In this class we talk about best cleaning practices for evaporators, condensers, drains, blowers and more as well as talk about the MINDSET of cleaning it takes for success.
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But today we're going to talk about cleaning uh. This is going to be just a quick summary of different cleaning items and our procedures for those of you who are watching on youtube. It's really important that you understand that procedures vary from location to location based on the types of equipment you work on. I get a lot of requests for like universal processes, for even something as simple as cleaning a drain, and there is no universal process for any of these things.

These things have some general guidelines, general rules of uh, how to successfully clean but um they're, not universal, and so you always have to be careful when you talk about these things, but let's start with uh. You know my favorite the thing that we talk about all the time, which is drains drainage drains. If you do nothing else well as a technician, if you're really good at cleaning drains, especially in our market, where we have all this stuff in the air that grows in the drain lines and drain pans, you will save so many callbacks. If you are good at cleaning drain lines and drain pans, just as a you know, just a quick uh survey here, what's the number one callback we get shortly after installs drains? What's the number one callback we get shortly after service calls drains? What's the number one callback we get shortly after maintenances drains, it's just the number one callback we get now.

I think it does and i hear places that are more arid, more dry. They don't have as much stuff in the air. That may not be the case, but in our market drains are the number one thing that causes callbacks. So for those of you who are newer - and you think, oh man, this is a super, overwhelming trade there's so much to learn.

You can make a reputation for yourself by just being really good at cleaning drains and by not forgetting drains and making sure that you refill the traps and all those sorts of things. So to start with. Why do drains back up they back up because it's completely untreated water, so water in the presence of other nutrients for microorganisms lots of stuff grows, and so we get fungus algae we get bacteria! That's that whole bacteria bacterial zuglia thing, which is that you know elephant snot stuff. So all of this stuff grows in drain pans and drain lines, and it is definitely a problem in our market.

So the reason why we have to clean them so regularly is because we don't have anything in that water that prevents it, and so our standard procedure, as you all know, is to use the shop vac hook it on the outside of the drain. Now quick caveat: you can't always hook up a shop vac to the outside of the drain, some markets they drain it into the sewer. So you don't have that opportunity and that makes the world a lot more difficult. When you have that situation, but in our market you we hook up a shop back to the end of the drain.

We run a bunch of water through the drain pan and drain line until it comes out clear and then we refill it with water from the tap now. Why do we refill it with water from the tap refill the drain and trap it's treated? So it has some chlorine in it right. A little bit of chlorine generally speaking, is going to be in that, so that's good, but it's also because we need to refill the trap anyway. If you leave a trap unfilled, what happens it can suck air back through? It's a negative pressure system most of what we work on again because we're working on primarily air handlers.
It's negative pressure, sucks air back through and it prevents the water from draining. So after we clean a drain, we have to make sure that we refill it now. Why do we need to put the cap back in on the clean out of the drain pressure it's under negative pressure? If the cap's out what will happen, it'll suck air through that and it can actually hold water back in the pan as well, unless it's a furnace, okay now this is a good one. Thank you for mentioning that jake said unless it's a furnace so on a furnace, a furnace is not under negative pressure on the evaporator coil.

Why the blower's, underneath it right so evaporative coils over the blower, so the evaporator coils hunt positive pressure. Do you need to trap a furnace drain? Yes or it says yes, jake says he doesn't think you do it's a trick question because, depending on who, you ask they'll, tell you different things. So some markets require you to trap them um, it's sort of a ah thing authority having jurisdiction, a lot of the manufacture specifications because i actually got into an argument with um uh, ed, our buddy ed from new jersey. I i never pronounced his last name right.

Genoak or whatever, and i said well, manufacturers say that you're supposed to trap it. I did the thing where people, you know just spout and don't actually know, and he said really find me one manufacturer spec. That says that you do actually have to trap and i lost because i couldn't find one. So his point was his point was: is that a trap on a positive pressure system just adds another potential problem? And so his take is yeah? You will lose a little bit of air, which that's one argument is that you get some air.

Potentially, that's lost, but it's so minute that it doesn't matter well, it depends on what you're you know. If, if you have bad duck work on her she's got high positive static. You know, you know what you need to do. You need to fix your ductwork all right all right.

You know what i'm saying: it's, not good um. So it's one of those arguments. It's one of those debated things, but in negative pressure systems we know we have to have a trap. Okay, we've talked about this before if you're going to have a vent where's the vent located after the trap, yeah, not a trick question after the trap, so clean out is located before the trap vent is located after the trap.

