Air-conditioner filters and servicing

The air-con is the hardest-working appliance in an Australian summer, and the filter is where its efficiency quietly goes to die.

The filter: every three months

A clogged filter makes the unit work harder, cool worse, cost more to run, and circulate dustier air. For most split systems, cleaning is genuinely easy: pop the front cover, slide the filters out, vacuum or rinse them, let them dry, slide back. Ten minutes.

Every three months is a solid default. Cleaning more often makes sense in dusty areas, with pets, or when the unit runs daily through summer.

The service: before summer

A professional service — refrigerant, coils, drainage, electrics — keeps the system reliable and is best booked in spring, before the first heatwave books out every technician in your suburb. Once a year suits most systems; check your manufacturer’s guidance.

Signs you’ve left it too long

• Weaker airflow, or the room takes noticeably longer to cool.
• Musty smell when it starts up — often a dirty filter or blocked drain.
• Ice on the indoor unit, or water dripping where it shouldn’t.

Set it once

Enable the Air-conditioner filter template (three-monthly) and the yearly Air-conditioner service template in Home Heads Up. The service reminder gives you two weeks’ notice — enough time to actually get a booking.

Home Heads Up is a free app for Australian households — no ads, no account. It sends the reminders described here automatically.