Are There Many Problems With Home Air Conditioners? Full Analysis Of Filter Cleaning, Misunderstandings, And Installation Risks

Many friends who drive a new Bora find that the air conditioner in the car emits a peculiar smell and the air volume decreases. The first reaction is to immediately go online to buy a HEPA filter element or an activated carbon filter element that is said to be able to filter PM2.5, and plan to install it in person. However, a few days after installation, I found that the cooling effect of the air conditioner deteriorated, the wind whistled but no cool air was blown, and the fuel consumption seemed to increase accordingly. This is by no means a problem caused by the aging of the car. The fundamental reason is that the concept is confused. Taking our daily household cars as an example, whether it is a brand new Bora or other vehicles of the same level, they are only equipped with a layer of washable air-conditioning filters according to the original factory design. There is no space left for you to install a thicker filter element, and there is no redundancy in terms of air volume. If you install it blindly, it is like putting a layer of N95 mask on the air conditioner, making it unable to breathe smoothly, naturally working slowly and consuming fuel.

Ordinary air conditioning filters and filter elements are not the same thing at all

As for the accessory located behind the glove box on the new Bora, you must first understand that its correct name is the cabin filter. It is essentially a non-woven filter or a thin layer with a little activated carbon particles, which can be removed repeatedly for cleaning. The HEPA filter element with truly high-efficiency performance has extremely high wind resistance and is generally only used in fresh air air conditioners, high-end purification models or specialized air purifiers. The design power of ordinary household car air-conditioning fans is aimed at low wind resistance filter bars. If you insist on installing a high-density filter element, the most direct consequence is that the air inlet volume will be blocked. During cooling, the refrigerant in the evaporator is ready, but the wind cannot be blown out. The cold air is completely trapped inside, and the air conditioner compressor must continue to operate at high load. When heating, the hot water in the evaporator is ready, but the air blowing is blocked and all the heat is trapped in it, so the air conditioner compressor has to run at high load all the time. Over time, it is not just a matter of burning more oil. In severe cases, it may also cause the air conditioning pipes to freeze and condensation to occur at the air outlet. Even in hot and humid weather like the south, the moist filter element itself becomes the source of mold, making the wind that blows out smells worse than before.

Only washing the filter is a common problem for most people, treating the symptoms but not the root cause.

When you usually wash your car, or you can do it yourself, you can remove the filter and rinse it with clean water. This can be regarded as relatively caring for the vehicle. However, in 90% of household vehicles, the problem happens to be just cleaning the filter. No matter how clean you are, the fine dust, mold, and bacteria that grow in the air conditioning system have already penetrated the filter and firmly adhered to the evaporator fins inside. The evaporator is the object that brings a cool feeling and has many dense metal fins, where the air needs to exchange heat. Its surface is moist and easy to accumulate dust, making the environment a breeding ground for mold. Just cleaning the filter is like changing the fabric of the mask, but the dust stored in the lungs has not changed at all. After driving the new Bora for a year or two, the dust and mildew accumulated on the evaporator can be illuminated with a flashlight from the air inlet. The sight is shocking. And this is the real source of the musty and dusty smell blown out by the air conditioner.

What can you do at home and how to do deep cleaning safely?

First of all, don’t buy the general type of thickened filter element. Instead, choose the ordinary filter screen with the specifications specified by the original manufacturer or the brand. Just replace it every one or two years. The cost is very low. In daily life, every one to three months, you should disassemble it yourself and rinse it with clean water. Remember to dry it completely before putting it back together. Installing it while it is wet is equivalent to providing warmth to the mold. Secondly, before turning on the air conditioner for the first time every summer, you can buy a bottle of air conditioner foam cleaning agent. It is necessary to cut off the power during operation, then disassemble the filter, spray a small amount of foam towards the visible evaporator fins, wait for a few minutes to dissolve the dirt, then brush with a soft-bristle brush, and finally use a damp cloth to wipe off the remaining foam, turn on the maximum air volume and blow for ten minutes. However, be careful not to spray violently or flush a lot of water. Below it is the fan and circuit board. Once one of the motors is damaged, it is not a problem that can be solved with dozens of dollars. The safest way is to find a professional master to perform deep cleaning of the evaporator every two years. They will use an endoscope and high-pressure steam to clean the wind wheel, water tank, and evaporator. After Xinbaolai completed this set of operations, the smell of the air outlet immediately became fresher, the refrigeration function was restored, and the fuel consumption was naturally reduced.

Summarize a set of plans that can be followed

For ordinary household air conditioners, there is no need to install a HEPA filter. The original washable filter is enough. The filter should be cleaned regularly every two to three months and replaced with a new set every two years. The evaporator fins are cleaned once a year, and the entire machine undergoes deep cleaning every two years. Don't do unnecessary things and don't waste money. Only in this way can the air conditioner be cooled quickly, the air outlet is clean, and the operation is energy-saving.