Your AC runs all day, the bill keeps climbing, and the house still sits at 78. Most of the time the system is fine. The outdoor coil is plugged, the unit cannot dump heat, and head pressure climbs until the compressor is working way past what it was built for. That is not a comfort problem. That is how a compressor dies three summers early.
It happens faster here than it does inland. Salt gets into the fins and holds everything else that lands on them, and then cottonwood comes through in June and finishes the job. From the outside a coil like that looks a little dusty. Pull the fan and shine a light through it and you cannot see daylight.
The honest test is the temperature split — the difference between the air going into your return and the air coming out of the vent. It should be somewhere around 18 to 20 degrees. When a plugged condenser is choking the system, that number drops, and it drops before you notice anything except a higher bill.
Signs your equipment needs this
- Runs constantly and still never reaches the thermostat setting
- The outdoor unit is hot to stand next to and the fan sounds like it is straining
- Your electric bill jumped and nothing about how you use the system changed
- You can see matted grass, cotton or grey felt packed between the fins
- It trips the breaker or shuts down on the hottest afternoons
- It has been more than a season since anyone actually opened it up
Two levels: which one do you need?
Maintenance level. Performed with the equipment in place — no disassembly. The right call for equipment that gets serviced regularly.
Restoration level. The equipment comes apart and is pressure-washed with the right chemicals, then reassembled and performance-tested.
Not sure which one? Book the Light clean. If the technician opens the equipment and finds it needs more, you upgrade to Deep on the spot and pay only the difference.
What the technician actually does
- We take the temperature split and the pressures before touching anything, so what improves is a number and not an opinion.
- Power comes off at the disconnect. Nobody cleans a live condenser.
- Light: fins brushed and vacuumed in place, coil cleaner applied and rinsed, and the condensate drain checked while we are there.
- Deep: the top and the fan assembly come out so the coil can be washed from the inside out — which is the only direction that pushes the dirt back out the way it came in. Foaming coil cleaner, then a full rinse.
- Fins get combed where they are bent. A folded fin blocks airflow just as well as dirt does.
- We reassemble, run it, and take the split again. You see both numbers before we pull out.
Pick your day and time, confirm with a deposit, and you get the confirmation right away. No phone tag, no waiting on a callback, no estimate visit.
Book AC Condenser Coil Cleaning — from $149
Frequently asked questions
How often should a condenser coil be cleaned?
Once a year for most homes on the shore, and every spring if your unit sits under trees or close to the beach. Salt air and cottonwood are the two things that clog coils fastest around here.
What is the difference between the Light and Deep cleaning?
Light is a maintenance clean with the unit in place — brushing, vacuum, approved chemicals and a rinse, about an hour. Deep is a restoration: the fan comes out and the coil is pressure-washed from the inside, which is the only way to get years of packed dirt out. Deep takes two to two and a half hours.
Which one do I need?
If the coil gets serviced regularly, Light keeps it that way. If it has gone several seasons without attention, Deep is the one that actually restores capacity. Not sure? Book Light — if the technician opens it and finds it needs more, you upgrade on the spot and pay only the difference.
Will cleaning the coil lower my electric bill?
It usually does, because the system stops running longer cycles to hit the same temperature. We cannot promise a number — what we can promise is the measured temperature split before and after, which is the honest way to show the difference.
Does the posted price cover any air conditioner?
It covers standard residential systems up to 5 tons. Larger or rooftop commercial equipment we absolutely service, but it gets its own quote — call or text us for that.
Where we work
Equipment down right now, or something bigger than standard?
Call or text and we will take care of it.