What is the best way to clean the coils? I have heard just spraying it from the outside with a garden hose and slight pressure is good enough. Then I heard you're supposed to spray it from the inside out. Also, do I need to use coil cleaner? I know a few people who just use a spray bottle with a mix of mild dish detergent and water to spray it then rinse off with hose.
Thanks for any advice.
P.S. I hope all this smoke coming from the west isn't causing health issues for any of you. As for myself, just itchy eyes and sore sinuses.
Water from a garden hose with a spray nozzle is fine for most situations. Its best to try to clean from inside out (within reason) as most of the debris will be stuck on the outside of the coil and washing inside -> out prevents the debris from getting stuck inside the coil. Don't hit it with too much pressure or you will bend the fins over and restrict the air flow.
Just clean it and clean it at least once or twice a summer - you will save more on energy costs than you would think!
All cleaned and looks good. I just took the fan cover off and leaned it off the top of the air conditioner against my house. Removed the visible debris. Then sprayed from inside with second highest setting on my garden hose nozzle. Tested on small area of coils to ensure it was not to much pressure to bend coils. Worked perfect. All dry now and runs beauty.