A vent is meant to be left open all right, and in any case that you, you know if you have a case where you've got multiple units that are draining into a common drain. That's where vents become really really important. If you're working on rooftop units, you see that is kind of standard practice, you have a you, have a trap and then you have a vent, that's actually lower than the drain pan. So that way, if you do get a backup, it's gon na leak out of the vent rather than backing up into the unit, that's just standard practice for us.
Some people argue about that too. Some municipalities required to be higher or whatever, but that's just good standard standard practice there all right so drains. That's how we clean them. Um.

When you have solid buildup inside of a drain which can happen, you can get certain types of uh. You know again just there's all kinds of different organisms and some of them create like a hard scale inside the drain, especially when the drain is allowed to dry out in the season. So you get in the heating season. It comes back.

It has this hard scale. Sometimes the shopvac method is not going to work on the hard scale, which is why, as a standard practice, you should be looking down your clean out and again this is in our market. You know we can do this. We have this clean out.

There look down and just see what kind of stuff is in that drain if it's gooey slimy and it ends up going away, then good, but if it stays in there and it's hard. This is where you're going to want to use something a little bit more aggressive, now sort of the absolute mack daddy end of the day is drain solve, but i don't want you using that regularly and if you do use drain solve so i'm just going to. I repeat this all the time: if you do use drain salt, you better know where it's going on the outside, because it's going to kill a plant. It's going to stain a driveway, it's going to damage a car.

It's going to damage your face! It's going to damage your helper's face, so when you're working with drain solve any time you're working with any cleaner, you need to be wearing safety glasses. You need to be wearing gloves. You need to make sure you've got something protecting your arms. You've got to.

You know make sure that you're not going to spill it on anything carpet all that stuff. You have to think through. All of that, it's not something you just sling around. What i would prefer that you do, generally speaking, is just take some standard.

Condenser coil, cleaner. You know your viper cleaner, that sort of thing that is not super toxic and caustic, pour it in the drain line and just let it sit while you're doing other things, just let it kind of sit and work and soften that stuff. Up now it's not generally going to be perfect. It's not you know it's not going to be as exciting as drain solve, but it will break up that.

That's not another thing is: do not put drain salt in a drain pan. You all know this right. Don't put drain salt in a drain pan because it will react with the coil and everything else and uh. It's not good.
Y'All follow okay, so i just want you to make sure. I want you to make sure that you're hearing me about this, because we do. We, i don't want it on all the vans, but we do have some of it um and when you use it because it is really helpful for breaking up super solid stuff, that's really hard to deal with, especially in commercial applications where you've got long drains. And you can't get to all of it, especially when you can't get to the end of it and it's draining into a common system or something sometimes it's your only tool.

You've got the toolbox, but you need to be really really careful on the on this. On the no a quick note with safety glasses, i want to reiterate, because we've got some new folks here: wear safety glasses for essentially everything we do. The practice of you know oh shoot, i'm going to braise. Let me get my safety glasses.

That's not! That's! Not enough safety, glasses are the one thing, one piece of ppe that you really just need to be using pretty much all the time things like gloves. Even things like steel-toed work shoes over the weekend, i was on a little bit of a mission just to see. Okay in residential, do we need to have them, and the answer i came away with is yes, because, if you're an install, you need to have them because you're lifting equipment - and i'm talking about from osha standard standpoint, i'm not i'm not making this up. I'm talking about from osha and then in service, if you're ever going to do a compressor or any sort of a heavy motor, you need one and you never know what day you're going to do one, and so you really just need to wear the steel toed Or hard toed work shoes they make some pretty good ones.

Nowadays i was looking up a lot of the the newest ones out there anyway, so that was just a quick side note there, but when you're doing any sort of cleaning with chemicals really anything that you're, you know you could get poked in the eye or chemicals Could get in your eye or your braising or your soldering or whatever? You need to make sure that you're wearing your safety glasses in terms of your drain, pan your drain, pan is the area that gets missed most often, and i want you to have some process of cleaning the drain pan, regardless of the type, and so i don't Care, if it's a case coil, i don't care if it's an a coil slant, coil whatever you need to have some method of getting underneath that drain, pan and cleaning out those channels now. Does this mean that we're going to pull apart a case coil every single time? We do a maintenance? No, that probably isn't going to be practical. Now it depends on the application. If you can get to it, then fine, but from a practical standpoint, pulling apart a case coil in every circumstance, especially the way they're installed in florida, with the mastic seal and all that probably not practical, but we do definitely need to do it.
At least on occasion now in terms of what the process and system is for that, we may not have that all worked out the best possible way, but we need to because cleaning the drain pans is really critical and what i would suggest using is those um. Those bottle brushes, you know the really thin bottle brushes. I got a bunch of them. Try them they work really nice.

