Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers - cleaning condenser on portable dehumidifier

I have a Westinghouse portable that I use in my unfinished basement, which means it collects a lot more crud than normal in the grill and on the condenser coils. I was just working on it, and it has two layers of coils, plus some finned tubing behind that. I can't really get anything in there to clean that stuff, and it has collected a lot of gunk that is pretty caked on. (I gently used a small screwdriver to pick at the gunk - yes, I said gently and carefully :) ) It doesn't respond at all to a sweeper, and the coils are set in a plastic cylinder as a unit, so taking the metal cover off the dehumidifer doesn't help.

How can I get in there to thoroughly clean the thing, and if it involves any kind of deinstallation of the hardware inside, I'll need some fairly specific instructions. I like to know in advance where it's safe to pry.<g>

Thanks in advance.

Can you take it outside and hose it off?

Yeah, I can, but is that OK to do? I mean is it ok to get water on the fan motor and compressor?

Comp can get wet all day wrap a bag around the fan! Let dry before pluging back in

Thanks!:thumbup: