Pictured: an aircon indoor unit with its cover off, the mesh panel inside it furred with dust. Dust like this is what many people have in mind when they ask for "chemical cleaning", and it shows why the words matter: wiping a surface and putting chemical through the unit are two very different visits.
You have asked around for an aircon "chemical cleaning". One quote says chemical wash, another says deep clean, a third says chemical service, and a fourth just says "full chemical". You cannot tell whether they are four names for one job or four different jobs. People type "aircon chemical cleaning Singapore" into Google for exactly this reason: the trade has no single dictionary, and the word on the quote tells you less than the list of steps under it. This post lines up the words you are likely to see against what we publish, so you can translate any quote into a job and a price.
One limit: we can only say what our own jobs are, not what another company means by a word. What we can give you is the published steps and prices for ours, and the questions that make any company spell out what it will do.
Even our own price list uses more than one word
It is fair to start with our own house. Read our pricing page from top to bottom and you will meet "chemical wash", "chemical clean", "chemical servicing", "deep clean" and "chemical overhaul". They are not five jobs. Here is what each one is on that page.
| Word you may see | What it is on our pages | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical wash | The standard chemical job on a wall-mounted indoor unit, done with the unit left on the wall | $135 for 1 unit, $245 for 2, $345 for 3, $425 for 4, then $100 per unit from 5 |
| Chemical overhaul | The step past a wash: the whole wall unit comes off the wall and is stripped, and every part is chemical washed | $200 for 1 unit, $370 for 2, $515 for 3, $640 for 4, then $150 per unit from 5 |
| Chemical clean (already on site) | A chemical clean when we are already at your home for another job | $100 to $150 per unit |
| Chemical servicing, cassette (shown as "deep clean") | The chemical job on a ceiling cassette unit, the square panel in the ceiling | $340 per cassette indoor unit |
| Chemical servicing, ducted | The chemical job on a ducted unit, which hides above the ceiling | From $500 per unit, a minimum that depends on site conditions |
| General or normal servicing | The every-three-months upkeep, not a chemical job at all | $55 for 1 unit, $90 for 2, $120 for 3, $160 for 4, then $35 per unit from 5 |
So when a quote says "chemical cleaning" for a wall unit, the closest job on our list is the chemical wash. When it says "deep clean", the first thing to find out is whether it is a wall unit, a cassette or a ducted unit, because the same phrase sits against three very different prices on our own list. The unit type changes the job and the price more than the word does.
What a chemical wash actually does
The published steps on our chemical wash page are short enough to remember:
- The 9-point pre-check, included with the booking.
- The roller is dismantled.
- A water tray and cover are fitted.
- Chemical is applied to the coil and the blower.
- The unit is rinsed.
- The drainage is flushed.
- Cooling is tested before we leave.
The time we publish is 60 to 90 minutes per indoor unit, including the pre-check and the final test. If a quote calls itself "chemical cleaning" and does not mention a cover or tray to catch the water, a rinse or the drain, ask what happens to the dirty water and the drain. Those are the parts that decide whether the smell comes back, and they are the steps cheaper jobs tend to shorten. Our post on what a cheap chemical wash can leave out goes through that in detail.
What separates a wash from an overhaul
The difference is whether the unit comes off the wall. In a wash the indoor unit stays where it is and the work is done in place with the cover fitted. In an overhaul, on our chemical overhaul page, the whole wall unit is taken off the wall and stripped. The blower, drain tray, casing and covers come off, every part is cleaned individually, the blower wheel is cleaned and re-balanced, the PCB and electrical parts are inspected and dust-cleared, anti-rust coating goes on the metal parts, the drain tray and pipe are pressure-cleaned and treated, and the unit is reassembled and given a 5-point performance test. The time is 2 to 3 hours per indoor unit.