You can get them from uh harbor freight. I would like to start stocking some more of those here. That was actually just a note that i had in my head, um, but just to get underneath those drain pans. Some of some people use a panduit strap.

You know something in order to get the gunk out of the drain, pan and rinse it out with water. As you're cleaning it so to do a maintenance or to do a service call or if we're charging a customer for a drain line, we never just do the drain line when you're doing an install. Obviously it's a brand new drain pan. So it's the drain line.

You're worried about, but whenever you're doing a service call or maintenance, you need to be focused on that drain pan, as well as the drain line. You know you can use your pump, sprayer and kind of put it on that that stream and you can get in and kind of force it from the back again like, depending on the application. You need to clean the drain pan and drain line until it's clean and a big part of that is being able to look with your flashlight physically look at it and see. Does it look clean some places you can't see, and so you just need to do the best.

You can rinse some water back in there, but being thorough with it is something that you um. You can't leave to chance. You can't just say: oh well, it's probably fine. You have to get in there to the best your ability, like i said i gave you one caveat there and that's the case coil, and with that you know you would look at the age application when's.

The last time we actually pulled it apart, that sort of thing and that's where notes come in really handy on maintenance, if you're going to do that, take it apart and clean. It then put that in the notes and if you're going to skip it, because it was recently done then put that in the notes. But again you know you want to be really thorough with that again, it's not like. We have a lot of problems on case coils generally speaking because of the positive pressurization.

So that's part of our kind of saving grace. We don't have as many issues with them, but it's still something that needs to be done regularly. All right. I spent a lot of time on that one because it's a really key one now in terms of pan and drain treatment.

Um, that's what we use a lot of companies use pan tabs. What is uh bert? Do you have any, do you have any take on that product and how it's best best applied best used talk about the pants pan spray actually dry, the pan. That's my take on it. So when you're cleaning it out, you can't just get it.
There can't be standing water in the pan and then you spray the pan spray treatment on the bottom of that water. You actually want to wipe it out, so the pans dry and then spray it on and it'll stick to the bottom of that pan and i'm hitting just the bottom row of coils. I, like that yeah yeah, what you don't want to do with it - and this is just comes from experience - you don't want to just spray it on top of a bunch of water because it does tend to kind of float on top and it can, and it Can ball up seems to be a good product. I've used it on my ductless system in my master bedroom, because it's something that i you know regularly monitor, and sometimes you get that funky smell nice thing with ductless pans is they're, actually pretty easy to kind of dry out you just kind of give them a Quick swipe and you've got them open, sprayed it down and it did greatly reduce the odors.

I noticed so that's our product that we use. I like it better than pan tabs only because you can coat the entire pan um rather than dropping some tabs in and also with tabs there's. Just some, you know guys will do things like throw them in the drain line, or you know they'll get stuck right by the outlet and then it causes problems. Now again, any product misapplied is a problem, but that's that's why we use that product um.

Also, it's a very it's a super non-toxic food safe product, so it just doesn't have some of the some of the issues that others could potentially have. Some of them, you know have some corrosive properties um. So it's just better safe than sorry and in terms of evaps um again, this isn't just about maintenance. This is about broadly, if you are removing an evaporator coil to clean it, and we don't do as much of that as we used to mostly because when evaporative coils are getting old enough, that they need to be cleaned, the risk of pulling them out and having Them leak on you is so high um.

So we really especially on older evaporator coils. We should probably kind of move the customer away from having a pull and clean done, but if a customer decides they want to pull and clean down and they know the risks associated with it, you need to make sure you seal that evaporator coil up before you Take it out and start spraying water all over it like seal it up really. Well, i mean, i know this seems fairly obvious, like duh, but i'm telling you when i first time i did a pull and clean out evaporative coil, i didn't think about it. I was just like you know, dumb kid, whatever pull it out, oh and then it's like oh crap.

