April 06, 2016
Summer is here. And your air conditioner will soon be running almost nonstop.
Make sure it’s ready to be in the spotlight with these 4 simple maintenance tasks.
What to do: Check your air filter and replace it if you can see dirt.
Left: clean filter. Right: dirty filter.
Why it’s important: A dirty air filter restricts airflow to your air conditioner. This can cause it to freeze up and quit working. You don’t want that. We don’t want that for you.
We make it really easy. With Filters Today, you can order your filters and have them shipped right to your home
Related: Ice on Your A/C? Why Your Air Conditioner is Frozen & How to Fix It
What to do: Take a look at your outdoor unit and make sure there’s nothing obstructing airflow into it. Look for tall weeds, leaves, trash, etc. and remove them. If you have a decorative cover on your AC, you should remove it since it will kill your air conditioner.
Leaves stuck to the outdoor unit. Remove these.
Why it’s important: The outdoor unit’s job is to dump heat to the outside air. And any obstruction to airflow makes its job more difficult. That means the AC has to work harder, which can increase your energy bills and cause the AC to freeze up and quit on you.
What to do: Look at all the vents in your home and make sure that they are fully open and not blocked by any furniture or drapes.
Why it’s important: Closed and blocked air vents reduce the airflow in your air conditioner. This makes your AC work harder and can increase your energy bills and cause your AC to freeze up. (Seeing a pattern here?)
Find out more about Why Closing Vents in Unused Rooms is a Bad Idea.
What it is: As your air conditioner cools, it also removes humidity. The water it collects is drained out of your home through a PVC pipe called a condensate drain.
If it empties out of the pan, you’re good to go. If it stays in the pan, though, the drain line is likely clogged. There are multiple unclogging methods, like using a wet/dry vac on the condensate line.
But the surefire way is to have a professional use a special vacuum to suck the blockage material out.
Related: “Why is My Home Air Conditioner Leaking Water Inside?”
You can schedule your AC tune-up online with Cool Today.
Cool Today provides award-winning air conditioning service to Sarasota, Florida and the surrounding areas like Bradenton, Tampa and Port Charlotte. If you have any questions, talk to one of our experts for help.
Posted in: Tips