause it to overheat which will trip built in safety devices in the furnace shutting it down, causing it to cycle on and off, blow cold air, overheat motor windings, and can drastically stress out the heat exchanger causing uneven thermal expansion and contraction which can cause dangerous cracks.

Basically, bad news for your system. In the summer this can cause your air conditioner to ice over, run all the time without cooling and cause your electric bills to rise.

Solution? We need to clean that coil and along with it the blower as well. This can be time consuming depending on the style of coil you have and the extent of dust coating the coil and blower.

If you live in the Rancho Cordova or Sacramento area contact a trained technician such as myself or contact the company servicing your system to come out and inspect your system. A proper cleaning can extend the life of your heating and cooling unit as well as save you money in operationg costs and reduced service calls.

Take Care,

The HVAC Tech