I probably should have sealed that up. So in terms of how you seal it up, i would love it if you would actually pinch it off and solder. It closed that would be that's the right way of doing that. If you are going to use some type of tape, don't use something like masking tape.
That's going to potentially be permeable use, something that's going to seal it up a little bit better, but really the best option is to save rubber plugs from other evaporative coils and other systems and have an assortment of rubber plugs uh on the truck. And then you, you know, you know how you put rubber plugs back in. This is a kind of a weird trick in the center when you push it in the center, it deforms it in a point and it forces it in so when you're forcing a plug in that's what you do, you take a screwdriver push in the center. Now you don't want to pierce the center, because then you've ruined the whole point of the rubber plug yeah.

That's not a good idea. We're not gon na all right, evaporators cleaning in place. Cleaning an evaporative coil in place is a is a very tentative and careful process in which you have to use your wits. There's no one way of doing it other than to make sure that you protect all the areas you have.

A shopvac handy probably keep a towel nearby too. It's just a good idea. In fact, one of the things that i would encourage you to have on your truck is a beach towel. So, whenever you're going to be dealing with potentially a lot of water, a beach towel is handy, you know, you're doing a you're, doing a cleaning place on a ductless system, you're doing a cleaning place on an evaporator coil, it's nice to have that there you're defrosting.

Your drop cloth but drop cloths aren't absorb. You know they don't absorb same thing. What's that yeah yep so preparing it really well uh and then you know probably the best tool in our arsenal for a cleaning place. We've got the um the viper canned cleaner because it does get in tight areas and it's easy to use it's very foaming.

Now again, it's not an aggressive cleaner, but that's actually part of the advantage of it is that it's not going to have a strong odor. I mean there may be a little bit of something, but it's not going to be like those old school types of cleaners that you're going to freak the customer out. But it does foam a lot, and so you got to be prepared to deal with that foam. Using soft bristle brushes using rags now keep in mind that a cleaning place is only really effective at cleaning surface dirt.

So you've got stuff on the underside of the evaporator. Coil looks like a cat dyed on it a lot of times. You don't even need to use much cleaner. You can actually just kind of start to peel it off if you can access it like this.

That's how you do it just like that if you've done it, you know, that's how you do it just like that um yeah! I don't know about that. Okay, no! No! I'm going to get sued. I did it just like this and it didn't work um. So again, you know assess it.

You don't necessarily want to wet certain types of soil, initially see if you can just peel it off before you wet it. But if it's that sort of standard gunk that you get in an evaporative coil using a cleaner, hitting it on both sides using a shop vac using a soft bristle brush and kind of working it from the top down, those are usually going to be your best Bets you know and getting it clean. So what was next here, uh blower when you're cleaning a blower wheel? Obviously the best way is to pull it out and they're generally, not that hard to do pulling out. Housings is a good practice anyway, because then you can get the housing clean, but also clean.
The motor end bell now, when you're cleaning a motor end bell you're, not gon na, don't spray any liquid on any electrical devices. Okay, i i did that once you do. You have to take the motor out to clean it. Yes, if you're going to clean the blower wheel, you have to take the motor off of the blower wheel in order to clean the blower wheel.

Okay, so there's that and then also um, you can clean the motor end valve because sometimes you'll find that the maybe the maybe the blower wheel, isn't that dirty or doesn't need to be cleaned. But the end bell of that motor because you know blower wheels are open motors, they get dirty and you can a lot of times just wipe that off with a rag you can use contact cleaner to get in there and spray it off. You can use nitrogen to kind of get some of that stuff off, but again, whenever you're doing that, it's good to have a shop vac present. So that way you can kind of clean it up as you're going.

That's your that's your best bet again! You don't want to use nitrogen or anything and just blow snot all over the place, and then you got to deal with that so pulling blower. Housings is a really nice practice on our standard maintenances. Our typical maintenance is not included, so that would be an extra, but some of them it is included. So you have to look at the plan, but just being really good at that and not being afraid of it, because it's really not that hard.

In most cases, it's not a big deal. Some gas furnaces can be a little bit more challenging, but, generally speaking, getting good at pulling blower housings is a good skill to have, and when you clean the blower wheel once you've already taken the time to get it all out. This is something that frustrates me is when people take all the time to pull all that out, and then they don't do a good job cleaning it if you've got it out, get it clean until it looks really clean at that point, when you get it to A place in the yard or wherever that's a safe spot. You know you want to kind of work in the area.

