Before You Turn On the AC This Summer: 3 Things You Must Do First

Here’s a fun fact: The cooling fins inside an uncleaned air conditioner can harbor about 60 times more bacteria than a toilet.

This is backed by actual test data.

After autumn, many household ACs go into hibernation. During this dormant period, dust accumulates on the evaporator and moisture breeds bacteria. When you finally turn on the AC for the first time in summer, all that gunk gets blown out into your room.

Task 1: Clean the Filter

The filter is right behind the air intake on your indoor unit. Most are designed with clip-on brackets, so you can remove it yourself. Rinse with water, use a soft brush, let dry, put back.

Task 2: Clean the Evaporator

The filter only catches large dust particles. Bacteria and mold on the evaporator? The filter can’t stop those. Get specialized AC cleaning spray, apply, wait 15 minutes, run in cooling mode to flush out the gunk.

Task 3: Check the Outdoor Unit

The outdoor unit sits outside all winter, collecting leaves, dust, dead insects—everything. If the unit gets clogged, cooling efficiency drops significantly and electricity bills go up. Use a garden hose to spray down the cooling fins from bottom to top.

Why Does My AC Smell Weird?

Generally two reasons: condensation water wasn’t drained properly breeding bacteria, or the filter and evaporator are too dirty.

The solution is doing those 3 tasks above. Go check your AC now.