Make Sure Air Conditioner Maintenance Goes On Your Spring To-Do List

Make Sure Air Conditioner Maintenance Goes On Your Spring To-Do List

With spring fast approaching, it’s not too soon to start thinking about air conditioner maintenance. Like all mechanical equipment, your air conditioner runs better when it’s kept in top shape. An air conditioner uses quite a bit of electricity, and by keeping it maintained, you lower your bills and add life to your equipment.

With that in mind, here are a few do-it-yourself maintenance tasks:

• Clean or change the filters in your air handler. Dirt is the number one enemy of all HVAC equipment, not only putting unnecessary wear on your system, but also decreasing the efficiency of airflow over the evaporator coil. During the summer, check the filters monthly, replacing whenever the dust load becomes obvious.
• Clear away any vegetation that has collected around the outdoor condenser. This part of the air conditioner needs clearance around and above it to exhaust the heat from the house. If it’s obstructed, it won’t be as efficient and too much resistance can burn the compressor out prematurely.
• Straighten any bent fins on the compressor with a fin comb. You can get these online or at a home improvement store. The fins help conduct the heat away from the condenser coils. If they’re bent or smashed together, the compressor loses efficiency.
• Clean the fins with warm, soapy water and a soft brush. You can use a soft paint brush to complete this step of air conditioner maintenance. Rinse with a mild spray from the hose.
• Check the insulation along the air conditioning hose that leads into your home. Prolonged exposure to sunshine can rot the insulation. Replace it with new insulation from home improvement or hardware stores.

Other aspects of air conditioner maintenance require a trained HVAC technician. They use special gauges to check the refrigerant levels and add more when needed. Low refrigerant also indicates leaks somewhere in the system, and these leaks are environmentally toxic. The technician also cleans the evaporator coil, calibrates the thermostat and oils any components that require it.

If you need the services of a pro, contact Air-Tro to schedule air conditioner maintenance to stay cool all summer. We’ve been serving the greater Los Angeles area since 1969.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about air conditioner maintenance and other HVAC topics, visit our website.

Air-Tro Inc. services the greater Los Angeles area as well as the metro areas of Riverside and San Bernardino County.