Most people in Dubai know to clean the AC filter. Hardly anyone thinks about the coils, and that’s usually where the real trouble is.
I’ll explain what coils are, why they clog up so fast here, and how to tell when yours need attention. No jargon.
Two coils, two jobs
Your split AC has an indoor coil (the evaporator) and an outdoor one (the condenser). Think of them as small radiators made of thin aluminium fins wrapped around copper tubing.
The indoor coil gets cold and soaks up heat from your room air. The outdoor coil gets hot and pushes that heat outside. Simple.
But the fins are spaced very close together, a millimetre or two apart. Dust doesn’t need much to block that gap.
Why Dubai is rough on coils
Honestly, it’s the dust. Even when the windows stay shut, fine sand finds its way in. Then summer humidity arrives, the indoor coil sweats, and that dust turns into a grey paste stuck to the fins. Once it dries it’s like a crust.
Outdoors it’s worse. Units on balconies and rooftops take in sand all year. In JVC and Al Barsha there’s always a building going up somewhere close. In Jebel Ali and DIP the air carries industrial dust, and the units sit near open ground.
We’ve pulled plastic bags, dry leaves and even a bird’s nest out of condensers.
How you’ll know
The AC runs and runs but the room only gets “sort of” cool. That’s the classic one.
Other signs: a damp or sour smell when it starts, water dripping from the indoor unit, ice on the copper pipe, a DEWA bill that crept up for no reason, or an outdoor unit that sounds strained and feels very hot.
Any one of these can have another cause (low gas, a faulty capacitor). But if you’ve got two or three together, I’d bet on dirty coils.
What a dirty coil does to the system
The compressor has to push harder because heat isn’t moving properly. It draws more power, runs hotter, and wears out faster. A compressor replacement is one of the most expensive AC repairs there is, often close to the price of a new unit.
And the damp dirt on the indoor coil grows mold. That’s the smell people blame on “old AC.”
The way we do it
First we look at the unit and test the airflow before touching anything. Then power off, and we cover the electrical board and the floor.
A coil cleaner goes on and sits for a few minutes. It has to be one that’s safe for aluminium. Strong acid cleaners eat the fins, which is a mistake some cheap operators make. Then we rinse it out with water at controlled pressure, because too much pressure flattens the fins like a crushed comb. If any bend, we straighten them with a fin comb.
Next, the drain pan and drain line. People forget this part, and then wonder why water drips on their floor a week later. Last, we switch it on and check cooling and noise.
For an average split unit it takes [your actual time, e.g. 45-60 minutes].
Which cleaning does your AC need?
Not every unit needs the heavy treatment.
A light wash is fine if you clean regularly. Chemical cleaning is for coils with grease or caked dust, and in Dubai that’s most units that haven’t been done in a year. Deep cleaning, where the coil is opened up fully, is for the really neglected ones. And condensers outside usually need a proper jet rinse because the dirt is heavier.
If you’re not sure, a technician can usually tell in a couple of minutes just by shining a torch through the fins. If you can’t see light through them, they’re blocked.
How often
For Dubai I’d say outdoor coils every six months, and indoor coils once a year. Twice a year if you have pets, cook a lot near the unit, or live next to construction.
Filters every month or two. That one you can do yourself.
Book before summer. March or April is ideal. If you wait until June you’ll be waiting for a slot as well as a cool room.
Areas we cover
We work all over Dubai, but a big share of our jobs are in JVC, Al Barsha, DIP and Jebel Ali.
JVC and Al Barsha are mostly apartments and townhouses, and the main issue is construction dust. In DIP we see a lot of villas and staff accommodation where the ACs run nearly non-stop. Jebel Ali has both homes and industrial buildings, and the outdoor units there take a beating.
Somewhere else in Dubai? Call us anyway.
Can I clean the coils myself?
You can wipe the outdoor grille and clear leaves from around it. Please don’t spray the coils yourself with a garden hose or a pressure washer. Water in the wrong place can kill the control board, and one hard blast bends hundreds of fins at once. We get a few calls every season from people who tried it first.
Quick answers
Will it cut my electricity bill? Usually yes, because the unit doesn’t have to fight to cool. The amount depends on how bad it was.
Is there a smell afterwards? A mild cleaner smell for a few minutes. After that, if mold was the problem, the smell goes too.
Do I need to be home? Someone should be, yes.
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