Does your unit smell musty when it starts, or has nobody looked at it since it went in? We clean it inside and out and test it properly. Then we book the next service, so you don't have to remember.
NSW air conditioning and refrigeration Lic. 000000C (demo)
ARC refrigerant trading authorisation AU00000 (demo)
Our filters were grey. After the clean the bedroom unit cools noticeably faster, and they showed us how to do the filters ourselves between services.
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23What's involved
A split system or ducted unit will keep running for a long time without anyone looking at it. It just runs worse: the filters clog, the coil gets a coating of dust and mould, and the outdoor unit slowly cakes over. An air conditioning service puts that right before it turns into a breakdown on the first 38-degree day. We service split and ducted systems across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter, and most of our servicing is booked in spring, before the rush.
Every service runs through the same list, and you get it back with notes against each line:
If anything needs more than a clean, we tell you on the day, with a photo, and nothing extra happens until you've agreed to it.
For most Newcastle homes, once a year is right, ideally in September or October so the unit is ready before summer. That changes with where you live and how hard the unit works.
Salt in the air settles on the outdoor coil and its thin aluminium fins and eats at them. In Merewether, Stockton, Bar Beach and along the Lake Macquarie shoreline, outdoor units corrode much faster than they do out at Maitland. For homes within a few kilometres of the water we suggest a service every six months, with a fresh-water rinse of the outdoor coil each time. It costs less than replacing a coil that's rotted through.
A reverse cycle unit that cools through summer and heats through winter does twice the hours of one used for a few heatwaves. If yours runs most days, book two services a year. The same goes for units in rentals and holiday homes, where nobody in particular is cleaning the filters.
A sour or musty smell when the unit starts up is the most common reason people ring us for air conditioner cleaning. When the unit cools, it pulls moisture out of the air, and that water sits on the coil and in the drain tray. In a humid Newcastle summer, mould grows there fast, and the fan blows it into the room every time you turn it on. You can sometimes see it: black specks on the vanes, or a dark coating on the fan barrel if you shine a torch into the outlet.
Cleaning the filters alone won't shift it. Split system cleaning done properly means washing the coil and the fan barrel, flushing the drain and drying it all out. If the smell came back within weeks of a clean, the drain may be holding water, which we check too.
Filters out. Coils clean.
Drain flushed.
A ducted air conditioning service follows the same checklist, with a few extra stops. We clean the return air filter, go up into the roof to the indoor unit, check its drain tray and safety tray, test each zone damper opens and closes, and look along the ducts we can reach for splits, kinks or joints that have come apart. A ducted system with a split duct is cooling your roof space, and the only sign inside is a room that never quite gets cold.
Cleaning the filters between services is the single most useful thing you can do for a split system. It takes ten minutes:
Do this at least once a season, and more often through a busy summer or if you have pets. Your manual gives the interval for your model. If the filters are torn or the frame has gone brittle, we carry replacements for most major brands.
Most services find nothing more than dust. When we find more, such as a refrigerant pressure that's low, a drain that's partly blocked or a capacitor that's swelling, we explain it and quote the fix. Our air conditioner repair page covers the common faults, and if the unit is dripping water inside, our guide on an air conditioner leaking water walks you through the likely causes first.
For homes out at Cessnock or Maitland, we group services by area on the same day, so it's easy to book a few neighbours in together. Ring us or use the quote form, pick "service", and tell us how many units you have and whether they're split or ducted.
23Questions
Once a year suits most homes, ideally in spring before the first hot week. Units within a few kilometres of the beach, and systems that run most days in summer and winter, do better with a service every six months. In between, clean the filters yourself at least once a season, and more often through a busy summer.
Usually it's mould and bacteria growing on the indoor coil, the fan or the drain tray, where moisture sits after the unit cools. Newcastle's humid summers make it worse. Cleaning the filters helps, but the smell usually needs the coil and fan cleaned properly, which is part of our service.
Mould in the indoor unit gets blown around the room every time it runs, which isn't good for anyone with asthma or allergies. If you can see black spots on the vanes or the fan barrel inside the outlet, switch it off and book a clean rather than keep running it. Don't spray household cleaners into the unit, as they can damage the coil.
A filter clean is the bit you can do yourself. Our service includes a full clean of the indoor coil, fan and drain, and the outdoor coil, plus the checks a clean alone misses: refrigerant pressures, electrical connections, the drain line and how cold the air coming out is. A clean makes it smell better; the checks catch a fault before it turns into a breakdown.
Yes. A ducted air conditioning service covers the return air filter, the indoor unit in the roof, the drain, the zone dampers and the controller, plus the outdoor unit. We also check the ducts we can reach for splits or loose joints, which leak cooled air into the roof space.
You can keep it clear: pull out weeds, leaves and anything stacked against it, and keep the space around it clear so air can flow. A gentle rinse with a garden hose, with the power off at the isolator, helps on coastal homes. Leave the fins and the inside of the unit to us, because the fins bend easily and there's live wiring behind the panel.
