How should an LG aircon be serviced?

LG aircon servicing: owner jobs vs technician jobs

What follows is LG's own guidance for its air conditioners. HomezyPro has no tie to LG, and models vary, so keep the manual for your unit nearby and let it overrule anything general here.

On its AC maintenance page, LG suggests cleaning the filter about every two weeks, and more often with heavy use, pets, cooking or dust. LG lists cleaning the pre-filter and wiping the exterior as owner tasks. Taking the unit apart or any refrigerant work needs a qualified technician.

Picture a four-room HDB flat with one living room unit and two bedroom units. Your share of the work is the filters in each indoor unit and a damp cloth over the casing. The coil, the blower wheel and the outdoor condenser on the ledge stay with whoever you hire.

NEA sets a looser household benchmark on its energy saving tips page: check the air filter once a month and clean or replace it when necessary, so that it will run efficiently. Keep to LG's two-week rhythm and you cover NEA's monthly check too.

Not sure how far DIY should go? Our article on whether you can service your aircon yourself looks at where owner cleaning stops.

LG aircon filter cleaning

LG aircon filter cleaning needs only a vacuum or soft brush, a basin of lukewarm water and a mild detergent. The steps below follow LG's maintenance advice.

1. Remove the filter. With the unit off, lift the front panel and slide the filter out the way your manual shows.
2. Vacuum or brush. Take off loose dust with a vacuum or soft brush. A lightly dusty filter may need nothing more.
3. Wash only if heavily soiled. Use lukewarm water with a mild detergent, then rinse it through.
4. Dry in the shade. Let it dry fully in the shade before you slide it back in.

Skip bleach and strong cleaners; LG mentions only a mild detergent. Never mix bleach with acid-based cleaners or ammonia.

Check which filter you are holding. LG says Allergy and Ultra Fine Dust filters are not washable. LG's help library treats the filter as a consumable part that owners replace when needed, with replacements bought from LG service centres. For a brand-neutral walkthrough, see how to clean an aircon filter.

Filter alerts and error codes

Some LG models remind you so you do not have to remember. LG says supported models send filter-cleaning alerts in the LG ThinQ app. That helps in a condo where the guest room unit runs only now and then and its filter is easy to forget. Check your manual to see whether your model is supported.

A code on the indoor display is a different signal. LG units may show fault codes in a CH-style format, letters followed by digits, which point to a problem rather than a routine clean. Our LG aircon error codes guide explains what the common ones mean. If a code keeps coming back, write it down and give it to your technician.

Before a long break

Going away for a few weeks over the school holidays, or leaving a rented-out flat empty between tenants? LG advises drying the inside of the unit before a long idle period. Cooling leaves moisture on the coil, and in a shut room that dampness has time to turn stale.

If your model has a fan-only or drying setting, the manual explains how to use it. Clean the filter in the same session, so you come home to a fresh unit. If a room already smells damp when you switch back on, our guide on why an aircon smells musty covers the likely causes.

Professional servicing for LG units

Owner-level LG aircon maintenance keeps the filters clear, but LG says taking the unit apart needs a qualified technician. That covers the coil, the blower and anything else behind the filters. Before you book, read our aircon servicing checklist so you know what to ask the technician to clean and check, and what to look at before they leave.

When a general service is not enough, a company may suggest a chemical wash or a chemical overhaul. The main difference is how far the unit is dismantled; our comparison of chemical wash vs chemical overhaul sets them side by side. Ask to see the dirt or mould that justifies the upgrade.

Booking a service

Give the company the details that shape the quote: an LG system, its model number, how many indoor units you have, and where the outdoor unit sits, whether on an HDB ledge, a condo service yard or the side wall of a landed home. Mention any ThinQ alert or error code you have seen. Quotes depend on the job, so ask each company to price your exact setup. Our aircon servicing page lists companies with their published prices and a link to each source.

Questions