I love my portable air conditioner, I really do. For the hot African summer it provides untold relief to me on a daily (and nightly) basis. But, as with  all worthwhile things in life it  requires maintenance. I would like to prove this premise with a few generally applicable examples: marriage requires maintenance. You need to spend time with your partner to communicate and provide the old TLC. Similarly, with a car, it needs regular  servicing, petrol and its tyres pumped. Your portable air conditioner is no exception: its vents need to be maintained, water drained, and it needs to be cleaned (of course) and the filters need to be replaced on a regular basis.

The exhaust hose must be vented out with a vent kit that requires assembling after your purchase. They should be fitted in the correct place at your window, and should be checked regularly to see that they are  functioning optimally. I’m a bit obsessive, so I check it a lot, but you’ll probably notice if something untoward happens.

After checking you venting system, it’s time to take the plunge with your water drainage system. This will depend mostly on the design of the unit. Some units need a cup of water emptied out regularly while other are designed to deal with moisture more effectively. You will have to first find out from your manufacturer how often you must empty the buckets, and then check it accordingly.

 As with a wall unit, your air filters need to be cleaned. The purpose of these is to trap the dust in the air and to release cleaner, cool air back into the room. If you don’t clean these regularly the dust will be sure to come back and haunt you and this is no good for allergy sufferers like me. These air filters are usually washable, but once again it’s worth checking with you manufacturer so that you don’t damage them during cleaning. Remember, the more often you use the unit, the more often you must clean the filters.

I’ve found that by regularly checking that everything is cleaned and drained and in working order,  my unit doesn’t give me any problems. It’s much better just to put in ten minutes a week on your unit now, rather than  having to pay a fortune  for a new unit because your  old one became clogged up and sluggish from an accumulation of dust. Maintenance is necessary, but it need not be much of a hassle.