The Eternal Barbecue

August 10, 2006 8:22 AM

How do you air out an air conditioner? My housemate left his on all yesterday evening during our barbecue--not a problem if it wasn't positioned right over the grill. Now whenever he runs it the entire room smells of grill smoke, even though the smell has long since gone from outside. We've run it overnight with the door to his deck open to try to circulate air through it, but the smell is as strong as ever. Do we need to take it apart? Spray it with Febreze? What do you suggest?
posted by anonymous to Grab Bag (6 answers total)

You didn't mention it, so dumb question: Did you take out the filter and clean/replace it?
posted by bcwinters at 8:24 AM on August 10, 2006

Best answer: I've found that spraying the filter with Febreeze works great after a long winter in musty storage. Worth a shot, anyway.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:45 AM on August 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

Put a dryer sheet on/near the intake?
posted by inigo2 at 8:58 AM on August 10, 2006

Grill smell or no smell, spraying a bit of Febreze in the filter sounds like a nice idea, and I'm going to do that right now.
posted by brownpau at 9:47 AM on August 10, 2006

Take the inside plastic grill off and remove the filter, or on those models so equipped, slide the filter out and rinse under water, then dry. You can wipe the fins with a soft damp cloth, but be careful not to bend them, or you'll reduce your cooling efficiency.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 10:26 AM on August 10, 2006

Assuming this is a window unit the best thing to do is lug it down to a U-Do car wash and give the coils a good cleaning with the wand. Don't get the nozzle to close to the fins as you'll bend them over (say no closer than 12").

Let the unit dry a day or two to minimize the risk of shorts if any water gets into the controls.
posted by Mitheral at 8:19 AM on August 11, 2006