Working from home changes what an aircon is. It stops being something you switch on at night and becomes something that runs while you are sitting next to it, for most of the day. The unit in the study or the bedroom-turned-office does the work of three evenings in one day. Most servicing advice is written for the evening-and-weekend user, so the question we hear from people in this position is a fair one: "If mine runs all day, do I service it more often, and what kind of service?"
This guide answers it using only what we publish. It gives the intervals on our service pages, shows what a full year costs on our price tables for one, two and three units, and lists the signs that mean a unit has outrun its schedule. Where a figure is our arithmetic rather than a published rule, we say so.
What our service pages say about intervals
We publish three jobs for wall-mounted units, each with its own rhythm. The wording below comes from our service pages.
| Job | Published rhythm | Price for 1 unit |
|---|---|---|
| General servicing | Routine maintenance about every 3 months; every 3 to 4 months for a daily-use aircon, and every 3 months for heavy users | $45 |
| Chemical wash | Every 6 to 12 months on top of the routine servicing; every 6 months if the aircon runs 8 or more hours a day, if anyone has allergies or asthma, or if you have pets | $135 |
| Chemical overhaul | Every 2 to 3 years; sooner for units that run heavily or are already 5 or more years old | $200 |
Read the middle row. "8 or more hours a day" is the line our chemical wash page draws. A unit that runs through a working day is on the wrong side of it, so for that unit the 6-month end of the range is the one to plan around, not the 12-month end. A lightly used guest-room unit in the same flat can stretch closer to 12 months. The point of this article is that the units in one flat should not all be on the same schedule any more.
Why a unit that never rests needs the shorter end
Our servicing page says that in Singapore's hot, humid climate an aircon collects dust, dirt and biological growth quickly, usually within 3 months, and our chemical wash page puts the humidity at around 84% all year. A unit that runs all day moves far more of that humid room air across its coil than one that runs for a few hours. That is our reasoning from the published figures, not a measured result for your home, but it matches the thresholds above: heavy daily running is exactly the case where both pages tell you to shorten the interval.
The practical effect is that the work-from-home unit reaches the "wash it" stage sooner. The signs on our chemical wash page are plain enough to check yourself:
- A musty, sour or wet-cloth smell when the aircon first switches on.
- Cooling has weakened. The room takes longer to get cold, or never quite does.
- Your electricity bill has crept up even though your usage has not changed. For a work-from-home household this one is easy to miss, because usage did change when you started working from home. Compare against the months after you settled into the routine, not before.
- Water dripping from the indoor unit, often from a clogged coil or drain.
- Visible mould, black spots or slime on the coil fins or louvres.
If you can already smell mustiness or the cooling has dropped, do not wait for the calendar. Our page puts it directly: that is the coil telling you it is overdue.
What a year costs: our published prices, multiplied out
Here is the heavy-use rhythm priced on our tables: a general service every 3 months (4 a year) and a chemical wash every 6 months (2 a year). Every figure comes from the published prices on our pricing page; the totals are our multiplication.
| Indoor units in the rhythm | 4 general services | 2 chemical washes | Total for the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 unit (the home-office room only) | 4 x $45 = $180 | 2 x $135 = $270 | $450 |
| 2 units (office room plus living room) | 4 x $70 = $280 | 2 x $245 = $490 | $770 |
| 3 units (whole 3-bedroom HDB flat) | 4 x $95 = $380 | 2 x $345 = $690 | $1,070 |
Two things about that table. First, it adds the two jobs together as if each were its own visit. We do not publish whether a chemical wash visit counts as that quarter's general service, so if you are booking both in one year, ask when you book and we will tell you how we would schedule it. Second, it is the heaviest rhythm on our pages, not a recommendation for every flat.
The lighter alternative for a single unit is a general service every 3 months plus one chemical wash a year: 4 x $45 + $135 = $315. That is $135 less than the heavy rhythm in the first row. For the unit you actually sit beside all day, the 6-month wash is the better call by our own thresholds. For a spare-room unit that runs now and then, one wash a year is enough.
We do not sell annual packages or take money upfront for future visits. You book a visit when you need it, so there is no contract that locks you into either rhythm. If you are weighing a prepaid plan from someone else, read what to check before you pay for a prepaid aircon maintenance contract first.
Do all the units need the same job?
