What a Cairns service is up against
Very warm winters
July's mean minimum at the Bureau of Meteorology's Cairns station is 17.2 degrees, and December's mean maximum is 31.8. There's no long cool spell to give the unit a break.
Moist air
February afternoons average 71% humidity, with a dew point of 23.6 degrees. Mitsubishi Electric says dirt or dust inside an indoor unit can create odours, contribute to mould growth or clog the drain.
Salt near the sea
Beachside suburbs such as Machans Beach, 9.9 km north of the CBD, sit on a coastline Wikipedia describes as unstable from storm surge and flooding. Near the water, MHIAA's warranty terms make extra corrosion protection the owner's responsibility in coastal sea air.
After a flood
If floodwater reached your outdoor unit in Cyclone Jasper's December 2023 flood or since, mention it when you book so the technician knows to look closely.
When to book, when the aircon never stops
Daikin suggests a licensed technician looks over the unit at the start of every summer. In Cairns, where winters stay very warm, the simplest approach is a fixed month each year, well before December's heat.
If your warranty sets an interval, treat it as the outer limit. ActronAir's terms, for example, set home maintenance at once every 12 months. Our main air conditioning service page covers what a standard visit includes.
Why the clean has to go deeper here
A filter clean is only the start. Mitsubishi Electric suggests checking that the indoor unit's fan and heat exchanger (the coil) are clean when the air smells strange, and says owners should never try to wash the inside themselves.
If the unit already smells musty or shows dark spots around the outlet, ask for a full coil and fan clean rather than a standard service. Our mould cleaning page explains the difference.
Between visits, running the fan for a while after cooling helps dry the coil; Mitsubishi Electric recommends Fan mode after Cool or Dry for that reason.
Signs your unit needs more than a standard service
- A musty smell when it starts up.
- Dark spots on the louvres or around the outlet.
- Water dripping from the indoor unit.
- Weak airflow even with clean filters.
- Rust on the outdoor unit's casing or bracket.
Ask before you book
- Does your service include cleaning the coil and fan, or just the filters?
- If there's mould, do you do a full clean, and what does it involve?
- Will you check the outdoor unit for corrosion and the fixings for rust?
- Do you hold QBCC and RAC01 licences?
Your side of it
You can
- Clean the filters at least monthly through summer, as Daikin suggests, and more often if the unit smells.
- Keep doors and windows shut while it's cooling.
- Rinse salt off the outdoor unit from the ground, power off, if the manual allows.
Leave to a licensed installer
- Coil, fan and drain tray cleaning.
- Refrigerant checks and electrical connections.
- Anything behind a panel.
Who's licensed to service it
In Queensland, a service is mechanical services work under the QBCC's definition, so it needs a QBCC licence whatever it's worth. Checking the refrigerant needs a full RAC01 licence holder.
Each Cairns service job is seen by licence-checked technicians who look after tropical systems every week, where we have them. The first to take yours is the only one who gets your contact details. A Cairns service job nobody local takes within 48 hours may be shown to technicians elsewhere in Queensland. More on the city is on our Cairns page.
What we'd do
How we'd look after it
We'd book the same month every year, well before December, and ask for the coil, fan and drain to be cleaned, not just the filters. We'd clean the filters ourselves every couple of weeks, keep the room shut while it runs, and near the beach we'd rinse the outdoor unit between services.
