San Antonio · Condenser Coil Cleaning Repair · Family-Owned Since 1996
When the condenser coil (the big finned wall around your outdoor unit) clogs with cottonwood, dryer lint, and Texas dust, your AC can't dump heat outside. Cleaning it usually recovers 15–25% cooling capacity in one visit.
Typical price
$189–$329
Time to fix
60–90 minutes
Urgency
Medium — every summer week you wait costs you on the electric bill
Your outdoor unit is basically a giant radiator. Hot refrigerant from inside your house gets pumped through those thin aluminum fins, and a big fan pulls air through them to throw that heat outside. When the fins are clogged, air can't pass through — so the heat has nowhere to go and your system runs hot, long, and weak.
In San Antonio we see this constantly: cottonwood seeds in May/June, dryer vents blowing lint into the side of the condenser, and just plain caliche dust. A coil that's even 30% clogged will spike your electric bill, freeze your indoor coil, and shorten your compressor's life by years.
A proper cleaning is not a garden-hose rinse. We pull the top, foam-coil cleaner, rinse from the inside out at controlled pressure, comb bent fins, and check amp draw and superheat before/after. $189–$329 depending on coil size and how bad it is.
What it costs in San Antonio
$189–$329 — Includes coil foam, fin comb, before/after performance check, and the $59 diagnostic. Our $59 diagnostic is waived when you approve the repair, so you only pay for the fix itself.
If two or more of these sound familiar, it's probably your condenser coil cleaning.
Here's exactly what a Carnes and Sons tech does at your house — no mystery, no upselling.
We measure amp draw, suction and head pressure, and supply-air temperature so we have a real before number — not a guess.
Pull the top, remove the fan assembly, and protect the electrical components. Garden-hose-from-outside cleanings push the dirt deeper — we always clean from the inside out.
Commercial-grade non-acidic coil cleaner sprayed on the inside, let to dwell so it lifts the gunk, then rinsed at controlled pressure. We straighten bent fins with a comb.
Put it back, re-energize, and measure the same numbers. A properly cleaned coil drops head pressure 30–60 psi and amp draw a full amp or more. We show you the readings.
Get Your Condenser Coil Cleaning Diagnosed Today
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$189 for a standard residential 2–4 ton unit. Bigger 5-ton units or coils that haven't been cleaned in 5+ years run up to $329 because they need a deeper foam soak. The $59 diagnostic is included in that price.
You can rinse the outside, and honestly that helps a little. But a garden hose from the outside pushes contaminants deeper into the coil. A real cleaning requires pulling the top, cleaning from the inside out, and using a proper non-acidic foam — otherwise you're just moving the dirt around.
Every year in San Antonio. We see units that haven't been cleaned in 5–10 years and they're running at 50% capacity and triple the electric bill. Annual maintenance plan customers get it included.
Yes — usually 10–25% on the AC portion of your bill. A clogged coil makes the compressor run longer and hotter to move the same amount of heat. Clean coil = shorter runtime = lower bill. We've had customers see $60–$120/month drops.
If the cause is a dirty coil — yes, immediately. We measure supply-air temperature before and after so you'll see the proof. If cleaning doesn't restore performance, you have a different issue (low refrigerant, bad capacitor, weak compressor) and we'll diagnose that instead.
Absolutely. High head pressure from a clogged coil overheats the compressor windings and shortens its life by years. A $3,000 compressor failure often traces back to a $200 cleaning that was skipped.
About an hour to ninety minutes for a typical home. We pull the top, foam, soak, rinse, reassemble, and run a full performance check.
We use non-acidic, biodegradable coil cleaner that's safe for plants once rinsed. We'll move pots and rinse surrounding mulch when we're done.
We're based in Stone Oak and roll trucks across San Antonio and the surrounding Hill Country every day.
License TACLB29435E · Family-Owned Since 1996
Cities & neighborhoods we serve
San Antonio · Stone Oak · Alamo Heights · Hollywood Park · Hill Country Village · Shavano Park · Castle Hills · Leon Valley · Helotes · Boerne · Fair Oaks Ranch · Bulverde · Timberwood Park · Garden Ridge · Schertz · Cibolo · Selma · Universal City · Live Oak · Converse · Windcrest · New Braunfels
No call center. The owner or one of his sons picks up.
(210) 600-5091