That's a low impact area. You want to wet down the grass in the area again we're not going to use super caustic cleaners anyway, you're just going to use typical viper, which is not a it's, not a dangerous, caustic cleaner. You still got to wear your your safety glasses, obviously, but then you're going to you're going to get that really nice and clean, and you can sometimes just take a couple passes. You know you got to hit it once.
Let it set spray it off hit it again. Let it set spray it off, mix your cleaner appropriately for the job you don't want to over use cleaner because it just ends up being wasted, so mix it appropriately. So you're not wasting cleaners, and that also is going to be less likely to damage anything yep which we'll just jump down to here again we're talking air handlers because we're in florida and that's what we mostly have fan coils. It's really great to pull the blower housing for that purpose as well.

You can get in there. You can wipe down the inside evap plus an evaporator. Cleaner is a really good cleaner to use inside the cabinets, because it has no odor. It's enzyme-based.

You know it's not going to hurt anything, it's very mild, so evap plus, is your really mild cleaner that you can use inside of a cabinet to kind of sanitize. It's also great because you can spray it on the evaporator coil. Once it's been rinsed and it will continue to work for a period of time now, when you talk about enzyme based cleaners, it sort of feels a little bit like magic. You know, like i, don't know exactly how that all works, because i'm not a microbiologist, but that is the design, is that the enzymes continue to work on that biofilm over time.

So blower wheel motor look at the motor look at the wires, get those cleaned as well. If you're going to be cleaning clean, it really well, so it looks nice because the wires get gunky too just wipe them down. The condenser coil does not always need cleaner. So key thing here: don't over clean condensers with cleaner, it's just extra material.

It's you know again, anytime. We use cleaner, we're, making a choice that it's something needs to be cleaned. It's we don't do it just for fun to make foamy mess and impress everybody. We do clean the coil every time, but sometimes that's just using water rinsing it off from the inside rinsing.

The coil does make a difference on most coils. So again, cleaning is is about doing a good cleaning today, but it's also about thinking about what is going to result in good outcomes over the long run as well and you'll notice things that i i could never note, and i can never. I can never mention so um, let's go to plenum so on your supply, plus, especially because a lot of our units are located in unconditioned areas. Sometimes you will get a little bit of growth now.

Ideally, they would all be so well sealed and so well insulated that you'd never get any growth, but on the outside of the air handler cabinet on the supply plenum, you can get some growth. If it's minor, then just clean it just part of what you part of what you do just just clean it. What do you use to clean it? I mean. Ideally, you would use something like a chlorine solution, but using some evap plus on a rag will often do a good enough job just to kind of wipe it off.
If it gets severe, where you notice that it appears to be because it's poorly sealed, the plenum is poorly built, then that's something we need to quote to redo, and this goes back to the whole concept of you know noting things to the customer, not because we're Trying to get them to freak out, not because oh man, you have toxic mold in your house, you know those are the sorts of things we never do, but what we do want to do is address things so that way it doesn't become a problem down the Line then somebody says how come you never told us and again when you think in terms of the way a home inspector thinks we're talking an independent home inspector when they go to sell the house home inspector comes in, they note all sorts of things, they know When the armaflex is torn, they know when there's growth on the plenum. They know all that sort of stuff a lot of it's aesthetic, but regardless, if a home inspector would note it, we should bring it to the customer's attention and give them a quote to fix it just so that way, we're covering ourselves the same way when you See nicked wires damaged, you know, damaged thermostat wires. When you see torn armaflex on the outside those sorts of things, we can fix those things, and the customer should have the choice. Because then, when we've been doing a maintenance for five years or been servicing a house for 10 years and the home inspector comes out and says well, how come your service company never told you? Well then they can say well, they did, and i just chose not to do it right, that's a much better situation and when you think of it that way, it makes it much easier.

You don't need to pressure anybody. We don't need to be aggressive about anything. You just mention the things that you notice same thing with disconnects coming off the wall or seal tight. That's you know coming apart or that's running properly or you know whatever so just being really thorough with that um and then the final thing is inside the air handler.

We already mentioned that, but that's where you know we're going to use a little evap plus on a rag just wipe down the inside of the air handler wipe down the wires. All that now again, a lot of this cleaning stuff sounds like i'm just talking about maintenance, and i am mostly talking about maintenance, but i'm also talking about service calls, and we don't do all of this extra stuff on every service call for free. That's not how that works, but, as you know, what we found to be the most effective way of running a service business is when you go in and you find that problem now you go wide and you offer those other things so doing a drain. Cleaning cleaning.

