Air Conditioning Maintenance
Artarmon & Sydney’s Lower North Shore
Four service levels. Licensed technician on every job. A fixed quote before anything starts.
Choose the level your air con actually needs and know the price before we arrive.
Artarmon Air Conditioning services all brands of split systems, multi-split systems, VRV/VRF systems, ducted, cassette, bulkhead, package units and floor console air conditioners across Sydney's Lower North Shore.
What Level of Air Con Service Do I Need?
Each level goes a step deeper than the last, and most homes land on Standard.
Not sure which is yours?
Send through an enquiry with what you have and when it was last serviced, we will quote you the level we would recommend.
Essential
Quick Check & Clean
A short visit to confirm the unit is running properly and to catch anything developing before it turns into a repair. The filters come out and get washed, the drain is tested, and the system is run up and watched through its modes. You get a written report either way, so you know where you stand before summer.
Book it if:
• You had a Standard service about six months ago and want the mid-year check
• The unit is newer and has not missed a yearly service
• You want to know whether anything is developing before summer starts
Standard
The Annual Service
Book it if:
• You service once a year and want it done properly
• It has been about twelve months since the last service
• This is your main service for the year, whether or not you add an Essential check six months later
If you are not sure which level you need, this is the one.
The service most homes need once a year. Everything in Essential, and then the unit is opened up properly: covers and louvres off and washed, the indoor coil disinfected, the drain flushed rather than just tested, and the outdoor unit cleared and wiped down. Unless there is a reason to go higher, this is the one we book.
Premium
Full Indoor Deep Clean
A deep clean is a different job to a standard maintenance. The indoor unit gets stripped back: the fan barrel comes off and is cleaned separately, and the coil is cleaned in situ and chemically treated rather than wiped down, because that is the only thing that shifts what has grown on them. On a unit that has earned this service, expect the water coming out to be black.
Book it if:
• There is a musty smell when the unit starts up
• You can see black spotting or grime on the fan barrel through the louvres
• It has not been serviced in several years
• Someone in the house is sensitive to airborne mould
A routine service will not fix any of these. The mould sits behind the filters, on the fan barrel and the coil, where a service cannot reach.
Premium
Pro Max Ultra
The Full Reset
Everything Premium does indoors, then the same treatment outside. The outdoor unit is stripped back, the coil and condenser fan cleaned, surface rust knocked back and treated. This is the one for a system that has never had it done.
Book it if:
• The outdoor unit is filthy, rusty or packed with leaf litter
• You are near the water or on a main road
• The system has never been serviced, or not for many years
• Running costs have climbed and it struggles on the hot days
• You would rather have everything done in one visit than a service now and a clean later
The outdoor coil is where your air con dumps the heat it takes out of the room. When it is packed with dust, salt or leaf litter the whole system works harder, runs hotter and costs more, so cleaning it is what actually recovers running cost and capacity.
Compare the Four Levels
| Split system | Essential | StandardMost popularPopular | Premium | Premium Pro Max UltraPro Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filters cleaned | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Drain tested | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Test run to confirm operation | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Operating temperatures and airflow recorded | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Written report on issues found | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Covers and louvres removed and washed | Included | Included | Included | |
| Drain flushed | Included | Included | Included | |
| Indoor coil disinfected | Included | Included | Included | |
| Outdoor unit case wiped down | Included | Included | Included | |
| Debris cleared around outdoor unit | Included | Included | Included | |
| Full deep clean of the indoor unit | Included | Included | ||
| Fan barrel removed and cleaned off the unit | Included | Included | ||
| Indoor coil chemically cleaned, disinfected and deodorised | Included | Included | ||
| Full deep clean of the outdoor unit | Included | |||
| Outdoor coil and condenser fan cleaned | Included | |||
| Minor rust correction, outdoor unit | Included |
Bulkhead units are quoted separately, because reaching the coil means opening the ceiling or removing the unit.
On Every Visit
• Attendance by a licensed technician
• A fixed quote before we start
• Any fault found is explained in plain English, with a fixed repair price you approve first
• No callout fee on top of the service
• Work area left clean
Servicing does four things:
• Keeps running costs down. A clean coil and clear airflow means the system reaches temperature and cycles off instead of running flat out.
• Prevents the expensive failures. A blocked filter and a choked coil are cheap to clear and expensive to ignore, because both put load on the compressor, which is the one part you do not want to replace.
• Keeps a service history. A manufacturer can ask for one on a warranty claim.
