Air cooler maintenance checklist

Air coolers are one of the most important machines in your house especially if you are living in a hot weather condition. It helps you maintain a cool temperature for you and your family’s utmost comfort.

If you depend heavily on your cooling system, you would want to keep a close eye on them to prevent any issues in the future.

Otherwise, you’ll end up paying high bills for repairs and maintenance.

This can be prevented through regular inspections, you can check on some simple maintenance checklist to easily identify any issues in your unit and assess if this can be handled by you personally or you’ll need professional help.

Failure to do so will lead you to a more serious problem in the future and improve the air cooler’s efficiency.

The following are the items that need to be checked to help you fix minor issues and prevent you from developing any serious problems.

Clean the outermost part of the unit.

The exterior of the machine is what you will first notice. Regularly clean the exterior to prolong its life. It can be done once or twice every week.

You can scrub it using a brush or wipe it with a soft and damp cloth. Use only mild detergents and avoid using harsh chemicals as it may damage the air cooler.

After, you can use warm or tap water to rinse it thoroughly. For safety, make sure that the unit is plugged off before doing the cleaning of the exterior.

Check the cooling pads. 

Cooling pads are important parts of your air cooler. However, they do not function well if it is dirty. Thus, it needs to be cleaned regularly, at least once a month. 

To disinfect it, you may use lemon juice or vinegar to saturate the cooling pads for 30-60 seconds before rinsing it with warm water.

Through this process, the development of unpleasant and smelly odors will be prevented.

Make sure to dry them completely before placing them back inside the unit to avoid any mold-growth. 

However, if it starts to wear out where cleaning won’t be enough, you need to replace it immediately.

You can easily identify if your cooling pads need to be changed.

If you noticed that your air cooler has reduced its airflow or it has lost its thickness, it definitely needs to be changed.

Some also depend on the type of material used: Aspen or Honeycomb.

Clean the water tank.

Cleaning the water tank regularly will prevent debris-growth inside the air cooler.

You should also make sure that the water is changed regularly to avoid the growth of bacteria that may produce bad odor which is harmful to health.

Air cooler interior should be cleaned at least every 3 days. 

You can use a brush to scrape the scale that is brought by debris in the water and may block the filter or the cooling pads.

Do it carefully to avoid damaging the unit. Wipe the inside by using soft cloth or sponge. Avoid using harsh chemicals in cleaning the air cooler.

After washing it with mild detergent and lukewarm water, deodorize it using water and vinegar solution and leave it for some time before rinsing it again with clean and freshwater.

A clean water tank does not only ensure clean water for the effectiveness and efficiency of the unit but also provide you with good quality of indoor air.

Check the proper water level.

Air coolers use natural cooling process through evaporation. Thus, it requires that a certain water level is maintained, otherwise, it won’t function well.

It may cause damage to the unit as well. To do this, you need to frequently inspect manually the water level when the air cooler is in use. 

Always pay attention to the proper water level of your unit since it may vary depending on the brands.

Some brands come with an automatic indicator that will notify you if the water level is too low or too high. This is a good feature that you should check before buying a unit.

Use water treatment tablets.

Water treatment tablets are a great help to prevent minerals from building up inside the unit, or you want a cooler air coming out from the air cooler unit.

Mineral build-up or known as “scale,” blocks the filters and cooling pads. These tablets also prevent corrosion. 

Although the use of these water tablets depends on the brand you are using, it is highly recommendable for effective maintenance, especially if your water supply is hard.

After-use care and proper storage

There are important things to do, even if your unit is not in use. This includes shutting it down or plugging it off from the power source and making sure that the water tank is drained.

Clean all the parts and let them dry completely before placing it in a carton or any container to prevent it from being exposed to dust and dirt.

It is also important to store it in a cool and dry place to avoid damaging the unit. 

Consult professional help from experts.

It is always a good move to consult and seek help from maintenance men or repairmen for once in a while.

Consulting them will give a thorough assessment of the current condition of your air cooler, rather than making your own diagnosis.

Since they are more knowledgeable about what they are doing, they can make better decisions regarding your unit. 

Doing right the above-mentioned simple maintenance for your air coolers is very important if you want to prolong its life.

If you want you air coolers to do the job for your, efficiently and effectively, you also need to do your part in keeping them in good condition all the time.

A maintenance checklist is a sort of preventive measure.

Do not take action only when you notice some issues. As the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure”.