The air handler cleaning, the condenser, those sorts of things - are added value that you can bundle in with the repair that you're doing you don't necessarily have to charge full price jesse talks about this. A lot is how you can reduce the pricing if the customer allows us to do all that at once, so our goal isn't to squeeze every dime we can out of the customer. The goal is to give them a good value for what we're doing, addressing things that can be addressed, and the key thing here is is that some of you like cleaning and some of you, don't i like cleaning, i always have i like walking up to a Dirty looking unit and walking away with it, looking nice, some of you that isn't a motivator, but instead let a motivator, be reducing callbacks and increasing customer satisfaction. In terms of the biggest thing you can do to reduce callbacks of everything.
That's on this list drains. Second would be evaporative. Coils third would be blower wheels. Those are the three that are going to show up most often condensers in our market, because we don't have cottonwood.

We don't have these extreme condenser events where it's like it was working and now it's not working. That's not typical and generally because we're cleaning them consistently. That's not going to be one of those ones that causes a callback generally, a callback is going to be caused by oops. We didn't look at the evaporator coil and now the thing's freezing up once it gets longer.

Runtime oops nobody paid attention to that blower wheel and it's not moving the right airflow but mostly oops. The float switch is full again at three in the morning, and now life isn't fun because either we didn't clean the drain properly or we didn't do one of the other processes like fill it like make sure that it's draining before we leave like making sure that The float switch is positioned properly. All that sort of thing. The one thing i want to add to this is: if you're going back to a drain cleaning, that's been within two or three months: slow, your process down like the tech before you probably did a decent flush, there's a lot of cases that it needs more tension.

Doesn't need the drain solved, it doesn't need to be re-pitched. Are we getting everything out? Is it not being filtered correctly? Yep is the coil getting dirty yep yep be really thorough. It's not just as simple as sucking out a drain line. Every time pay attention to the pitch of the drain, like jesse mentioned pay attention to is the drain line, uh insulated properly horizontal drain, and it's not properly insulated you're going to get some condensation and that can be a cause of a customer complaint again rare, but Something that we should address as part of our assessment drop.

Double traps are common in our market, because a lot of the drains are weren't, pitched very well to begin with, and so over time they get sags in them and you get double traps underneath the platform across attic runs those sorts of things so being thorough. Being detailed, slowing down your process, like jesse, says i mean we found this time and time again when we slow down a little bit and we begin to look at everything, we begin to address everything with the customer. We bundle some things together that need doing. Everybody wins we're more profitable, you're less stressed out.
We get fewer callbacks the customers happier because trust me. It doesn't matter how happy the customer was in the first place if we have to go back two days later, they're, not that happy anymore, they're, just not, and we manage that pretty well, but we still get way too many callbacks. I mean everybody knows that we just get too many and it's all because of rushing and not noticing fairly obvious things. It's very rarely something super complicated and when it is something super complicated yeah, you know.

So what that happens right sometimes you'll get the weird one. You know we're all willing to accept that, but it's the simple ones that we got to get better at and, as we've talked about on service calls. That means taking that flashlight. Looking down that drain, making sure that it is clean and if it's not quoting a drain cleaning and a drain cleaning is more than just a drain line cleaning that is a condensate assembly cleaning.

It includes cleaning the drain pan and being really thorough right. So i just the main purpose here is: most of you already know this stuff, but i want to reiterate it so that way, you're really clear, that cleaning is important in some ways. A good technician is a good janitor. You know, like we've, got to be good at cleaning.

It's part of it's part of our job. You got to embrace that you never get away from that. It doesn't matter what segment of the industry you're in whether you're in grocery refrigeration, chiller work, uh, light commercial, heavy industrial, doesn't matter you're going to be doing some cleaning. Now you get to a point where you get to do more troubleshooting and that's fun, but a lot of times troubleshooting is figuring out that there's a cleaning problem.

Frankly, more often than not so all right, any questions all right. Thank you. So you.

50 thoughts on “Tips for proper ac system cleaning – kalos meeting”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars sean delegal says:

    Awesome videos but was curious about your take on blowing out drains with nitrogen? I have pretty good success rate with it and was just curious on your opinion

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars bug Den says:

    always good to retrace our years of learning ,,,,big thanks Service area Barrhaven??

