Little project: clean the A/C

Though I regularly change out my A/C filters and set my thermostat higher when I'm not home, I will admit that I knew nothing of maintaining and cleaning my air conditioner coils.  I strongly suspect that Mark did know something about it, but did he ever do it?  Not sure.  And my guess is no, considering the condition of the previous A/C that we had at Camp Rustown.

That unit got replaced by this one.  And since it was a sizeable investment and you can't even stay alive in Austin, Texas without one, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to clean mine.  {shoutout to the co-worker who told me she was cleaning hers last weekend and I said "am I supposed to be doing that?" so she explained it all.  Duh.}

On the advice of my brother in law I stopped by Home Depot and bought the special cleaner.  He said he would come over and give me the lowdown on cleaning it up without electrocuting myself.  Because, you know, that would be bad.  {UNPLUG IT} It didn't take long and it was so satisfying seeing the filth and such rinse right off the coils.  An easy project!

On two sides of the slab that the unit sits on, there used to be lava rock, to help with drainage.  So I might as well replace that, too.

Which I did!  And not only does it look better, it may help keep the mud spray down when it rains, which will keep the A/C coils cleaner, too.

Lava rock is great for areas where you have too much shade and are fighting a battle to get the grass to grow.  The only maintenance to it really is using the leaf blower to blow off leaves and debris, usually in the spring, but once a month or so I do a once over to keep it looking neat.  {yes, I need to work on the backyard grass}

Lava rock drains well and looks pretty and you never have to fertilize it.

Now, go clean your A/C unit!

Gina