• Fixes the smell. Mould and bacteria on the indoor coil and fan barrel are the cause of the musty smell when you switch the air con on, and no amount of filter cleaning reaches them.
Most air conditioners do not fail suddenly. They fail after two or three summers of a blocked filter, choked coils packed with dust, and then they give up on the first 38 degree day when every technician in Sydney is booked out.
An air con that has not been serviced runs harder for less output. A dirty air conditioner coil restricts airflow, which drops capacity and drives the compressor to run longer for the same result. A blocked drain puts water into a ceiling. An outdoor coil packed with dust and leaf litter cannot reject heat properly, so the system runs hotter and longer, and on the days you need it most it may never reach temperature at all.
Why Service Your Air Con
What You Should Do Between Services
Every 1 to 3 months, wash the filters yourself. It takes five minutes, needs no tools, and it is the single most useful thing an owner can do between services. If the filters are visibly grey, you have already lost capacity.
Keep the outdoor unit clear: no leaf litter piled against the coil, nothing stored on top of it.
If it has been three years or more since a service, a routine Standard service will not be enough. By then the growth is on the coil and inside the fan barrel, behind the filters where cleaning them cannot reach, and the unit needs a Premium or Premium Pro Max Ultra to reset it.
Service Areas
Based in Artarmon, we provide fast callouts to:
Artarmon, Chatswood, Castle Cove, Lane Cove, Willoughby, Northbridge, Naremburn, Crows Nest, St Leonards, North Sydney, Mosman, Cremorne, Roseville, Lindfield, Killara, Gordon, Pymble, St Ives, Turramurra and Wahroonga.
See every suburb we cover on our Lower North Shore and Upper North Shore pages.
Being truly local means shorter travel times and quicker response during busy summer periods.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Artarmon Air Conditioning's maintenance starts at $199 including GST for an Essential visit on a single split system. The final price depends on the type of system, how many are at the address and how long since the last service.
Send an enquiry with your system type and we will return a fixed quote, usually the same business day.
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Artarmon Air Conditioning's four levels differ by how deeply the air con is cleaned. Essential is a check: filters cleaned, drain tested, a test run, temperatures recorded and a written report. Standard is the annual service, adding washed covers and louvres, a flushed drain, a disinfected indoor coil and the outdoor unit cleared. Premium adds a full indoor deep clean. Premium Pro Max Ultra adds the same treatment outdoors.
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Every Artarmon Air Conditioning service includes filter cleaning, a drain test, a test run, recorded operating temperatures and airflow, and a written report on anything found. The Standard level adds the covers and louvres washed, the drain flushed, the indoor coil disinfected and the outdoor unit wiped down and cleared. Premium adds a full indoor deep clean, and Premium Pro Max Ultra adds the outdoor unit.
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Book Standard if you are unsure, because it is the annual service and the lowest level that actually cleans the unit. Artarmon Air Conditioning recommends Essential as the six-month check between Standard services rather than as a service on its own, Premium where a unit has gone years without attention or smells musty, and Premium Pro Max Ultra where the outdoor unit needs the same treatment. Most systems start high and settle onto a Standard cycle.
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Two visits a year keeps a system in its best condition, and Artarmon Air Conditioning's levels are built for it. The pattern is a Standard service in spring before the cooling season, then an Essential check about six months later in autumn. One thorough service a year is enough for a lightly used system in good order. Systems running most of the year, or near the water or a main road, benefit most from the second visit.
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An unserviced air con loses capacity, costs more to run and fails earlier. Artarmon Air Conditioning most often sees blocked condensate drains putting water through ceilings, mould on the indoor coil and fan barrel causing the musty smell, and outdoor coils so packed with dust and leaf litter that the system cannot cool on the days you need it. All three are cheap to prevent and expensive to fix.
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You can and should clean the filters yourself every one to three months, which takes five minutes and needs no tools. Everything else requires a licence. Under Australian law only a technician holding an ARC Refrigerant Handling Licence may work on the refrigerant circuit, and electrical work requires a licensed contractor. Artarmon Air Conditioning holds Refrigerant Trading Authorisation AU60391 and NSW contractor licence 394793C.
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Yes. Artarmon Air Conditioning offers ongoing air con service agreements for homes and small commercial sites on the Lower North Shore. We contact you when the service is due, give you priority booking and keep a full service history on file for warranty and sale purposes. You choose the service level fresh at each visit, and there is no lock-in period.