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Shannon Slapp says:

    Love it when we install a positive pressure American Standard residential system, it helps quite a bit here in Florida Service area Ottawa??

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars HVAC-RA says:

    I got "drain bamage" ๐Ÿ˜†

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Luke Eckles says:

    Armstrong Air recommends traps on the evaporator for systems 3.5 ton plus, if you see this and still want to win the argument

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Scot Miller says:

    I like the one comment that the person said about adding the union to the drain line so much easier to disconnect and clean out thank you for your input

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars MrKylesvids says:

    Good content. Take off the dumb mask though.

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Max_Power says:

    Iโ€™ve given up on HVAC companies. I call for a annual maintenance and they donโ€™t clean anything. Iโ€™ve decided itโ€™s possible for DIY with training like this and an EPA 608.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Josh Keith says:

    Not bad but this guy is not a tech he is a salesman. Iโ€™m sure prices for his service is higher than giraffe pussy

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Emy Hidalgo says:

    Iโ€™ve been in the hvac industry 20 years itโ€™s nice to learn or refresh my memory sometimes we do repairs that work but in the wrong way something I learn in hvac or another industry if a person in general believes to knows everything at the end knows nothing , thanks for your time and easy explaining your employees are very fortunate to work for a company who cares for knowledge
    Thanks

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Tom K says:

    Another great video. Thx Are you in Orleans ?

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Nolannโ€™s Auto Detail says:

    How much extra would u charge to clean blower wheel?. Thank you in advance

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars eNova_Z says:

    I'd love to work for you, I really enjoy this type of work

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars William Copeland says:

    When I have a call, i like encountering a clean unit and so it is something that i do. I might not like cleaning the unit but i do! And it makes for a satisfied customer who looks at it after i leave!
    Get a shop vac that blows and sucks!
    A modified toothbrush works great in tight areas. Heat the neck of the toothbrush with a lighter and bend 90 degrees.

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Dylan Villano says:

    Thank you ๐Ÿ˜Š Service area Kanata??

  16. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ariel Hernandez says:

    Do you think that the uv light helps with the breakdown of the elephant snot for the drain

  17. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars dave johnsonnola says:

    As always, thanks for allowing us a seat in your pre-shift training sessions. Masks are no fun, but effective. Any chance of dropping a mic in the middle of your techs so that their comments/replies/questions can be heard? Service area Orleans??

  18. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Harold Williamson says:

    On drains i use a 2+1/2 nubright container I put a 3/4 ball hose bib in the screw lid then attach a aquarium 12v pump i connect the power to my M12 battery and flow water till drain runs the whole container. Thanks for the product recommendations.

  19. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars kayboord says:

    Masks… ugh…

  20. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Joseph Kokinda says:

    Shared here in OH with our young Thermodynamic Energy Kids… We carry CO2 vs. N2 for expedience sake, in addition to cost savings. Plenty of nice regulators that are automatic. CO2 pressures are easily reachieved while cylinders are in use when it is hot out! :). Now, there is N2 on our trucks to use when doing hot work or leak checks.

  21. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars ed jovi says:

    great job teaching been a plumber / hvac tec 40 yr wish u were my teacher !!! back in the day edbonjovi aka leak master plumbing and hvac Are you in Kanata ?

  22. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars mychoclabwinston says:

    Traps on upflow units are a waste, and will cause issues for homeowners.
    If this area is downflow, or horizontal, why not just put 2 3/4โ€ pvc unions,.
    It seems like this company has a lot a lot of callbacks, they need to hire this guy, or bring him in to talk to under qualified techs.
    Those thatโ€™s canโ€™t do, teach. What a bad shop, this guy is a issue.
    Why pull a evap, buy your techs a 2โ€ uni bit, and drill holes in the plenum.
    No you donโ€™t have to take the wheel out, use a brush you can buy at any HVAC dealer,
    This service manager is horrible. Service area Nepean??

  23. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Work in Progress says:

    I've found that a splayed toilet bowl brush does an excellent job of getting in-between the blades of the blower wheel.

  24. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ty Huffman says:

    Has anyone tried putting stripped copper wire scraps in the drain pan to stop algae growth so they don't get the slime??