No, and this is where a work-from-home flat saves money. Usually one or two units carry the daytime load and the rest are used at night or only on weekends. Our chemical wash is priced per indoor unit, with the per-unit rate dropping as you add units in one visit ($135 for 1, $245 for 2, $345 for 3, $425 for 4, then $100 for each unit from the fifth). That means the saving from washing everything at once is real but modest, and it has to be weighed against the cost of washing a unit that did not need it yet.
Our existing article on whether to wash every aircon or just one unit works through that trade-off with the published tables. The short version for a work-from-home household: wash the daytime unit on the 6-month rhythm, put the evening-only units on the 12-month rhythm, and use the 9-point pre-check at each visit to confirm the call.
What the pre-check settles for you
Every service booking includes our 9-point pre-check, and the technician tells you which job your unit needs. Two of the nine points matter most for an all-day unit. The drainage flow check, because blocked drains are the most common cause of aircon water leaks in HDB and condo units. And the filter and coil dirt assessment, where we tell you honestly whether you need a general service or a chemical wash. Our policy is that you are never sold the wrong one.
The $45 minimum for one unit covers the visit, the pre-check and standard servicing. If the pre-check shows the unit needs more, say a chemical wash, we give you a final-price quote and, if you go ahead, the $45 is part of the total rather than charged on top. If you decide not to proceed, the $45 covers the visit and the diagnosis and nothing more. We do not offer a standalone check-only visit.
For the all-day unit, that means the cheapest way to find out whether you are overdue for a wash is to book the ordinary $45 service and ask the technician to show you the coil. For what they should show you, see what your aircon technician should show you before they leave.
When the schedule is not enough
A heavy rhythm keeps a healthy unit healthy. It does not fix a unit that is already past the point where a wash helps. Our overhaul page lists the signs that you need a chemical overhaul rather than another wash:
- The musty smell or weak cooling came back soon after a chemical wash.
- The unit is more than 5 years old and has never been overhauled.
- Heavy mould or thick grime is visible on the blower wheel or inside the casing.
- Cooling has dropped noticeably and a wash made little difference.
- Water keeps overflowing despite drainage cleaning.
A chemical overhaul is $200 for 1 unit and takes about 2 to 3 hours per indoor unit, because the indoor unit is fully dismantled and each part cleaned individually. For a unit that has run all day for years, our overhaul page says every 2 to 3 years is right for most homes and that heavy runners benefit sooner. For units under about 8 years old and in sound mechanical condition, our page says an overhaul restores most of the original cooling and airflow. Older units, or those with a tired compressor, improve clearly but may not fully recover, and if the pre-check shows a unit near the end of its life we tell you so, because a new installation can be the smarter spend. That decision is covered in overhaul or replace: how to decide.
If the pre-check also finds a separate problem such as a choked drain or low gas, we quote it before doing any work. A standard drainage or electrical repair is $80 on our price list, and a gas top-up is priced per outdoor circuit ($115 for R22, $130 for R410A, $170 for R32). A dedicated leak or pressure test is $180 per indoor unit.
Booking around your working day
The practical problem with servicing a work-from-home flat is that someone has to be in the house, and that someone is you, probably on a call. Our service pages say a general service takes 30 to 45 minutes per indoor unit. Our article on how long aircon servicing takes turns the published times into a plan for one to four units, which is the easiest way to decide which job to book on a day you cannot be interrupted. Same-day service is usually available, which helps when a unit starts smelling on a Monday and you want it fixed before the week fills up.
The short version
If a unit runs 8 or more hours a day, our own pages put it on the heavy rhythm: a general service about every 3 months and a chemical wash about every 6 months. On our published prices that is $450 a year for one unit, $770 for two and $1,070 for three, if each job is booked as its own visit. Lighter units can stay on one wash a year, about $315 for one unit. Overhaul the unit every 2 to 3 years, sooner if it is the daily workhorse and is 5 or more years old. Do not wait for the calendar if you can smell mustiness or the cooling has dropped.
Tell us which rooms you work in and how many indoor units you have, and we will confirm the total and the visit plan. The job details and prices are on our aircon servicing, chemical wash and chemical overhaul pages.
Running your aircon all day and not sure which job it needs? WhatsApp us on 9107 2601 with your unit count and which room is the workhorse, and we will confirm the job and the total.