That matters when you compare a quote, because a word like "full chemical" or "deep chemical" could describe either. The reliable test is a single question: does the unit come off the wall? If the answer is no, it is a wash by our definition, whatever the quote calls it. If it is yes, it is an overhaul by our definition, and it should be priced as one. Our post on how to check an overhaul was really done covers what you can see afterwards, and the one on whether an overhaul includes the outdoor unit covers a different word that causes the same confusion.
Reading two quotes side by side
Take a 3-unit HDB flat with three wall units. On our published prices, general servicing is $120, a chemical wash is $345 and a chemical overhaul is $515. The gap between the first and the second is the chemical, the tray and cover, the rinse and the extra time. The gap between the second and the third is taking each unit off the wall and stripping it. When you hold another company's number against those three, work out which tier it is nearest to, then ask which steps are in it.
Three things to read off any quote, whatever the heading says:
- Is the price per indoor unit, per system or per visit? Ours is per indoor unit, with the per-unit rate dropping as more units are done in the same visit. A flat total can hide a smaller scope. Our post on what is being counted on an aircon quote goes through this.
- Which unit type is it for? A wall unit, a cassette and a ducted unit are priced separately on our list, so "chemical cleaning for 3 units" means nothing until you know what the three are.
- Is there a stated warranty on the work? Ours is 90 days workmanship warranty on the chemical wash and the overhaul, and it is written on the service pages. A warranty that exists only when you ask is a different thing.
The chemical clean that is not a separate booking
One line on our list is easy to misread. The "chemical clean (already on site)" at $100 to $150 per unit is not a cheaper way to buy a chemical wash. It is the price when we are already at your home for another job. If you book a chemical wash as its own visit, it uses the wash table, from $135 for one unit. Do not hold the $100 to $150 figure up against a quote for a stand-alone visit, because the two are not the same situation. If you are having something else done and want to add a unit, ask us on the day what applies.
Which one does your unit need
The word on the quote does not settle this. The condition of the unit does. On our pages, a chemical wash is for a unit that smells musty or sour on start-up, cools weaker than it used to, shows black spots on the fins or louvres, or has gone more than 6 months since its last wash, and the usual interval for a daily-use home unit is every 6 to 12 months. An overhaul is for a unit that is badly fouled, more than 5 years old and never overhauled, or one where the smell or weak cooling came back soon after a wash, and the usual interval is every 2 to 3 years. A unit that was serviced recently and runs well does not need either; routine servicing is the cheaper and correct choice.
That is why the 9-point pre-check is included with any service booking: it tells you which tier your unit needs before you pay for one, and we quote before any work starts.
Five questions that translate any quote
- Does the unit stay on the wall or come off it? This separates a wash from an overhaul.
- What catches the water? Look for a water tray and cover, or the equivalent.
- Is the drain flushed and treated, and is the unit rinsed?
- Is the price per indoor unit, and for which unit type?
- Is the warranty on the work written down, and for how long?
A company that answers all five in writing has told you what the word means for that job, and you can compare it line by line with ours. A company that answers with the word again has not.
The short version
- "Chemical cleaning", "chemical wash" and "deep clean" are not defined terms. Compare steps, not headings.
- On our pages, a wall unit's chemical wash is $135 for 1 unit and the unit stays on the wall. An overhaul is $200 for 1 unit and the unit comes off the wall.
- The $100 to $150 "chemical clean" applies when we are already on site for another job, not to a stand-alone booking.
- Cassette and ducted chemical jobs are priced separately, at $340 per unit and from $500 per unit.
- Ask which tier a quote is nearest to, and what is in it, before you compare the totals.
Every price above comes from our pricing page, and the full wall-unit breakdown is on the chemical wash cost page.
If you would like a straight answer for your unit
Send us the wording on the quote you were given, how many indoor units you have, whether they are wall, cassette or ducted, and when the last wash or service was. We will tell you which of our jobs it matches and what it costs on our published prices, and we quote before any work starts. WhatsApp us on 9107 2601 and we will tell you what to expect before we come.