  25. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Tactup 23 says:

    Ptrap a furnace because when the furnace is off fumes from the sewer can make their way into the ducted breathing air. Also when the furnace is on small amounts of exhaust fumes can get into the furnace room. A ptrap eliminates both.

  26. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Duramus Mosley says:

    I was wondering what your thoughts were on using nitrogen to clear drains.

  27. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Duramus Mosley says:

    So y'all have to wear a mask inside your shop?

  28. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars timrob0420 says:

    Theres something to be said about "if it looks good, it works good". Only takes a couple of minutes to knock down cobwebs around an air handler, etc. And its these things the customer actually notices, because they aint opening up the unit to see all the other stuff that you did.

  29. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Bill says:

    Had a "senior" tech co-worker that thought that cleaning was beneath him. He called it "maid work". I reminded him that he gets paid really well and our customers are paying a premium for our services. Told him to take pride in the fact that he is probably the highest paid maid in the city! Are you in Barrhaven ?

  30. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Patrick Dwyer says:

    I add a union to the drain line, way easier to clean out the trap.

  31. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Donnie Robertson says:

    Great job and video

  32. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ruben Cruz says:

    Another great class Kalos if I lived in the area I would come work for that company for sure. Caring for your companyand your techs goes a long way.

    A tip for the camera man set the camera in the center of the room so you don't have to focus as much. It will look more professional then the side angle. Then the techs don't have to use mask.. The plandamic I feel the same..

  33. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Engineer Sead says:

    Very helpful

  34. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars DanKiGod says:

    Iโ€™m learning to deal with water leak calls this is good shit man! Thanks

  35. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Barney Alam says:

    Can you show us, how to wireing air handler please. Thanks alam

  36. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jon Harrell says:

    YouTube police hit u for not wearing mask in last video ? Lol

  37. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Pennconst101 says:

    Great important stuff! A little tip on blower wheels, a lot of times water alone wonโ€™t suffice for Caked on nasty… every couple years Iโ€™ll stop by the dollar store and get some cheap toothbrushes. They work wonders and save a lot of time and frustration on blower wheels and hard to get to areas of drain pans. Keep up the good work.

  38. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Semaj Best says:

    Get rid of the mask

  39. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Frank Mashione says:

    Good meeting

  40. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Daniel Jordan says:

    Been using the bottle cleaners from harbor freight for years. They work great for all sorts of stuff, when cleaning a system.
    Also, Vinegar and baking soda can be your best friend in the field. A little goes a long way.
    Keep LOTS of different size soft bristled brushes (say that three times fast!) on your truck.
    A good bag of washable rags!
    A pooper scooper (new, not used! Lol) to remove leaves/debris from the bottom of the condenser, save your back!
    A good, premium car cleaning accessory kit for your shop vac. (Ridgid makes a good one, available at the Home Depot).

  41. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars A Bc says:

    They really need to start making these units more serviceable. I have had so many units that were installed in such a way that it is impossible to open the evap coil.

  42. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars jammin yammin says:

    For Techs by Techs

    ๐Ÿ‘€ me secretly watching as an engineer ๐Ÿ˜‚ Are you in Nepean ?

  43. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Nathanโ€™s World says:

    Why the masks did you guys get in trouble. From the YouTube police
    Great video

  44. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars JDizzle513 says:

    You ABSOLUTELY need to trap a furnace and if you want proof, carry the eztrap 113's that are clear with 2 caps and you can see for yourself. That way you can cap n uncap it and see the flow for yourself.

  45. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars J. R. says:

    Look like a good honest outfit to work for.

  46. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars heat transfer says:

    Great stuff thanks for sharing you knowledge

  47. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars nilborne1 says:

    Why clean anything? We all love the 3 AM frozen evaporator coil cleaning call. Not to mention the water through the ceiling call.

  48. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Chuck DeArruda says:

    Another great lesson!

    When removing blower housing and motor for cleaning itโ€™s wise to note wire routing, usually downward from the motor. This wire routing will carry any water on the wires down and away, and not down and into the motor.

  49. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Codey b says:

    First off, love the content.

    Secondly, these ads are ridiculous sir. Iโ€™d be more than happy to pay $10 a month on patreon to have access to your videos than pay $15 a month for YouTube premium to avoid the 30 ads in this one video ๐Ÿ˜‚.

  50. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Eli says:

    Awesome stuff. As you always say: things you might have forgotten or forgot to know to begin with. (did I get that phrase right? ๐Ÿ˜‚)

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