The key to keeping AC running in the Texas summer heat does not involve an umbrella. 

The key to keeping your AC running in Texas during the summer is not to shade it under an umbrella. 

A TikTok video posted Monday by user @thewilliebeast, or "Aaron the tiktok handyman," showing Texans how to maintain their HVAC unit has collected more than 8 million views and nearly 825,000 likes.

The video starts off with someone showing an HVAC unit under an umbrella in an attempt to shelter it from the scorching summer heat.

"I keep seeing these on TikTok," Aaron says. "I figured with 20-plus years of HVAC maintenance, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, automotive, welding, a little bit of everything, I could help out a little bit." 

Aaron said the umbrella was not going to work and then proceeded to grab a garden hose and wash out the HVAC unit. 

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"Look up inside here," Aaron says. "See those fins? They could be a lot of different styles, but one thing that happens to all of them: they get dirty. Mainly from mowing, dogs, all sorts of stuff, dust. All you need to do: rinse it off." 

According to a video from Lowe's, you should give the condenser unit, the part of the HVAC that is outside, a deep clean once a year. That involves turning off the breaker, removing the top of the unit, cleaning out any debris at the bottom of the unit, including fallen leaves, either by hand or with a vacuum. Using a foaming AC coil cleaner, spray and let sit, and then spray from the inside of the unit out. 

Rinse off the outside and replace the top.

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Aaron's video received more than 12,000 comments.

"Haha not it being literally outside and my brain going 'No! No wet on electrical thingamagigs,'" one TikToker wrote. 

Another said: "My thermostat was reading 78-81. I went out there and washed it off. IT HELD AT 71 all day and I’m in south Louisiana." 

"Careful with the water pressure," one person responded to the video. "NEVER use anything high-powered like a pressure washer or even spray hose. Just a nice rinse. Speaking from experience." 

Shepard Price has a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Texas. They have been in journalism for more than four years.